APRC was merely a farce presented to the international community in order to continue the war...!!!

Two CWC stalwarts cross over to UNP

By Dianne Silva and Ushama Roshan

Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) National Organizer R. Yogarajan and Deputy Education Minister M. Satchithananthan joined the United National Party yesterday, creating a rift in the former party.

“We have decided to leave the Ceylon Workers Congress and join the United National Party which is allied to the United Democratic Front. In the past months we have seen that the people are not with this Government, as evidenced by the results of the past Provincial Council elections,” Mr. Yogarajan said.

He reiterated that the estate Tamil community was no longer with the CWC.

“We failed to gain even once seat in the Western Province or the Sabaragamuwa Province. This shows that the people have rejected our alliance with the Government,” he said.

Mr. Yogarajan gave as his reason for leaving the party the inability of the CWC to stand up for the interests of the people of Indian origin and the upcountry Tamils. “When I said that we needed to go to court on a Bill related to the Provincial Councils the party paid no attention to it. However the UNP and the SLMC went to court and the Bill was never passed. Representation is a fundamental right of the people and if the party is not willing to fight for it then that party is not representing the rights of its people,” he said.

The two former members of the CWC also expressed their doubt of the Government’s commitment towards devolution of power.

“I was part of the All Party Representative Committee and we met 128 times and came up with a document. This document has been shelved. This showed that the Government has no desire to give the people of the North and East a political solution,” Mr. Yogarajah said.

Later, in response to a journalist’s question he said the APRC was merely a farce presented to the international community in order to continue the war.

Mr. Yogarajah further stated that apparatus, including the 13th Amendment, which could be used to empower the minorities, were being sidelined.

“The Ministry of Estate Infrastructure was reduced and then integrated to the Ministry of Nation Building thereby reducing its importance. The Ministries for Hindu Cultural Affairs, Christian Affairs and Muslim Affairs are gone,” he said.

The two prominent CWC members also expressed optimism that the decision taken by them would also influence the judgment of the Tamil National Alliance in the coming weeks.

The former National Organiser of the CWC insinuated that more persons were likely to cross over in the coming weeks. “It is a known secret among political circles that the Eastern Province Chief Minister Pillayan is not very happy with the Government,” Mr. Yogarajah said.

Mr. Yogarajah addressed the doubts being propagated in the media about his loyalties. “Recently Sirasa TV showed me at an event with Mangala Samaraweera and later at an event in support of the Government, thus questioning my loyalties. The truth is I was at the first event because of my conscience and the second due to my loyalty to the party. However today my conscience has overridden my loyalty,” he said. Education Deputy Minister M. Satchithananthan handed in his resignation from his portfolio yesterday.


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