TNA unsure about President’s call for dialogue

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has said it is uncertain about President Mahinda Rajapaksa extending an open invitation to it to join efforts to achieve national reconciliation as the government’s stand is unclear.


“President has called the TNA for a dialogue. We don’t know if they are talking about the parliamentary select committee (PSC) again,” Tamil National Alliance (TNA) senior leader Suresh Premachandran said.

He was commenting on a TNA parley held yesterday in the northern town of Vavuniya aimed at taking stock of unresolved Tamil issues.

“We are not expecting any meaningful, fruitful things from PSC”, Premachandran added.

The TNA and other opposition parties have boycotted Rajapaksa’s PSC.

Rajapaksa last week in parliament invited TNA to work towards a home grown solution to the Tamil minority question.

TNA said they were not averse to restarting bilateral talks with the government but would stick to their decision to stay away from the PSC constituted to look into their demands.

In the 6-hour marathon parley, the TNA also discussed several issues concerning the Tamils - based on the smooth functioning and deliverables of northern provincial council, Premachandran said.