Tamil Eelam, a separate nation for Tamils, 'is the only solution to the Sri Lankan Tamils issue', Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief Vaiko has said.

Addressing a public meeting on Monday night, Vaiko flayed the Centre for advocating a solution within the framework of a united Sri Lanka [Images] and said only the Tamils of the island nation had the right to decide their destiny.

"The Sri Lankan Tamils will decide for themselves. The final battle for Tamil Eelam is on and LTTE is capable of winning a separate nation for Tamils on their own. We want the LTTE to win and they will be victorious," he said.

Vaiko said 22 of the 23 Tamil MPs in the island, belonging to the Tamil Nationalist Federation, were backing a separate homeland for Tamils and the self-determination rights of Sri Lanka's Tamils should be respected.

He recalled that the Vattukottai resolution, which called for a separate Tamil Eelam, had the overwhelming support of Sri Lankan Tamils during the general election held in the island before the 1983 anti-Tamil riots.

"Tamils should have the same rights as Sinhalese. If Sinhalese can have a separate nation in the island, why not the Tamils, who were the orginal habitants of Sri Lanka before Sinhalese settled there," he asked.

Vaiko said any assistance to Sri Lanka would create another Kashmir-like situation if angry Tamil youths took over the political leadership in Tamil Nadu, making democratic leaders like himself irrelevant.

The world community's conscience had been awakened after the killing of 61 school girls in Sri Lanka. The UNICEF and the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission had confirmed that the place raided by Sri Lankan forces was an orphanage, Vaiko said.

It was late prime minister Indira Gandhi [Images] who described the happenings in the island as genocide as early as 1983, and late All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader M G Ramachandran was a firm supporter of LTTE till his death, Vaiko said.

"Some parties which are supporting Palestine Liberation Organisation and Hezbollah are hesitating to support the LTTE," he said, asking the media to report both sides of the issue instead of highlighting the version of 'Sinhalese chauvinists' alone.

"The MDMK will always support the LTTE and I am willing to be imprisoned all my life or even face the gallows for supporting the LTTE," Vaiko asserted.

The MDMK will hold a protest in front of the Sri Lankan High Commission in New Delhi on August 30 to condemn 'state- sponsored terrorism and genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka', he said.

A rally will also be held in Chennai on Septemeber 1 to mobilise support for Sri Lankan Tamils, he added.