Northern leaders condemn threatening statement by AKD
Several Northern leaders, including Minister Douglas Devananda, former Chief Minister of the Northern Province C.V. Vigneswaran, former Member of Parliament M. Chandrakumar and Sate Minister Kader Masthan yesterday condemned a statement by NPP Presidential Candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake which implied that the people of Jaffna could be seen as opposing change if they do not align with the South.
The EPDP leader, Minister Douglas Devananda said that Anura Kumara Dissanayaka came to the North and made statements that incite racism and that Sumanthiran has expressed his opinion about those statements in his usual manner.
He said that since EPDP is a party dedicated to building national unity instead of racism his party does not approve the statements made by the NPP leader.
Speaking to journalists in Jaffna, the Minister said that the speech made by Dissanayake as the Presidential Candidate of the NPP inciting racism while mentioning a division in the North and South cannot be justified.
C.V. Vigneswaran said the NPP has no good intentions towards the Tamil-speaking people of the North and East. “They worked together for the North–East partition. Because of this, they are angry with the Tamil people. The expression of this anger came out through a comment made by the NPP Presidential Candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake in Jaffna.
Vigneswaran also said Dissanayake had failed to give a reasonable reply when he was asked several times in Parliament about his intentions with regards to the North and East Tamil issue.
“They are not going to offer a solution. We cannot expect a solution from them regarding the Tamil issue,” he said.
Former Member of Parliament M. Chandrakumar, commenting on the provocative speech delivered by Anura Kumara Dissanayake, questioned whether Dissanayake was thinking that the Tamil people were fools.
“They cannot get the Tamil people’s vote by threatening them,” he added.
State Minister Kader Masthan meanwhile said the statement by Dissanayake is not acceptable and people will give a proper reply to it on September 21.
He said that nothing can be gained by levelling threats and this would only lead to an erosion of public trust against people who make such comments.
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