DMK President and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on Tuesday said the LTTE had lost the sympathies of the party way back in 1987 itself as its chief V. Prabhakaran was planning to adopt a dictatorial form of government in Tamil Eelam for which they were fighting, reported The Hindu yesterday.

The DMK chief made this remark while speaking at the party’s executive committee meeting in Tamil Nadu.

Recalling the ‘sibling rivalry’ indulged in by the LTTE, killing senior leaders of other groups which were working for the Tamils’ cause, Karunanidhi referred to an interview given by Prabhakaran to a magazine in 1987 wherein he had favoured a dictatorial rule for Tamil Eelam.

“I was shocked to read the reply of Prabhakaran. From then on, I became sick of the Tigers’ war... later, many people were killed by the LTTE and the sympathy towards that movement was dwindling gradually and at one point, it completely vanished,” he said.

To highlight the LTTE cruelty in killing their Tamil brethren, Karunanidhi cited how veteran leader Amirthalilngam was killed in front of his wife. “But the DMK has ignored these incidents... only to help the suffering Tamils in Lanka...but it is being viewed as support to the LTTE...this view is totally wrong...our support is only for the Lankan Tamils and not for individuals there,” he said.