TNA says committed to proceed with talks with Government

NOA: The Tamil National alliance (TNA) says that it is committed to proceed with talks with the Government and wants to see a positive conclusion to address the grievances of the minority community.

At the last round, their demands for police and land powers to provincial councils were rejected by the Government. President Mahinda Rajapaksa had asked the TNA to drop its LTTE-like mentality and refrain from making rigid demands.

AIR correspondent reports that the Government is averse to conferring Police and land powers to the provincial councils even though the subjects have been listed as provincial council subjects in the devolution of powers outlined in the 13th Amendment of 1987.

The TNA and the Government have held 18 rounds of talks so far. The TNA says the patience of people of the north is wearing thin, as even after conflict ended two years ago, no political solution seems to be in sight.

AIR correspondent reports, amidst criticism from the ruling quarters that the TNA has not been flexible in its dialogue with the Government, Party Leader R. Sambandan as saying that being flexible does not equal agreeing with the Government.

However, Sambandan said his party was “keen to move ahead with the talks to see a positive conclusion” of talks with the Government with regard to the grievances of the minority ethnic community.

Despite having held 18 rounds of talks so far, no solution seems to be in sight. The Government-TNA talks are aimed at finding a political solution to the Tamil question that accommodates the hopes and aspirations of the minority community. The Government’s view is that a structured dialogue will take time to deliver results.