The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) the minority political party with most number of seats in parliament, is ready to support on matters beneficial to people the new government of the President, who received 52.25% of the votes, who following the teachings of Lord Buddha, has said was ready to work with all communities including the Muslims and the Tamil. Earlier TNA supported the candidate who received 41.99% of the votes at the November 16 presidential election, who believes in Buddhist Dharma, tipped to be the next Leader of Opposition; promised to give maximum devolution within a unitary country and resolve issues of all minorities. It clears the way for TNA to resolve the ethnic related issues once and for all; with that thought in mind TNA spokesman has invited other political parties of Tamil speaking people to work with them in unity during the next four months in parliament, before facing the General Election due in 2020.
With more than half the country’s Sri Lankan Tamil speaking communities living outside North and East Provinces of the country, to call the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) elected only by the people of North and East provinces as the ‘sole representatives of the Tamil speaking communities’ would be a contradiction. Yet as TNA holds the largest number of seats in parliament of the Tamil speaking people to sustain this role and to meet its obligations to the Tamil speaking people, has called all other political parties representing the Tamil speaking communities to join force with them to get resolutions of issues faced by their communities. The alliance is prepared to leave behind all differences and has invited others to come together to work as a team, to enable all political parties representing the Tamil speaking minority communities in the country to come up with a realistic course of action in parliament. Such a common course of action by TNA would help the government to produce a constitution acceptable to all the Sri Lankan Tamil speaking communities.
With full implementation of the devolution already granted under the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord, plus necessary changes for the removal of concurrent list; and formation of the second chamber to ensure safeguarding the interests of the minorities in all provinces under a smooth majority rule at the center. Thereafter the same team of Tamil speaking legislators should aim to visit all provinces to win over the support of the Sinhala people for their legislators to help pass with two third majority the new constitution in parliament. Thereafter go countrywide to meet the Sinhala voters again to explain the need to get a ‘yes’ vote automatically in a referendum for the revised constitution probably in 2020.
Sri Lankan Tamils in the North and East Provinces in particular are waiting on the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to serve them well and have been returning their candidates to parliament repeatedly to serve them. To keep that scenario going the TNA leadership has invited other Tamil speaking political parties with a view to get many assistance as possible to keep the Tamil speaking people together with common objectives before the 2020 General Elections.
Thus TNA is seeking an acceptable political solution to the national question within a united, undivided, indivisible country from the care taker government and would discuss with the President concerns of the Tamil speaking community that includes the issue of missing persons, the issue of persons in custody, the release of lands, resettlement and rehabilitation and the implementation of commitments made by the governments since ending the war in 2009. The resolution of these issues would push all ethnic related problems into history to secure the country, enabling all political parties to concentrate their efforts to deal with the larger issues on climate, inequality faced by the people and provide a modern economy to deliver shared prosperity enabling the ruled to prosper within a unitary state.
Tamils living in Northeast of Sri Lanka, know well that “Unity is Strength”; rebuking their only source of strength left is a sterile thought are prepared to continue supporting the TNA. Thus the responsibility falls on the leadership of their sole representatives in parliament to prove in the next four months, the value of this trust placed on them by their people. TNA will stay put to occupy opposition benches in parliament and extent support for acceptable decisions taken by the new government to enable it to create a peaceful and prosperous country. Further TNA would seek resolution of outstanding war related issues of their people and take active role in any attempt by the government to turn the draft constitution put on hold for the election into a new constitution and with members of other Tamil political parties drum up support both in and outside parliament to get it passed in parliament, best done before the next General Election due in 2020 to enable people to vote in favour of the New Constitution.
Northern Breeze 