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Chandrasekeran
renews alliance call to CWC
In a letter sent to Minister Thondaman, Leader of the Upcountry People's Front states that one of the reasons for the Upcountry People's Front not joining the Indian origin people's alliance at the last Provincial Council elections was because the party strongly felt that forming such an alliance to only win an election was not justifiable. ' We said forming an alliance for the future of the upcountry people should reach consensus on all aspects, such as political aspirations, long term political thinking and the strategies to achieve these visions' he states in the letter. He points out that the alliance disintegrated within a few months after the election, where as the Upcountry People's Front which had far seeing political views avoided being made a scapegoat for the collapse of the alliance. Dismissing Minister Thondaman's remarks that he came to Parliament only through the CWC, Mr. Chandrasekeran refers to the period where he left the CWC and contested the 1989 parliamentary elections and won more than 10,000 votes which was close to the number of votes received by the late S. Thondaman in the 1977 general election. 'Our power and membership has been increasing ever since, in every local government, Provincial Council and Parliamentary election. We have proved our people's power through elections from the time we left the CWC and founded the Upcountry People's Front. We are gaining more votes under our own party symbol independently without outside help' the letter states. Mr. Chandrasekeran points out how the CWC changed its stance when the J.R.Jayewardene Government came into power. 'The CWC which supported Tamil unity changed its stance by saying the North and East people's political problems were different from the upcountry people's problems and left the alliance to accept a ministerial post' he states. Dismissing remarks that the CWC resigned from the alliance as the upcountry people did not agree with the demand for a separate state made in 1976, Mr. Chandrasekeran states that Mr. Thondaman made this criticism only after Mr. J. R. Jayewardene formed a government after the 1977 election. However, extending an olive branch Mr. Chandrasekeran states that he does not want to continue such arguments with Minister Thondaman but instead both should forget the past and prepare to jointly face the future political challenges. |
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