Wigneswaran must work with his opponents

by Rajes Balasubramaniam

Most of us expected the TNA to win the provincial election in the North. Now that the Tamil people have voted and the TNA has done just that, by an overwhelming majority of 30 out of 38 areas.

This election victory, according to many moderate Tamils in London, is mainly to do with the Chief Minister candidate W. Wigneswaran. He is seen as a voice of reason within the Tamil nationalists amongst the TNA. The Chief Minister was born, brought up and worked in the South where he lived in a multi-cultural environment. His children are married to Sinhalese. He is well respected by both the elite and ordinary people of the south, regardless of whether they are Tamils, Sinhalese, Muslims or Burghers. He was a judge who would take time to understand the complexity of a situation before passing judgement.

We hope that he will take a very clear path and work for the Tamil majority in the North who had suffered immensely for many years and have a multitude of problems to deal with. We hope his political strategies will focus on the immediate needs of the majority in the North. There are thousand of widows, and thousands of children who have been orphaned or have been left with only one parent.

They need help and support. There are issues among the young generation who are looking for a better future through job opportunities. The local fishermen have constant problems with Indian fishermen who are crossing to Sri Lankan waters with their high-powered trawlers, depleting stocks of fish.

There are ongoing problems regarding violence against women and the vulnerable. The social structure must be re-built. Genuine leaders should be encouraged to emerge. The economy must be re-constructed to stop the educated workforce leaving the province. Agriculture in the North has suffered tremendously for many years due to the prevailing situation. He should help implement Arumugam's water project. People moved about like cattle, their re-settlement must be resolved. Jaffna once had a brilliant name for educational advancement, but it eroded heavily for 30 years or more. There are many more issues in the North which can be attributed to terrorism.

The world has moved rapidly since the 1950s, but the Tamil political mindset is somewhere in a dream land, which has cost thousands of lives and untold damage to Sri Lanka. Many lost their properties and their lives. The civil rights movement in America stared its campaign for equality in democratic way, and now they have an African American President.

As Sri Lankans we have the right to live equally. We do not have to be divided. Less than 4 percent of the Sri Lankan Tamil population is calling for separation which will never happen. It is better to understand the reality of the situation and Wigneswaran should emphasise this.

There are many voices within the TNA and some seem to think that this election victory is the way to secure Eelam! The diaspora Tamils, who want constant conflict in the country are calling upon the international community to recognise the Tamils' right for self-determination!

Some Tamils in Tamil Nadu also say it is the verdict of Tamils in the North to get Tamil Eelam! Wigneswaran should know that the North is part of Sri Lanka, one of nine provinces which has a Tamil majority but more Tamils live in the South than the North. Whatever he asks must be within the law of the land. The political views must not be based on the diaspora Tamils or the activists in Tamil Nadu. The Diaspora Tamils will never live there.

They are using the misery of Tamils in Sri Lanka to organise meetings, collect money, and create a name for themselves. Most of the diaspora Tamils never lived in the South before they came to the West. They never had anything to do with other communities in the South of Sri Lanka. They now live in 40 or more countries with various communities and learn the language of the country. But they do not want the Tamils in Sri Lanka to learn Sinhala or live with the others but they want to spilt the country over which they have no right.

Asking for police and land powers are not the immediate issues. People in the North must be resettled properly. The youth should be given educational opportunities. Wigneswaran must be seen as a leader of Sri Lankan national politics and not as a leader of nationalistic Tamil politics. Tamils in Sri Lanka have missed many chances to gain better political status, now they have got another chance which they must use wisely.

We hope that Wigneswaran, as the Chief Minister will work with many of his opponents, irrespective of differences, to bring peace and harmony to the Tamils in the North and all people in Sri Lanka.

The writer is a human rights campaigner in London