Wiggie’s valour for unity

Tuesday, 8 October 2013 01:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

First ever Chief Minister of Northern Province igneswaran takes oaths before President
Sam, Suma, Northern Governor and host of Govt. Ministers present at swearing-in
Some TNA constituent parties boycott ceremony
New CM urges Sinhala people to prod politicians to address Tamil grievances

By Dharisha Bastians In what he claimed was a gesture to convey the TNA’s desire to settle differences within an united country, Sri Lanka’s first Northern Chief Minister Justice C.V. Wigneswaran took oaths before President Mahinda Rajapaksa last morning. “Let my simple symbolic act today pave the way for the unity of people of the two communities in our island,” the former Supreme Court Judge said soon after his swearing-in. Justice Wigneswaran took his oaths in Tamil before the President at Temple Trees at 9:30 a.m. Northern Province Governor G.A. Chandrasiri was also present at the ceremony. TNA Leader R. Sampanthan and the party’s National List Parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran were present at the oath-taking ceremony. Notable absentees were TNA General Secretary Marvai Senathirajah, EPRLF Leader Suresh Premachandran and TELO Chief Selvam Adaikalanathan, who were reported to have boycotted yesterday’s swearing in. Several Government Ministers including Maithripala Sirisena, Douglas Devananda, Rauff Hakeem, Vasudeva Nanayakkara, D.E.W. Gunasekera and Tissa Vitarana attended the ceremony. Chief Opposition Whip John Amaratunge and former North East Provincial Council Minister and ex-Ambassador Dayan Jayatilleka were also present. Issuing a statement after taking oaths, Chief Minister Wigneswaran said that the need of the hour was to remove the misunderstandings and doubts in the minds of various communities.

“It is as a part of such an exercise that we decided that I take oaths before the President of this country. We believe our decision would convey to our brethren our desire to settle our differences within a united Sri Lanka,” the new Chief Minister said. Wigneswaran called on the Sinhalese people to prod their political representatives to change the lives of the Tamil speaking people. “I expect my Sinhala brothers and sisters to impress upon their political representatives that internal self determination does not divide the country but facilitate a journey on the path of unity,” he said. “I sincerely ask the Sinhala people to realise that to the same extent the Sinhala people cherish and respect their language and culture, so do the Tamil speaking people cherish and respect their own language and their traditions. There is no place for violence in this realisation,” Chief Minister Wigneswaran said.