Navaratnaraja urges Tamils to shun confrontational politics

By Franklin R. Satyapalan

 UPFA candidate for the Eastern Provincial Council Dr. Thurairajah Navaratnaraja yesterday appealed to the Tamil people, of the Eastern Province, especially those in the Trincomalee district, not to be foolish and support the confrontational politics of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) as it would not be beneficial to the community in any form. It was only by voting for the UPFA and the Betel symbol could the Tamil people enjoy benefits and move forward positively towards solving their day to day problems through the Government, he said.

The former senior member of the TMVP and Eastern Provincial Minister of Agriculture, Livestock Development and Fisheries Dr Navaratnarajah, who crossed over to the SLFP at the invitation of SLFP Vice President Deputy Minister Vinayagamoorthy Muralidharan, was speaking to ‘The Island’ from the shores of Kadakaraichenai, in the Samphur area of Trincomalee, yesterday morning. He said "Look at how I have been able to make good use of my connections with the Government to speak to the Naval authorities and have fishing nets valued at over Rupees 1.5 million released from their custody. "I am yet to know as to why the Naval authorities had confiscated those nets belonging to eight poor fisher families after they had set out to sea from the Kadakaraichenai, Sampur area following the lifting of restrictions on fishing by the government recently," he said.

"I hope the people of Trincomalee who are the kith and kin of my parents, would place their trust in me and join hands with me and vote for the Betel leaf to get me elected, not for my personal benefit but for the benefit of the poor people. If the Tamil people place their trust in me and get me elected I would be able to speak to the government on their behalf to resolve many of their longstanding day to day livelihood problems and take action to resettle all the displaced people. One must not forget that today, as a result of President Mahinda Rajapaksa liberating the country from three decades of war in 2009, the people of the Eastern province have been able to enjoy the fruits of freedom and go about their business anywhere in the country without any fear or suspicion," he said.

The former Eastern Province Minister said that the Muslim people have been very wise to shun confrontational politics of the past and join hands to engage in conciliatory politics with the government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa for the betterment of their community and to find constructive solutions for many longstanding problems.

The TNA had placed obstacles in the path of the government, wanting to resettle the poor IDPs from Samphur, who are languishing in pathetic condition in IDP camps over the last several years, by filing action in Courts and thereby preventing the Hindu people from paying homage at the much revered ancient Kali Kovil in the area, Navaratnam said.

He said the Tamil should know that the TNA only aspired to keep the poor Tamil people, who had suffered immensely for decades as mere onlookers, with hands tied and mouth shut, whilst their fellow Muslim brethren enjoyed the benefits as a result of them practicing conciliatory politics and being partners of the government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

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