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TNA threatens to pull out of talks
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By Sandun A. Jayasekera
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) yesterday threatened to pull out of the ongoing talks with the government if it went ahead with appointing a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to find a solution to the North-East conflict.
TNA Jaffna District parliamentarian and party spokesman Suresh Premachandran told the Daily Mirror the proposed PSC would not bring any tangible result and would be only a time consuming and useless exercise.
“There are more than enough guides in the form of final reports and recommendations of various committees and discussions issued under almost all previous government if the present government has a genuine desire to find a lasting solution to the North-East conflict,” Mr.Premchandran said.
“President J. R. Jayawardene held Thimpu talks and President R. Premadasa had several discussions with the LTTE in Colombo to find peace and also appointed the Mangala Munasingha committee. President Chandrika Kumaratunga attempted to introduce Constitutional reforms. President Mahinda Rajapaksa after coming to power appointed an Expert Committee prior to appointing the All Party Representative Committee (APRC). All these committees discussed the North-East conflict in detail and came up with solutions of various forms. There were progressive and positive proposals by some of them despite the fact that the majority of members of these committees were Sinhalese,” he said.
“The final report of the APRC handed over to President Rajapaksa by its chairman senior minister Prof. Tissa Vitharana had been able to bring a majority of political parties to a consensus on the issue. The APRC report contains many positive recommendations. The TNA though not a participant in the APRC deliberations would like to consider them if the government was ready to start a dialogue on the recommendations of the APRC proposals,” Mr. Premchandran stressed.
“Why should the government propose a PSC out of the blues without giving thought to any of these recommendations? Who wants a PSC? Who demanded a PSC? This is an arbitrary decision of the government. The TNA rejects it outright as it does not serve any purpose,” he said.
Mr. Premachandran said the TNA had six rounds of talks with the government from last February with little or no positive outcome. The two parties are scheduled to meet once again tomorrow.
“We have handed over several proposals such as the release of some 850 long-time political prisoners, providing facilities to IDPs and framing charges or releasing those who are detained. Not a single proposal has been put into action. The government talks only about irrelevant and unimportant issues. The government is not ready to concede an inch. How long are we to continue with such time consuming and fruitless talks?” he asked.
“Even India is not happy about the development in Sri Lanka. The TNA expects to raise all these contentious issues at the next round of talks with the government scheduled for tomorrow. The TNA did not pull out from the talks even after the recent attack on it by a group of army uniform clad men because the TNA expects a more positive response from the government as the TNA aspires for a long lasting solution to the ethnic issue within a united Sri Lanka while protecting the rights of the Tamil community,” he emphasized.
Commenting on UK’s Channel 4 special reportage on alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka, Mr. Premachandran said the government must put a credible mechanism in place to investigate the alleged human rights violations before it got out of hand.
“There will be a day of no return if the government continues to refuse the demands of the international community to start a domestic investigation acceptable to them. Sri Lanka would be in a precarious position if outside forces start an investigation against it,” Mr. Premachandran added.
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