Perumal tells Tamils :

Adopt new political culture

by Ananth PALAKIDNAR

The first Chief Minister of the then North and East Provincial Council Annamalai Vartharaja Perumal has called upon the Tamils to adopt a new political culture to fulfil their political aspirations without antagonising the majority Sinhalese.

Vartharaja Perumal who had been ‘blacklisted’ by the LTTE sought political asylum in India when the North and East Provincial Council became defunct following the arrival of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in 1989. Vartharaja Perumal has now returned to Jaffna after nearly two decades to observe the post-conflict situation in the region.

The ex-chief Minister told a media briefing in support of the PLOTE and the EPRLF (Naba) candidates in Jaffna on Friday that he was happy that peace has returned at last to the North and the East and the country at large.

“The Tamils in the North and the East had suffered terribly due to three decades of war. Peace has now dawned and people are living happily without any fear.”

Killings and various forms of undemocratic activities are now reduced to a great extent. For the first time in several years the Northern and Eastern regions are heading for a trouble-free parliamentary poll.

“Tamils should adopt a new political culture without hanging on to extremism. They should go for a political arrangement without antagonising the majority Sinhalese to fulfil their political aspirations. We have to rebuild the North and the East which had been shattered by three decades of conflict”, Perumal said.

Commenting on India’s stance with regard to Sri Lanka’s issues, Perumal said, India would always support an amicable solution for Sri Lankan Tamils and it should also play an important role in the reconstruction process.