Moderation, Mr. Chief Minister

Under the cloud cover of an election campaign, the Chief Minister of the Northern Province went on what can be dubbed as a 'semi-official' visit though officially termed a 'private visit' to Britain and the United States. In Britain he was hosted to a formal dinner by a Minister of State and in the US he was met by officials of the World Bank and the US State Department.

He took with him project proposals from his provincial ministers, some just two pages, and so badly drafted that it would be a surprise if he gets a dollar for them. In his address to the Tamil American Diaspora he asked for their dollars to be invested in his otherwise impoverished peninsula that still relies on the largesse of the Central Government for its sustenance.

He should consider himself a lucky man if he gets a nickel from them too. There is, what is commonly referred to in Jaffna circles as the 'Talking Diaspora' and the 'Doing Diaspora'. The former are the ones who get the headlines for lobbying congressmen and issuing thundering statements from Western capitals they live in about the plight of the people living in the Northern Province. They have long pockets and short hands and simply don't walk the talk.

The 'Doing Diaspora'are the ones who have rolled up their sleeves and arrived in the North to contribute their skills and their finances. That category is, regrettably, a minority among the minority. That the Chief Minister stuck to protocol by obtaining the President's permission before embarking on his visit, and also called for briefing reports from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is creditworthy. The incumbent Government of Sri Lanka has no qualms in interacting with the Diaspora and engaging it in a broad-minded way to unify the country.

The clear message the Chief Minister received from the US State Department was to drop his genocide rhetoric and stick to rehabilitation and reconstruction of his province and that the best opportunity for him and the people of his province is to work together with the current central Government. That message must ring in his ears.

But did he have to go that distance to hear the obvious? The US was clearly talking to the Diaspora through the Chief Minister. There is none so deaf as those who refuse to hear. No. 08, Hunupitiya Cross Road, Colombo 02. P.O. Box 1136, Colombo

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