16.5.2008
Photo by: Sudath Silva

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Mr. Sivanesaturai Chandrakanthan swearing as Chief Minister for Eastern Province before President Mahinda Rajapaksa at President's office on 16th evening.

His Excellency the President of Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Hon Mahinda Rajapaksa today (May 16) appointed Sivanesaturai Chandrakanthan as the first ever Chief Minister to the Eastern Provincial Council.

Chief Minister Chandrakanthan, who is also the deputy leader of Tamila Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP), won the most number of preferential votes at the recently held Provincial Council election in East.

The TMVP contested for the election under the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) which secured the majority in the provincial council. During his election campaigns Chief Minister Chandrakanthan had highlighted that it was the Tamil people that suffered most due to decades old terror war and hence it would be certainly favourable for them to have a Tamil Chief Minister who understand their problems better. He also, requested social acceptance and support for his party to remain in mainstream politics, which they had resorted in good faith renouncing terrorism.

The TVMP was formed as a political party by the group of LTTE cadres who had broken away from the main outfit with Karuna Amman, the former eastern military leader of the terror outfit. Since then the party members have been fighting for survival against violence unleashed upon them by the LTTE terrorists as well as the hateful propaganda campaigns engineered by pro terror NGO activists.

However, many political observers are in the view that the faith placed on the democracy by these new politicians who had once been members of a ruthless terror outfit, is itself a great achievement for the Sri Lanka Nation.