For the first time after the exit of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) from the Sri Lankan Tamil political scene in May 2009, Jaffna district politics is witnessing a clash between moderates and radicals on the ethnic issue, The New Indian Express said.

The clash could reach a high point if the Central Committee of the moderate Tamil National Alliance (TNA) entertains a discussion on the recent anti-party activities of the increasingly radical Northern Province Chief Minister C V Wigneswaran, the report further stated.

The New Indian Express further said that during the August 17 parliamentary elections, Wigneswaran had indirectly asked Tamils to vote for the radical Tamil National Peoples’ Front (TNPF), instead of his own party, the TNA.

However, during the election period. TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran explained Wigneswaran's decision as a result of the preferential voting system. Speaking to Asian Mirror, he said that Wigneswaran remains in the TNA and pulled out of the campaign since he did not want to be involved in individual competitions for preferential votes.

Political observers are surprised that the TNA is facing such a challenge after convincingly winning five out of the seven seats in the Tamil heartland of Jaffna, and after being named the official opposition in the Lankan parliament.

However, this shows the division between the moderates and the radicals which had always been an underlying issue within the TNA.

While the internal challengers are the defeated candidates with a radical past, and of course Wigneswaran, the external challengers are the Tamil National Peoples’ Front (TNPF), Tamil civil society, the pro-LTTE Tamil diaspora and the Tamil media.

The radicals want an international probe into the war crimes charges plus an international judicial tribunal. The moderates say that an international probe has already been conducted and that its report will be placed before the UNHRC on September 30. What the Tamils should demand now is an international court to try those indicted in the report, the moderates suggest. The radicals point out that the so-called international “probe” report is not based on field visits.

(With inputs from The New Indian Express)