Wigneswaran Calls Tamils to Join Mass Protest in Jaffna Tomorrow

Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran has urged Tamil people to participate in a demonstration scheduled in Jaffna tomorrow, to oppose the systematic settlement of Sinhalese people in the Tamil dominated region and the erection of Buddhist statues in an area devoid of Buddhist devotees.

The Tamil People’s Council (TPC) led by Chief Minister Wigneswaran is leading the ‘Ezhuga Tamil’ (Let Tamils Rise!) demonstration, which has also garnered the support of the EPRLF and PLOTE – both constituent members of the Tamil National Alliance – and the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) led by Gajen Ponnambalam. EPDP Leader Douglas Devananda is also leading support for the rally.

“Tamil speaking brothers and sisters, I urge you to participate in the Ezhuga Tamil demonstration,” a letter by Chief Minister Wigneswaran that was published on Wednesday said.

The group is hoping to muster large crowds in Jaffna tomorrow to protest against attempts to change the ethnic composition of the Northern Province and subsume the Tamil cultural identity in the majority Tamil region, among a list of other demands.

ITAK – the largest constituent party in the TNA – and TELO are not participating in the demonstration. TNA Spokesman and Jaffna District MP M.A. Sumanthiran, who is a member of ITAK, said the party was not opposing the demonstration but only urging people to consider the timing of the controversial event.