Newly formed TNA ,The Jathika Jana Balawegaya (JJB), Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) yesterday (26) boycotted the All-Party Conference (APC) that was convened by President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
The President’s Media Division (PMD) said the APC was convened in order to speak in depth on reconciliation.
The SJB and the JJB said the APC is only a ‘mere talk show’ as the President has ignored several proposals made by them earlier.
Newly formed Nidahas Janatha Sandhanaya (People’s Freedom Alliance), also did not participate in the APC.
The Prime Minister, the Speaker, former Presidents Mahinda Rajapaksa and Maithripala Sirisena were invited to the APC too.
Meanwhile, TPA Leader Mano Ganesan stressed that President has not held talks on the issues related to Hill Country Tamils who are national minority in the country.
Ganesan said that they have been repeatedly demanding of President Wickremesinghe to talk about the political aspirations of the hill country Tamil community in his stated attempt to find solution to the National Question.
He said the President is holding talks on finding ways to resolve the Tamil questions but the rest of the Tamil political parties ‘don’t represent’ the hill country Tamils of Indian origin.
The TPA Leader said further, “We have been repeatedly demanding of President Wickremesinghe to conduct talks with us and all the Hill Country Tamil political parties, on the political aspirations of the Hill Country Tamil community in his stated attempt to find solutions to the national question. We have specifically told him to nominate a high-powered committee, chaired by him to look into this subject.
“But, apart from certain remarks made from public stages, President Wickremesinghe has not done anything officially in this regard”, Ganesan added.
While welcoming the President’s talks, with the Tamil parties of the North and East, to find solutions to the political and accountability issues faced by the northern and eastern Tamil brethren, he said they also wanted all stakeholders to understand the political aspirations of the Hill Country Tamil community beyond the ‘Plantation’ radius. And the national question of Sri Lanka is not North and East centric but national.
It is because the discussion is all about the National Question, why did not the TPA, as a party in the opposition, question President Wickremasinghe’s mandate to conduct talks with minority parties to address the national question, Ganesan queried.
“We consider the national question as the most important subject on the tray and no head of State needs any mandate to address this particular subject. We have even exchanged such positive views with North and East Tamil parties. Hence, the attitude of President Wickremasinghe towards us is disappointing.”