Wigneswaran calls for north-south dialogue
Northern Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran on Tuesday called for greater dialogue between people of Sri Lanka’s north and south.
Urging the southern Sinhala majority to “leave aside emotional politics and unfair suspicion”, he assured them that the Tamil minority’s demand for federalism sought to unite, not divide, the country.
The Chief Minister was speaking on behalf of the Tamil People’s Council (TPC), a civil society group with professionals, academics and political activists based in the north and east.
The TPC would foreground Tamils’ concerns and aspirations, he said at a press conference, his first media interaction in Colombo since assumed charge as Chief Minister of Sri Lanka’s Northern Province in 2013.
Pointing to the Centre’s “hegemonic attitude”, he said the Colombo government had adopted a top-down approach to governing the country, without appreciating the concerns voiced by the provincial administration. Asked about his meeting with President Maithripala Sirisena on Tuesday morning, along with other Chief Ministers, Mr. Wigneswaran said it was “positive”, and that the government had assured to dispatch funds promptly.
Speaking on militarisation, he said he saw no reason why a 1,50,000 member-strong army was still stationed in the north, seven years after the war ended.
“We are yet to feel equal… we are made to feel like second or third grade citizens,” the Hindu reports.
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This proposition from Wigneswaran is not possible. The Tamil and Sinhala communities communicate constantly, in the shops, in public places, in public transport and various other venues.
Mr Bearded Vigneswaran wants to place a bunch of Sinhala Buddhist extremists and Tamil Separatists in an air-conditioned premises and get them to talk to each other.
Mr Wicky, it doesn’t work that way.
True reconciliation will be achieved when Politicians stop stirring the embers of communalism, just as what you are doing now and just as what the Yahapalana and JO and Gnanasara are doing on the other side.
Tamil population in SL is 9% now.
Muslim community is around 11% now.
Why this person barking now?
There’s no real need to entertain certain community like this.
Majority will get the highest attention from any laws. (If you need to raise hands for a vote majority will get the benefit) that’s the norm.
GOSL should not entertain these politicians any more.
If they does, that might be a reason for a different purposes.