COLOMBO: Prior permission of the Sri
Lankan government and the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) will be
necessary for any meeting between the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa
and C.V.Wigneswaran Chief Minister of Sri Lanka's Tamil-majority Northern
Province, officials sources told Express here on Monday.
At the
outset, like other Ministers, Wigneswaran will have to get the sanction of Sri
Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena before he goes overseas. He also has to
make a written request for a meeting with the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister to the
Indian High Commission in Colombo, which will in turn pass it on to the MEA in
New Delhi along with its recommendation.
The MEA will, in turn, contact the
Tamil Nadu government for its views on the request. The TN government's reply
will be sent back to Wigneswaran using the same official route.
When the
meeting does take place, an official of the MEA will be present. The official
could either be from the MEA's office at Chennai or somebody from New Delhi,
designated by the MEA.
Official
sources said that protocol does not allow private meetings and any meeting that
takes place will have to be official, arranged through the proper channel.
In his
congratulatory message sent to the freshly elected Tamil Nadu Chief Minister,
Wigneswaran had expressed a wish to have a meeting with her and Ms.
Jayalalithaa had said that a meeting could take place at a mutually convenient
time.
Request From Indian Origin Tamils
The Indian
High Commission is already processing an application for a meeting with
Jayalalithaa from the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA), a political party of
Indian-Origin Tamils led by Mano Ganeshan, Lankan Cabinet Minister of National
Dialogue.
The MEA is
expected to push TPA's case because the Indian Origin Tamils in Sri Lanka are
of particular interest to India. However, it remains to be seen if Jayalalithaa
will give the TPA an appointment.
Tamil National Alliance
Although the
Northern Provincial Council (NPC), dominated by the Tamil National Alliance
(TNA), unanimously passed a resolution on May 26 congratulating Jayalalithaa,
the TNA's leadership has not asked for a meeting with her.
On May 29,
the TNA chief and Leader of the Opposition in the Lankan parliament,
R.Sampanthan, had sent a congratulatory letter to DMK leader M.Karunanidhi on
his and the DMK's performance in the Tamil Nadu assembly elections.
"The
fact that you are elected for the 13 th. time to the Legislative Assembly is
not an ordinary achievement. It is something which needs to be appreciated by
everyone. Even though you are not able to get the required number of seats to
capture power, you have got the status of a strong opposition party in Tamil
Nadu. We seek your constructive participation for getting a fair and permanent
solution to the Tamil people's problem in Sri Lanka," Sampanthan said.
JHU's Opposition
Meanwhile,
Sri Lankan cabinet minister and Jathika Hela Urumaya leader Champika Ranawaka
has opposed Wigneswaran's bid to discuss the Lankan Tamil problem with the
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister saying that the matter should be resolved locally.
Source: Newshunt
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