Sampanthan: TNA will cooperate with the Govt.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa had a thoughtful gift for C.V. Wigneswaran after he swore him at three different times last Monday morning. The first was as an elected member of the Northern Provincial Council, the second as its Chief Minister and the third, as a minister of the PC cabinet. All three oaths were taken in Tamil.
He then handed to the newly anointed Chief Minister a statue of Lord Sri Vinayagar. In the Hindu pantheon of gods, he is primary and is also referred to as Pillayar, Ganesha or Vigneswarar. They worship his statue before setting out on any important mission to ensure it is successfully accomplished.
The swearing-in ceremony was slotted for the auspicious hour of 9.30 a.m. But just three minutes ahead, President Rajapaksa emerged before the invitees and found that the Lord Sri Vinayagar statue he had asked officials to be kept ready was not there. Rajapaksa hurriedly urged Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga to go to his shrine room and obtain the one placed there.
Just after he was sworn in, National Languages Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara walked up to Wigneswaran, hugged and kissed him. The Minister's daughter is married to the former Supreme Court Judge's son. With the official ceremony over, Rajapaksa invited his guests to tea. Whilst walking, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Jaffna District parliamentarian Appadurai Vinayagamoorthy remarked that Rajapaksa had sworn-in Wigneswaran for the third time. The two previous occasions were when he was a Judge of the Supreme Court. "No, no! That is not me. He took oaths before President Chandrika Kumaratunga," the incumbent President replied and added, "When you grow old, you forget these things." The fare at tea had a blend of both the South and the North. From the former, it included kiribath, katta sambol, kavun and kokis. From the latter, there was Ulundu Vadai, green and red chutney.
A more important message from Rajapaksa came after the tea ceremony. "I will give you my fullest support. I expect you to reciprocate," Rajapaksa told Wigneswaran. He made clear "I am not the President of one community. I am President for all communities." The new Chief Minister was quick to assure that the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) would work with the Government and acknowledged that much needed to be done.
On the Government side, there were four Ministers - Maithripala Sirisena, Vasudeva Nanayakkara, Dullas Allahapperuma and Rauff Hakeem. Also present was Sajin de Vass Gunawardena, Monitoring MP for the External Affairs Ministry. A notable absentee was Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa. Ahead of the elections, when it became clear the TNA would sweep the polls, he had announced that he would hand over his ambitious high-spending Uthuru Vasanthaya (Northern Spring) programme after the September 21 elections to the Northern Provincial Council. This was a multi-programme development project for the North. Hakeem sought to speak privately to Rajapaksa. Though the President said it could be done after the end of the ceremonies, time had run out. He had to rush to Janadipathi Mandiraya or President's House. He was to sign as witness for the registration of a wedding. It was the daughter of a leading Matara garage owner who had business interests in Colombo too.
They met later that day. Hakeem wanted to know if anyone from the
With a Chief Minister and a Board of Ministers taking office for the Northern Province, Tamil National Alliance leader, Rajavarothayam Sampanthan answered questions posed to him. Here are excerpts of the answers he gave:
The Chief Minister and the Board of Ministers will have to determine the priorities. The people in the North have been very badly affected by the war. The urgent need is assistance in many sectors. Though housing needs are met to some extent, more needs to be done. People should be allowed to begin work in the fields of agriculture, animal husbandry, cultivation of crops, etc.
There are a large number of widows and orphans. Many households are without breadwinners. A large number has been traumatised by the war. They have to be assisted to return to normal life. Education and health sectors need careful attention. Cumulatively the self-respect and dignity of the people will have to be restored to enable them to forget the past and build a new future. The Provincial Council and the Board of Ministers have confidence they will address these issues.
We will work in a spirit of cooperation. We have demonstrated this. The Government has also said it would cooperate and enable the NPC to function. We have reason to expect the Council to function efficiently and effectively. Views in this regard were exchanged in our interaction with President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) would be appointed Deputy Minister. The Minister said he was checking on this since he had seen media reports and as he was leaving later that night for the United States. He was to point out that on a previous occasion; such appointments had been made in consultation with him. "I have no plans to appoint anyone from the SLMC as deputy Minister," replied Rajapaksa bluntly. That one sentence put paid to hopes by SLMC parliamentarians for deputy ministerial positions. The SLMC contested separately from the UPFA at last month's PC polls. This was much to the dissatisfaction of the UPFA leadership. When Hakeem returned to his Colombo residence, the MPs were waiting for him. He had to tell them that none of them would receive positions. The next day (Tuesday) Rajapaksa swore in nine deputy ministers from the UPFA MPs who were regarded as "senior" and had made a "valuable contribution" to the Government. Some of those who did not receive positions were spoken to, one after the other, by Presidential Secretary Weeratunga on Thursday. He told them that the President was aware of their contribution and would also reward them soon. He urged them not to feel disappointed since they have not been ignored by the leadership.
Chief Minister Wigneswaran will join his colleagues heading other Provincial Councils in taking part periodically in weekly ministerial meetings, particularly when issues related to their areas are under discussion. President Rajapaksa has decided that they should take part in these events to be held every fortnight.
That Monday, the enigma before both President Rajapaksa and the TNA became clearer even before the swearing-in ceremony had ended. In presenting the idol of the most revered among Hindu gods and inviting them to work with the Government, Rajapaksa had drawn the ire of hardliners in his UPFA. They had warned against placing
I am not going to comment on any controversial matter that will impede the functioning of the NPC. It will deal with all issues when they arise.
It is a matter that needs to be resolved by the two Governments, Sri Lanka and India. They should do so with the cooperation of fishermen from both sides. The issue was raised by NPC Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran with visiting Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid when they met in Jaffna on Tuesday.
We want the full implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. The Government should any trust on the NPC whose only objective, they claimed, was to promote 'separation.' Going that 'extra mile' of presenting that statue after having held elections in the North, as promised, was clearly aimed at highlighting Rajapaksa's bona fides. He was willing to risk the displeasure of hardliners in his Government in forging a working relationship with the NPC. That too is with just five weeks to go for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo.
The enigma for the TNA was even worse. The President, Wigneswaran, his family, TNA leaders and other guests stood on the steps leading to the lawn at 'Temple Trees' for a group photograph. Kicking his heels inside was M.A. Sumanthiran, TNA National List parliamentarian. "Go, go and join them," urged Minister Dullas Allahapperuma. He moved in. That reluctance earlier told a story that was to unfold later. Those present at the oaths ceremony were all members of the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) or the Federal Party, the leading partner in the fourmember alliance. The only exception was a member of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC). The ITAK functions under the umbrella of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), which is not yet recognised and registered as a political party. Hence, the TNA contested the September 21 elections as ITAK.
The two TNA parliamentarians present at 'Temple Trees' were Rajavarothayam Sampanthan (Leader) and Sumanthiran. The other was Appadurai Vinayagamoorthy who is from the ACTC, a protégé of its one-time leader Kumar Ponnambalam. The remaining TNA constituent parties were protesting against Wigneswaran taking his oaths before Rajapaksa, a move which the leadership rejected on the grounds that they would otherwise be on a collision course with the Government even before the NPC began work. The notable absentees were parliamentarians Mavai Senathirajah (ITAK), build on that to bring about meaningful devolution to the maximum extent in keeping with the commitment it gave. Implementation of the 13th Amendment and building on it was a commitment the Government has made. We are prepared to discuss that with the Government. However, after the September 21 Provincial Council elections, we have not received any specific proposal to begin a dialogue.
The vast majority of the Sinhala people have rejected outright the extreme elements. This is revealed by the results of the North Western and Central Provincial Council elections. Moderate elements have been elected. The views of these extremist elements should not be given undue prominence.
We have been prepared to cooperate meaningfully to take the process forward.
about that.
I don't want to comment
India's role came about when Sri Lanka accepted India's good offices. India has continued to play that role.
The NPC would certainly look at all development assistance from wherever it is possible to obtain. A vastly devastated territory would need all such possible assistance to be able to provide the legitimate requirements of this territory and the people. Suresh Premachandran (Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front or EPRLF) and Selvam Adaikalanathan (Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation or TELO).
Divisions within the TNA came to the open on Thursday after they wrote to retired Major General G.A. Chandrasiri, Governor of the Northern Province, naming four councillors as provincial ministers. The fifth to hold portfolios would be the Chief Minister. The four are P. Ayangaranesan, T. Kurukularasa, P. Sathyalingam and B. Danishwaran. They were sworn-in on Friday at a ceremony at the Veerasingham Hall by Chief Minister Wigneswaran.
If Vinayagamoorthy of the ACTC attended the swearing-in of the Chief Minister in Colombo, he kept away at the swearing-in of ministers in Jaffna. Nine elected Provincial Councillors were also absent. Others who kept away were now NP councillor Dharmalingam Siddarthan (People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam or PLOTE), Suresh Premachandran MP (EPRLF), Sivashakthi Anandan MP (EPRLF) and Vino Noharthalingam MP (TELO). However, TELO leader Selvam Adaikalanathan took part in the swearing-in ceremony. His party members complained that this was despite a decision by their Central Committee not to do so. Though the TNA leadership said Ayangaranesan who was sworn-in as a Minister was from the EPRLF because his claim to join the board of ministers has been forwarded through it, the EPRLF sacked him on Friday. It wrote to ITAK Secretary Mavai Senathirajah informing him of the expulsion. TNA leader Sampanthan and Jaffna's Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Thomas Savundranayagam, were among those present at the swearing-in ceremony of the ministers.
Sivashakthi Anandan (EPRLF) who represents the Wanni District told the Sunday Times, "We were promised that at least one representative from Mullaitivu District would be named Minister. This did not happen." They also complained that the