The recent appointment of retired Supreme Court Judge, C.V Wigneswaran, as the Tamil National Alliance's Chief Ministerial candidate for the Northern Provincial Council election, has been widely welcomed by many within the Tamil nation, the Sinhala nation and the international community. Even those that argue the Northern Provincial Council or the 13^th Amendment is futile – as it will not be able to halt the Sinhala colonisation or land grab under way present, let alone tangibly contribute towards the Tamil nation's demand for accountability, justice and the right to self-determination – are supportive of the TNA's decision to field a candidate of Wigneswaran's calibre. However in the weeks that have passed, what was almost unanimous support, is now a slightly apprehensive one. In amongst an array of contentious remarks, Wigneswaran's comments regarding the diaspora and its role within the long-standing conflict and Tamil struggle against oppression, are cause for concern.

Endorsing the labelling of the diaspora as “inflexible and dogmatic” in an interview, Wigneswaran recently commented,

"They [diaspora] would like me also to take up their cause and the rest of it. These don't concern me whether it is self-determination, separation, this or that This is a long term plan. I am talking about short term plans.."

"My point is, look, you keep your views to yourself. So let me do a service to the people that are suffering. So let me do my work. You go on talking what you want to talk. I am not concerned."

Such views, emblematic of his recent comments regarding the diaspora, made in his capacity within the TNA, are deeply troubling. Not only does it seek to alienate the diaspora from Tamils in the North-East as 'disconnected' and thereby ignorant, but by telling the diaspora to "keep your views to yourselves" and labelling their work as "their own cause," the TNA effectively disembodies the diaspora from their family and the Eelam Tamil nation.

A 'nation' refers to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent and history. Crucially, a nation is not limited by a territorial boundary, which underlines the distinction between Tamils in the North-East and in the diaspora. This distinction is in itself, woefully arbitrary. It is a blanket, deeply stereotyped term, used to label both the person that left the North-East during the massacre of 2009, the unemployed graduate who left in the 70's, and the student who seeks better educational opportunities abroad. The Eelam Tamil diaspora, through educational discrimination, economic subjugation, or outright oppression, genocide and war, was formed as direct result of decades of Sinhala oppression. Despite all the talk of 'peace', the diaspora is still growing to this day, as Tamils continue to flee and seek asylum around the world. Indeed there has been a relentless stream of people escaping the island's stifling oppression for many decades, with significant spikes in the exodus during times of pogroms or armed conflict. The ardent claim of 'disconnect' becomes increasingly hard to identify. Geographical lines by which actors wish to establish the validity of people’s grievances and connection to the oppression in the North-East are thus blurred by the growing dynamic nature of the diaspora.

The diaspora’s strident calls for accountability and justice are fuelled directly by the grievances that the people face in the North-East. Its views on accountability and a political solution to end the oppression of the nation cannot be considered as an alien voice. First and foremost, the familial relations between homeland and diaspora are tightly entwined and despite decades of conflict and displacement, ever enduring. The victims and loved ones of those disappeared, tortured, raped or murdered within the island, and those that seek justice for themselves and their immediate loved ones, are not bound by the Sri Lanka’s boundaries. However, over and beyond personal loss, as the mass protests in 2009 and on-going activism of those within diaspora illustrates, the trauma caused by the prolonged ethnic cleansing and destruction of the nation stains its collective psyche. The entire nation was affected by what took place at the end of the armed conflict. Moreover, what took place in 2009 stains the world conscience, quite apart from familial or ethnic ties. To call for accountability and justice in such an instance, needs no qualifier.

Nothing so surely undermines Wigneswaran and the TNA’s own assertions about the diaspora’s “disconnect” and their attempts to confine its role as to that of a cash cow, than the TNA’s recent diaspora tour in the run up to the Northern Provincial Council election. Beyond the obvious expectation of financial support, the TNA called on the diaspora to encourage their families in the homeland to go out and vote when they next speak to them on the telephone. It is ironic that the very party that seeks to claim a superior understanding of ground realities of those in the North-East and dismisses the diaspora as ‘disconnected’, rallies the diaspora to canvas its electorate. It is becoming increasingly apparent that flippant dismissals of the diaspora’s relevance and voice, whilst shamelessly garnering their endorsement of the party, are merely attempts by the TNA to discredit any differences of opinion, and undermine calls from the diaspora for greater transparency and accountability in the TNA’s electioneering. The TNA’s criticism of dissenting diaspora views is however short-sighted. If certain diaspora voices are disenfranchised now, because the TNA finds them troublesome, the Tamil nation undermines one of its key voices - one that is free from the ethnic oppression that takes place within the island.

The negation of the diaspora most tangibly impacts on the social and economic resources available in the overall redevelopment of the nation and the North-East. The involvement of the diaspora in the development of the North-East has been persistent: from sending money back home to individual family members, to going back and building capacity in their former schools, hospitals and villages. During the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami, the diaspora’s investment provided the overwhelming source of development, as the Sri Lankan government diverted international aid disproportionately to the Sinhala areas. It is particularly dismaying that at a time when the TNA should be calling on the government to halt restrictions that impede the diaspora’s ability to freely invest into the North-East directly, the TNA’s comments (via Wigneswaran) are heading towards greater disempowerment.

A constructive example of effectively incorporating a diaspora’s potential is the Pan-African Parliamentary diaspora summit that was held last in 2012, where global parliamentarians, who are considered representatives of the diaspora and the people in Africa, were able to engage in the parliamentary dimension of African Union matters. When the African Union was first formed, members of the African diaspora were invited to participate fully in the building of the African Union, eventually being considered as the 6th region of the Union. The space given to the diaspora voice - as one of equal legitimacy, but by no means interchangeable or superior to voices on the ground -  allowed the African Union to effectively utilise and incorporate the diaspora’s political, social, intellectual economic skills and resources into the positive development of the African regions. Crucially, it was not without initial resistance. In fact, many on the ground initially scorned the diaspora’s right to have a voice for itself within the body. Nonetheless as time as passed, the Pan-African Parliamentary diaspora summit is a telling outcome of the African Union's initial incorporation of the diaspora and its progress.

As the Tamil nation continues its struggle for self-determination, the TNA’s attempts to disregard the diaspora’s place in the nation are not only false, but counterproductive and an underutilisation of the nation’s resources. Disturbingly, the TNA’s allegations of ‘disconnect’ and its attempts to draw a distinction between the ‘cause’ of Tamils in the diaspora and that of Tamils in the North-East, echoes the Sri Lankan government’s attacks on the diaspora. The voices within a nation are diverse and different, and a testament to the myriad of experiences that form them. Whilst territorial boundaries and geographical location greatly influence these experiences, they do not define what is and is not a legitimate voice, particularly on issues that affect the entire nation's call for political rights, accountability and justice.