Veerappan comes out with fresh demands

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, AUG. 11. Notwithstanding four fresh demands by the forest brigand, Veerappan, as the kidnap episode involving Kannada thespian, Mr. Rajkumar entered the 13th day, the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka Governments tonight inched closer to a solution to the crisis.

Addressing a joint press conference at the Secretariat here with his Karnataka counterpart, Mr. S. M. Krishna, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Mr. M. Karunanidhi, said, apart from the 10 demands already raised, the brigand had now sought referring the Cauvery dispute to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), at The Hague, for adjudication.

After a three-hour discussion with Mr. Krishna, who flew down from Bangalore for urgent consultations following the official emissary and Nakkeeran editor, Mr. R. R. Gopal, returning from the forest early today with a video cassette and a Veerappan- signed paper containing the new demands, Mr. Karunanidhi said they were now hopeful of an early release of the hostages. Mr. Gopal also met both the Chief Ministers and explained the details of his visit and the meetings.

Explaining the fresh demands, Mr. Karunanidhi said Veerappan had termed the Cauvery River Authority to implement the Tribunal's interim award as ``unnecessary'' while asking for referring the dispute to the International Court of Justice.

The release by the Tamil Nadu Government of five prisoners of the Tamil National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Tamil National Retrieval Troops (TNRT) just as Karnataka had agreed to release the TADA detenus there, enacting a Law to make Tamil as the medium of instruction upto the 10th class in Tamil Nadu, payment of compensation to the rape victims of Vachathi and Chinnampathi in Dharmapuri district are the other new demands, he said.

On the Governments' response to these fresh demands, Mr. Karunanidhi said Mr. Gopal will again go to the forest, within a week or even earlier, to explain to Veerappan ``our position'' on all these issues. The eight-day deadline set by the brigand was only for communicating back the Governments' response, he said.

Stating it was impossible to refer the Cauvery dispute to the ICJ, the Chief Minister said compensation to the rape victims referred to had already been paid under the previous regime following a High Court directive.

Legal issues were involved in introducing Tamil medium upto the 10th class as Tamil Nadu's earlier order in making it the instructional medium upto fifth class was now before the Supreme Court, he said.

The Government had also ordered the release of the five prisoners asked for, while their actual release will be ``simultaneous'' with the ``final settlement'' (release of hostages), Mr. Karunanidhi said, adding, Veerappan had signed the demands also on behalf of the TNLA and TNRT.

Mr. Krishna, saw ``improvement in the situation'', though some of the demands will have to be gone into in greater detail. He denied a suggestion that the Governments were treating Veerappan with kid gloves.

Mr. Gopal at a separate press conference clarified that neither ransom nor general amnesty was part of the demands made by Veerappan.

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