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| Sunday,13 November 2005 |
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Chandrasekaran takes umbrage over Navin's speech
by S. S. Warani Parliamentarian Navin Dissanayake's speech at Ginigathena has caused a stir among UNPers.
Dissanayake speaking at a public meeting in Ginigathena claimed Ranil Wickremesinghe was behind the Karuna affair. He also said that if the LTTE launches a war, there would be no need for Sri Lankan forces to attack, but Indian and US forces would look into that. Dissanayake had also said that Ranil Wickremasinghe did have talks with Indian Congress President Sonia Gandhi and US President George W. Bush. This speech had angered the Up-Country People's Front Leader Parliamentarian P. Chandrasekeran who supports Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe at the Presidential poll. Up-Country People's Front has already broken into two factions. The break away section led by S. Arulsamy and P. Dhihambaram has gaining more ground in the Nuwara Eliya district. Chandrasekaran voluntarily supported Ranil Wickremesinghe and attended several meetings in the Up-country and in Colombo. Chandrasekeran in a statement said:"If the UNP had any plans to thwart the struggle of the North East Tamils using foreign and local forces, the UPF will not support such moves and work against them. The UPF considers this a serious warning against an ethnic community that fights for its rights. If the UNP does not give proper explanation, we may have to reconsider our earlier decision to support the Opposition Leader. "We had emphasised that the Presidential candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe gives equal importance to all up-country parties that support him. But, the UNP gives importance to a certain political party at meetings held in areas where Tamil concentration is more. We are compelled to consider this move as an effort to sideline the UPF. If proper guarantee is not provided by the UNP, supporting UNP would be tantamount to a great danger not only to UPF but also to Tamils as a whole." However, so far the UNP has not given any guarantee to Chandrasekeran. Opposition to Navin's speech came from another Tamil party that supports UNP candidate in Colombo and the up-country. The Western Province People's Front (WPPF) Leader Parliamentarian Mano Ganeshan condemned the speech as hegemonistic. The WPPF in a statement said:"At a moment when the Tamils living in the Tamil homeland are considering to boycott the presidential election, the speech of Navin Dissanayake further strengthened such a notion. We believe that Ranil Wickremesinghe is duty bound to explain whether it is sabotage and the truth about the story. Navin made this speech when the Deputy Secretary of the UPF was on the stage," the statement said. The Tamil Guardian, the diaspora broadsheet, this week has warned the `advocates of peace who have rushed to pin their hopes on Ranil Wickremasinghe without seriously examining his policies and, above all, the practicality of his strategy.' It further said:"He has surreptitiously sought to court the right wing vote, publicly interacting with Sri Lanka's powerful and hardline Buddhist clergy, and positing defeating separatism as his primary stance on the ethnic question. He has even won over a prominent member of the hardline monks' party - a small gain perhaps, but a telling one in the north. Most importantly, however, Mr. Wickremesinghe has failed to outline a clear, unambiguous position on the ethnic question," Tamil Guardian continued. It is regrettable that Parliamentarians Chandraskeran and Mano Ganeshan could not understand the stand of the Opposition Leader. Meanwhile, the leader of the break away section of the UPF, S. Arulsamy has been appointed as the Tamil Education Minister of the Central Province. The CWC relinquished this portfolio after it joined hands with the UNP. |
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