26 September 2016 04:04 pm
He accused the Chief Minister of misusing his letterhead and deploying employees and vehicles of the Council in the demonstration held on Saturday in Jaffna urging a federal solution to the national question among several other demands.
The demonstrators demanded an end to militarization and Sinhala colonization in the so-called Tamil homelands.
Mr. Gammanpila told a news conference held at the Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) office that for the first time, a Tamil separatist demonstration was held in the country with the backing of the State.
“We are awaiting the arrest of Mr. Wigneswaran by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) and hope he will be remanded without bail,” he said.
Mr. Gammanpila said that it was a constitutional right of the people to settle in any part of Sri Lanka and it was unfortunate that Mr. Wigneswaran, a former Supreme Court Judge had forgotten this fact.
“The Sinhala population in Colombo was 51 per cent in 1981 but today it is 28 per cent. Tamils and Muslims who were forced to leave the North because of the war, settled down in Colombo. No one, not even those recognized as Sinhalese extremists urged the Tamils or Muslims to leave. Sinhalese who left the North during the war should be given the opportunity to resettle there,” he said.
Mr. Gammanpila accused the government of encouraging the Chief Minister and said the President and the Prime Minister should take the responsibility if any ‘Sinhala Wigneswarans’ were born in the future. (Lahiru Pothmulla)
Video by RM