New Chief Minister of Northern Sri Lanka calls for army withdrawal

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JAFFNA, Sri Lanka, Oct. 25 -- The new Chief Minister of the Tamil-dominated Northern Province in Sri Lanka on Friday called for the withdrawal of the military from the area.

Speaking at the inaugural session of the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) in the Northern Jaffna town, C.V. Wigneswaran said that the army must be confined to its barracks in the post war environment.

The Northern parts of Sri Lanka have been battered by 30 years of war between the army and Tamil Tiger rebels in which thousands were killed.

The first Provincial Council elections held in the North last month saw Wigneswaran's Tamil National Alliance (TNA) sweeping to victory.

Wigneswaran said that he was overwhelmed by the support given to him and his party at the elections.

He called on the Tamil Diaspora to support the Tamils in the North to rebuild their lives and expressed hope of working closely with South India in future.

Wigneswaran said the mandate the Tamils in the North gave his party included working towards withdrawing the army from the area.

"Our people will not work in a way which makes it necessary for the army to remain in full strength in the North," he said.

The army has maintained that troops will need to continue to operate in the North as there is a threat of extremists supporting the cause of the Tamil Tiger rebels.

The rebels were defeated by the army in May 2009 but the government says rebel supporters are still fully active overseas.

Wigneswaran also said that powers should be devolved to the provinces, including police powers.

"We hope the government will work with us in addressing the aspirations of the people," he said.

He also assured that the new Council will work toward assisting Muslims evicted by the rebels from the North during the war.

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