The Hindu : International : Ceylon Workers' Congress extends support to Rajapakse

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 28, 2005

International

International

Ceylon Workers' Congress extends support to Rajapakse

V.S. Sambandan

Senior party leader R. Yogarajan pointed out that over the years the CWC had supported earlier governments without compromising its independence

COLOMBO: The Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC) — a key minority party representing Plantation Tamils — will extend issue-based support to President Mahinda Rajapakse, its leader, Arumugan Thondaman said on Tuesday.

In an interview with The Hindu , Mr. Thondaman elaborated on his party's relationship with the new Government, his recent talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the expectations of the plantation Tamils from the Government.

"A new Government has just come into place. The CWC is open. We are not against the Government or for the Government. We will support anything which will not affect the minorities or the common people," Mr. Thondaman said.

Issue-based support

Asked about his party's relationship with the new Government, Mr. Thondaman said: "Some of the Government's partners think that the CWC is running behind [Ministerial] posts, but the CWC is not. As of now we have never asked anybody [that] we want a Ministry or we want anything like that. We will see how the working relationship works. To put the record straight, if there is nothing harmful for the minorities, it will be issue-by-issue [support.]"

Senior party leader, R. Yogarajan, pointed out that over the years the CWC had supported earlier governments without compromising its independence. For decades, the CWC has been a key player in Sri Lankan politics, and had in the past tilted the scales of power with its bloc of MPs.

It is currently not a part of the Government. Two of the eight CWC MPs in the 225-member Parliament, recently crossed over to the Government.

Mr. Arumugan Thondaman succeeded his grand-father, the late S. Thondaman, who passed away in 1999 and was subsequently elected as the party's leader. In the November 17 Parliamentary poll, the CWC backed the Opposition Leader and former Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, who lost the poll, but was overwhelmingly backed by the Plantation Tamils. A stream of post-Presidential election developments, including the withdrawal of Mr. Thondaman's personal security, resulted in a meeting between the CWC and the LTTE recently.

One outcome of the meeting was the announcement of the need for a common platform for the minorities.

"Address cause of violence"

Elaborating on his meeting with the LTTE, Mr. Thondaman said: "Our party met [the LTTE] because a new government is in place. We wanted to know their views and always there has been the view that minorities should have a collective role, which we discussed."

Asked about apprehension over onset of violence in the plantation sector, the CWC leader said: "Violence comes only when you deprive people or when you push them to a corner. So as long as those two things are not there I don't think violence will come."

The Plantation Tamils "expect their living standard to go up equal to those of other societies in this country."

The areas which require attention include education and the health sector.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International