TNA wants Indian PM to prod SL Govt.

The TNA delegation which met with the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week at his residence in New Delhi had reportedly requested him to persuade the Sri Lankan Government to restart negotiations, lift the economic embargoes and open the A-9 and A 15 roads.

The TNA had also complained about President Mahinda Rajapaksa de-merging the North- East Province.The delegation members had said the Government was not thinking about the human sufferings of the people in Vakarai and were allowing them to starve.

They said the situation of the people in the East was pathetic and deplorable as they were without food and fuel. The Indian PM is reported to have said the Indian Government was concerned over denial and violation of human rights of the Tamil people and the concerns conveyed to Colombo. One significant difference was that when President Rajapaksa visited the Indian PM no photographers were allowed, but the press was allowed to cover the TNA delegation’s visit.

The delegation comprised of R. Sampanthan, Mavai Senathiraja, Gajendra Kumar Ponnambalam, Suresh Premachandran and Selvam Adaikalanathan. On Friday, they arrived in Bangalore and met with the spiritual leader Shri Ravishankar of the Art Of Living Foundation and urged him to use his influence with Indian leaders so that the parties in Sri Lanka could go for a negotiated settlement.

On Monday the delegation is due back in Sri Lanka. Earlier the delegation members met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi who was able to arrange the meeting with the Indian PM. After meeting the Indian PM they had returned to Tamil Nadu and briefed the Chief Minister of the outcome. The TNA members were reportedly impressed by the response of the Indian PM who met the delegation for 45 minutes.

This was in contrast to their visit two months ago when the delegation stayed in India for two weeks expecting an appointment with the Indian PM but returned without being granted an appointment.