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Sri Lanka gets first Tamil Chief Minister
Highlights
Sri Lanka Gets First Tamil Chief Minister. CV Wigneswaran was on Monday sworn in as the first elected Tamil Chief Minister of Northern Province — the stronghold of the vanquished rebel LTTE — weeks after his party secured a landslide victory in the historic polls held after nearly three decades.
Colombo: CV Wigneswaran was on Monday sworn in as the first elected Tamil Chief Minister of Northern Province — the stronghold of the vanquished rebel LTTE — weeks after his party secured a landslide victory in the historic polls held after nearly three decades.
Wigneswaran, 73, took oath before President Mahinda Rajapakse at a function held at Temple Trees, the presidential house. The former Supreme Court judge was nominated as the chief minister following the landslide victory of the country’s main Tamil party, Tamil National Alliance (TNA), at the elections held on September 21.
On October 1, Northern Province Governor Major General (retired) GA Chandrasiri appointed Wigneswaran to the post. Prime Minister DM Jayaratne and cabinet colleagues, Governor Chandrasiri, TNA leader R Sampanthan and several parliamentarians attended the function.
Many Tamil National Alliance members and supporters of the newly-elected chief minister of the Tamil-dominated province were against him being sworn in before President Rajapakse.
India seeks devolution of powers in Tamil areas
Colombo: India on Monday sought meaningful devolution of powers by Sri Lanka and the early resumption of dialogue to facilitate “genuine reconciliation” in Tamil-inhabited areas of the country.
On his first visit here, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid raised the issue of reconciliation during his meeting with his Sri Lankan counterpart G.L. Peiris at the Ministry of External Affairs.
During a joint news conference with Peiris, he called for “meaningful devolution” of powers to provinces, including Tamil-inhabited areas in the north.
“India has been consistent in calling for an early political settlement and national reconciliation through meaningful devolution of powers, so to ensure that all citizens of Sri Lanka, including the Sri Lankan Tamil community, would lead a life marked by equality, justice, dignity and self-respect,” Khurshid said.
India hopes that the “vision and leadership that resulted in an end to armed conflict and holding of elections to the Northern Province will now be employed to work for genuine reconciliation,” he added.
Two agreements were signed in the presence of Peiris and Khurshid — one on the 500-MW Sampur Thermal Power Project and an MoU for technical assistance for a 10-year national plan for a trilingual Sri Lanka.
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