Collaborationist sections of TNA lose significance, Wigneswaran holds key to unified Tamil polity

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 July 2018, 18:20 GMT]
The policy outlook adopted by the US-led bandwagonism of the West and that of India is tightly in sync with each other. Their modus operandi is nothing else than pure appeasement of the accelerating Sinhala-Buddhist chauvinism in the South. They would be prepared to sacrifice the democratic aspirations of Eezham Tamils as their manoeuvrings are aimed at gaining strategic access to this island. However, they find themselves in a delicate situation today as they could no longer dictate the terms of Tamil political debate through the collaborationist sections of the TNA, says Political Analyst S.A. Jothilingam in an exclusive interview to TamilNet on Friday. Thanks to the role played by Justice C.V. Wigneswaran, the mainstream discourse is getting shaped to the point that it is now practically possible to forge a unified Tamil polity for Tamils once again, he says.



The USA and India seem to have advised the collaborationists among the TNA, R. Sampanthan and M.A. Sumanthiran, to stand with C.V. Wigneswaran, he observed.

At the same time, Colombo's agents are continuously challenging the authority of NPC Chief Minister Justice C.V. Wigneswaran.

The recent legal controversy surrounding the SL Court of Appeal order offering interim relief to a former provincial minister who was sacked by the NPC CM should be seen against this backdrop, the senior analyst told TamilNet.

Mr Jothilingam's remarks indirectly imply that mysterious workings are underway to bring Justice C.V. Wigneswaran under the fold of the powers.

However, Justice Wigneswaran is not yielding the pressure from the unitary State mechanism in Colombo, and he sticks to the mainstream fundamentals of the Tamil cause, Jothilingam observes.

As far as the Tamils are concerned, the Provincial Council is not synonymous to the political solution. It is not even close to a political solution.

However, to the powers, especially India, the Provincial Council system is the ultimate political solution, Jothlingam says.

Besides, the powers seem to limit the scope of the national question of Tamils as a conflict between the NPC and the unitary State.

India also views the existence of the PC system as a holding point for the continued validity of the 1987 Indo-Lanka accord, he says.

As the powers have no interest in supporting the fundamentals of the Tamils, they also have no interest in pushing for the merger of the North-East.

The Eastern Provincial Council is comprised of all the three communities. Even though one could ignore the significance of the EPC, the importance of the NPC could not be overlooked, especially when it articulates the Tamil opinion despite its limitations of power and ability to represent the Tamil aspirations.

The significance of the NPC could also be seen in the attitude of the [Western] diplomats who visit the North. They used to pay a courtesy call to the NPC Chief Minister before proceeding with their activities in the North.

Therefore, the NPC has gained some significance under Justice C.V. Wigneswaran, as a tool to [temporarily] checkmate the agenda of those opposed to the mainstream Tamil interests, Jothilingam says. It is akin to the trend in India where the State governments are seen checkmating the central government.

Jothilingam was citing the stance taken by the NPC CM with regards to Ammaachchi cultural food court, NPC flag issue and the position taken by the NPC CM in confronting the Sinhalicisation of North.

As the trends in South are also pointing in favour of Mahinda Rajapaksa, previously known for his leniency towards China, the West and India may interpret a strong NPC as being beneficial to their manoeuvrings in case Rajapaksa retakes a China turn, Jothilingam opines.

The conflict between the deviating sections of the TNA and Justice Wigneswaran widened when Sampanthan and Sumanthiran deviated from the electoral manifesto of the TNA itself.

As long as Justice Wigneswaran remains committed to the fundamentals of the Tamil cause, there is a hope of forging a unified principles-oriented united polity for Eezham Tamils.

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