Wimal Weerawansa accuses Canadian Tamil Congress of racist, separatist demands

Colombo, November 18 (Daily Mirror) - National Freedom Front (NFF) leader and former Parliamentarian Wimal Weerawansa today claimed that organizations like the Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC) have come forward to demand racist, religious and separatist demands.

While addressing the media, he said that he believes that the extraordinary votes received in the North is not only a vote against racism but also a vote against separatism.

"By electing the National People's Power (NPP), which includes the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), instead of the pro-separatist Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the Tamil people in those areas have demonstrated their rejection of both racism and separatism,” he said.

"Therefore, rather than catering to organisations like the Canadian Tamil Organizations, the mandate of this government is to fulfill the aspirations of all Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims equally within a unified state," Weerawansa said.

The current administration in Sri Lanka has rejected elite politics, leading to the transfer of power to a non-elite political camp, he added.  

"We are prepared to view this development positively and are observing closely. If the government steers the country in the right direction—without pandering to external influences such as India, America or diaspora interests—and embarks on a journey to fairly address the aspirations of all communities, including the Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims, then we will support it with optimism," he said.

“If not, we will not hesitate to rally the people against it,” Weerawansa said.