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Talks to register TNA inconclusive
Inconclusive talks were held yesterday between Tamil National Alliance (TNA) constituent partners to reach a consensus on registering the TNA to contest the upcoming elections to the Northern Provincial Council, party leaders said. TNA Parliamentary group leader R. Sampanthan, the other three alliance partners, and other Tamil party leaders met in Mannar to discuss the registration of the TNA.
“We had two rounds of talks, but could not come to a conclusion. We will discuss the matter further,” Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) leader Selvam Adaikalanathan said. He said he insisted that the registration of the TNA was crucial to contest the elections, but Mr. Sampanthan had said it was not the proper time to register the alliance.
The Sunday Times learns that Mr. Sampanthan had taken up the position that if they register the TNA, the inclusion of former armed groups would give a bad image to the alliance. However, Mr. Adaikalanathan had said they would register the TNA with the support of the Eelam People’s Revolutionary Libertion Front (EPRLF), the People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOT) and the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) if Mr. Sampanthan’s Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) did not agree.
The parties yesterday met with Mannar’s Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Rayappu Joseph, members of civil society and intellectuals. Former MP Gajendra Kumar Ponnambalam also took part.
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