Fear of the South unfounded
by Our Kilinochchi Correspondent- Wednesday, 14 Aug 2013
by Our Kilinochchi Correspondent- Wednesday, 14 Aug 2013
The Chief Ministerial candidate of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), C.V. Wigneswaran, dismissed the apprehension of the South over devolving police and land powers to the North, as baseless as these powers will not be used to create a separate State.
Addressing an election meeting in Kilinochchi on Sunday, he said the Indo-Lanka Accord cannot be invalidated unilaterally. "The Vienna Convention clearly states bilateral treaties that have gained international recognition cannot be simply invalidated without the overall consent of the signatories to the treaties. Therefore, either India or Sri Lanka cannot withdraw from the Indo-Lanka Accord, which led to the 13th Amendment, without the consent of the other," he said.
Wigneswaran also said fears expressed by the Southerners that after gaining police and land powers, the Northern Province will restart the separatist war, with India's support is meaningless. The 13th Amendment outlines that to devolve police powers, first of all a police commission should be appointed, and with the directives of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), a Deputy Inspector General of Police should be appointed for each province. Therefore, the Central Government will also have a say in devolving police powers," he said.
He said, "In 1994, when attempts were made to enhance devolution of powers to the North and East, the diehard attitude of the Tamil militants towards creating a separate State did not permit the political attempts to succeed. The struggle for the political rights of the Tamils first started in 1956. Thereafter, with the failure to find political solutions, the militant struggle emerged. The militant struggle that lasted for three decades internationalized the political struggle of the Lankan Tamils. Therefore, the third phase of the Tamil struggle will commence as a strong political attempt to win the rights of the Tamils in the country with the support of the international community," he said.
