TNA drops 'Eelam' demand and calls for 'self-determination'

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has dropped a demand for a separate Tamil homeland and called for self determination and merger of the north and east.

TNA which was the biggest political grouping represented the ethnic minority in the outgoing Parliament, said it instead wanted a "federal" solution.

The TNA split into thre after the general elections were announced and the segmant led by R Sambanthan issued its election manifesto. It stated that the position of the TNA on Eelam has been that it has never articulated the demand for an independent state. Under the 6th amendment to the Constitution any party advocating secession would be disqualified from Parliament.

The party wants the two Tamil-majority provinces to be merged back into one, and significant devolution of powers. It outlined the stance in a manifesto for April's parliamentary election.

TNA General Secretary and former MP Mavai Senathirajah said that the party believed that its proposals would lead to a permanent peace in the country.

He had 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.

Senathirajah had further said that 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.

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.

- Asian Tribune -