The Chief Minister of Sri Lanka's Tamil majority Northern Province, C.V. Wigneswaran, touched on a new political controversy when he said in Jaffna on Monday, that he does not favour Sinhalese-Tamil marriages before the Tamils get equal rights in the country.
A report in the New Indian Express quoted Wigneswaran as responding to Provincial Governor Reginold Cooray's suggestion at the 9 th National Scouts Jamboree, that Sinhalese-Tamil marriages be encouraged to bring about national reconciliation.
The Governor was only reflecting on a general Sinhalese view that ethnic admixture will obliterate the Sinhalese-Tamil ethnic division, and there will be no basis for the Tamils' seeking a separate ethnic enclave in the North and East of the island.
Wigneswaran did acknowledge that his sons are married to Sinhalese, but insisted that such marriages should not be encouraged until the minority Tamils attain parity with the majority Tamils in terms of rights, the report claimed.
The report said many in the audience wondered if Wigneswaran has one set of norms for his family and quite another for others, and thought that it was in bad taste to make such an uncharitable remark in a public function in which Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena was the Chief Guest.
The funeral of arguably the Queen of the Sinhala cinema Malini Fonseka, will be held with state honours on Monday, May 26, 2025, at the Independence Square.
The NPP government has been at the wheel for almost 6 months now. The time to keep looking at the rear view mirror and living in the past is about over.
Leave Comments