TNA press for immediate release of Tamils detained without charges & a general amnesty to others,as an initial step towards national reconciliation.!!

TNA pushes for self-determination............. by Dasun Edirisinghe

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has demanded the right of self-determination and power-sharing based on a federal model in its manifesto for the upcoming parliamentary election.

TNA general secretary and former MP Mavai Senathirajah told The Island that the party believed that its proposals would lead to a permanent peace in the country.

He said that sharing of powers of governance through shared sovereignty among the people was essential to the resolution for the problems of the Tamil-speaking people in Sri Lanka.

The TNA, described as the voice of the LTTE until its defeat in May last year, won 22 seats at the 2004 general election.

Senathirajah said the Tamil people were entitled to the right of self-determination while power-sharing arrangements must be established in a unit of merged Northern and Eastern Provinces based on a federal model in a manner also acceptable to the Tamil-speaking Muslim people in Sri Lanka.

Senathirajah said the devolution of powers should be over land, law and order, socio-economic development including health and education, resources and fiscal powers.

The TNA manifesto also seeks direct foreign investment to the Northern and Eastern Provinces, which it says would help create more jobs for the youth in their region.

He stressed the need to expedite the resettlement of displaced civilians in their original places while providing basic facilities to them.

Senathirajah called for the removal of the high security zones set up in the Northern and Eastern Provinces during the war.

He said the TNA was pressing for the immediate release of Tamil people detained without charges and a general amnesty to others, as an initial step towards national reconciliation.


www island.lk