Global Tamil Forum gets state welcome in South Africa
The state welcome received by the spokesperson of the Global Tamil Forum, Sruen Surenthiran in South Africa when he visited for the funeral of South African Minister for Public Administration, Radakrishnan (Roy) Padayatchie on the 5th, is a victory achieved by the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora, political analysts say.
Wednesday, 16 May 2012
The state welcome received by the spokesperson of the Global Tamil Forum, Sruen Surenthiran in South Africa when he visited for the funeral of South African Minister for Public Administration, Radakrishnan (Roy) Padayatchie on the 5th, is a victory achieved by the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora, political analysts say.
Suren Surenthiran is also the head of the powerful British Forum.
In his speech at the funeral, the South African President said Padayatchie’s sudden death was a great loss to South Africa and the African National Congress.
A South African with Tamil origins, Padayatchie (Roy) has practically stood for equal rights for Tamils in Sri Lanka.
It is the Global Tamil Forum that received an invitation to make a speech at the funeral as the only outside political movement.
It is also reported that the South African President had embraced Surenthiran, which is usually shared between two heads of state.
Political sources who attended the funeral said the Tamil Diaspora was building a strong link with South Africa, which is the power base in Africa.
