(SLB) Northern province chief minister Wigneswaran wanted to discouraged mixed marriages between Sinhalese and Tamils until the minority Tamils attain parity with the majority Sinhalese in terms of rights.
His two sons are remarried to Sinhalese upper class women. Mix marriages among the upper class of Sri Lanka has been in practice for a generations.
Wigneswaran was responding to Provincial Governor Reginold Cooray’s suggestion at the 9th National Scouts Jamboree, that Sinhalese-Tamil marriages be encouraged to bring about national reconciliation, reports New Indian Express.
Many in the audience wondered if Wigneswaran has one set of norms for his family and quite another for others, and thought that it was in bad taste to make such an uncharitable remark in a public function in which Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena was the Chief Guest, says the New Indian Express.
The Tamil daily “Thinakkural” as picked up the comment by the CM and has endorsed his position. An editorial in the newspaper on Wednesday, that the Tamils should be wary of inter- marriages in the post war situation because given the presence of troops of a victorious army composed of another ethnic group,only the down trodden sections of the host community will be trapped into such marriages, as history shows.
( With the inputs form New Indian Express)