Chennai: Chief minister C. V. Wigneswaran of the northern province in Sri Lanka will be here on November 9 to deliver a lecture on ‘safeguarding security and sovereignty’ at an event hosted by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) to commemorate legendary civil rights lawyer K. G. Kannabiran.
It may be Mr Wigneswaran’s maiden visit to India since taking the hot reins of administration of the post-war Tamil province last year, unless he gets appointment for the much-awaited meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi before the PM leaves on his three-nation tour on November 11.
PUCL national general secretary V. Suresh recalled that the late Kannabiran was a towering legal personality and a human rights activist, who was responsible for the development of human rights jurisprudence and strengthening the democratic content of the Constitution.
He was also a fearless crusader against police impunity and it was because of his tireless efforts that the Supreme Court recently gave a landmark judgment in the PUCL case on encounters.
“We felt that Justice Wigneswaran combines a similar brilliance of constitutional vision with a very pragmatic understanding of the interactions between constitutionalism, democracy, governance, accountability and rule of law in diverse societies like Sri Lanka and other South Asian countries.
He also has a refreshingly fresh approach towards democratic politics and the rights of minorities and citizens in post-war society”, Suresh told DC explaining why PUCL chose the former judge of the SL Supreme Court for the honour.
It is widely expected that Mr Wigneswaran would get to meet Prime Minister Modi on this Indian trip though the PMO is yet to finalise the date.
A delegation of the Tamil Nationa Alliance, which is in power in the northern province, had met the PM in New Delhi in August, when it was said that Mr Modi expressed interest to meet their chief minister. Such a meeting would hugely lift the morale of the Tamils, bruised in the May 2009 battle debacle, but could also cause a fresh wave of anti-India rhetoric in Colombo.
The TNA has been asking India to get Colombo implement the 13th Amendment. besides reduce the militarisation of the north and ensure that the Tamil lands are not gobbled up by military and Sinhala settlers.
