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.

Sri Lanka’s president Mahinda Rajapakse has asserted that the government will not bow down to foreign pressure or local conspirators.

Speaking at the 62nd anniversary of his party in front of a huge crowd in Kurunegala, Rajapakse requested all people to unite against foreign interference in the country, according to ColomboPage.

A human rights group, Centre for Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (CPPHR)  working in the North-East accused the Sri Lankan police of harassing them after their meeting with United Nations Human Rights Chief, Navi Pillay, last week.

Speaking at a ceremony held in a recently reconstructed church that was damaged by the 2004 Tsunami, Mahinda Rajapaksa reiterated that his government was committed to protect the rights of all religions.

"Theravada Buddhism is a form of Buddhism that takes as its authority of set of texts written in Paali, which go back many many centuries to two millennia. This is the kind of Buddhism that is followed by Buddhists in Sri Lanka, South East, Thailand, Cambodia and Lao.

Mahayana Buddhism which is the other main stream of Buddhism, to simplify things, is the kind of Buddhism followed in Tibet and China. They have scriptures that correspond in some way to the Pali cannon but they also have additional texts that they take as authoritative."

"There are texts that have been used in recent years to justify violence."

"For example there are texts, the Buddha once spoke with a mercenary. The mercenary asked the Buddha for example, 'Look I'm not an aahat [enlightened being], I'm not enlightened, what I'm doing though is my job, will I have repurcussions for it?' And the Buddha said 'yes, you'll have repurcussions for it. Not for the act of killing, but for holding debase thoughts and bad intentions whilst doing the killing'.

This text has been used sometimes, by for example by Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka right now, by Buddhist monks in Thailand, to give sermons to soldiers to cool their minds, in order for them to clear thoughts whilst doing the killing."

Addressing press in Colombo at the end of her seven day visit to Sri Lanka and the North-East, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay said,

"I am deeply concerned that Sri Lanka, despite the opportunity provided by the end of the war to construct a new vibrant, all-embracing state, is showing signs of heading in an increasingly authoritarian direction,"

"It is important everyone realizes that, although the fighting is over, the suffering is not."

"The LTTE sympathiser networks have been in this business for a long time. It was their big money-raiser. They are still doing it today. I don't know whether the money they make goes to the LTTE today or to propaganda efforts.