COLOMBO: Leader of the break-away LTTE faction, Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan was sworn in on Friday as the Chief Minister of the newly constituted Sri Lanka’s Eastern Provincial Council (EPC) before President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The militant group turned political party, Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP), contested the first-ever election held on May 10 in alliance with the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) securing 20 of the 37 seats.
The naming of the Chief Minister was delayed as there was a tussle for the job between TMVP leader and M.L.A. M. Hizbullah, a former leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) who defected to the ruling side on the eve of the election.
Mr. Rajapaksa intervened in favour of Mr. Pillayan much to the annoyance of Mr. Hizbullah. Just before Mr. Pillyan was sworn in, Mr. Hizbullah announced that he along with two other members in the ruling alliance would not back his candidature. Managers in the Rajapaksa government appeared to have tilted in favour of the break-away LTTE faction in the hope that it would send a positive signal to the Tamil community in the east as well as north and the international community.
Sources said that efforts were on to placate the unhappy Muslim members of the EPC who strongly favoured a candidate from their community for the top post. Indications are that Muslims would get the post of the Chairman of the EPC as well as bulk of the ministerial portfolios.
It is indeed a meteoric rise for the former militant turned politician, Pillayan. The revolt against the LTTE in 2004 was led by ‘Col’ Karuna, commander of the Tigers in the East. He continued to lead the party till his leadership was challenged by Mr. Pillayan in mid-2007.
Till the rift surfaced in the rebel faction, Mr. Pillayan was an unknown entity. The situation turned so unfavourable to ‘Col’ Karuna that he fled to London apparently using a forged diplomatic passport. He was arrested there and sentenced to jail.
Ironically, earlier this week ‘Col’ Karuna completed his jail sentence and is expected to be deported back to Sri Lanka. There is speculation that ‘Col’ Karuna has sought political asylum in U.K. Since ‘Col’ Karuna has been away, Mr. Pillayan has been maintaining that the TMVP leader has gone abroad for “personal reasons” and he was holding temporary charge.
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