India welcomes Govt - TNA talks

India welcomed talks that were held between government and Tamil National Alliance (TNA) yesterday while stressing that the regional power bloc is stands for the political aspirations of Tamil speaking community in the country.

It was conveyed when India’s External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr. S. Jaishankar met a delegation from the Tamil National Alliance led by R. Sampanthan, Member of Parliament yesterday  during his visit to Sri Lanka. 

“EAM welcomed in all these interactions the positive developments regarding the issues on the Government-TNA agenda. He emphasized that the Government of India was consistently supportive of the realization of the aspirations of the Tamils of Sri Lanka for equality, justice, peace and dignity within the framework of a united Sri Lanka,”a statement issued by the Indian High Commission in Colombo over the meeting said.

The TNA delegation briefed EAM of the latest developments, focusing on the 25 March meeting between the Government and the TNA. They conveyed that the issues of release of political prisoners, land utilization, missing persons, 13th Amendment implementation and diaspora investment were discussed in the meeting. 

Earlier, the Sri Lankan Government’s engagement with TNA also came up during EAM’s call on President of Sri Lanka. EAM received a more detailed understanding on this subject from Foreign Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris later in the evening. 

“The contribution of India’s development partnership to economic recovery in the North and East was also recognized in all the meetings. EAM expressed particular satisfaction at the virtual inauguration of the Jaffna Cultural Centre that he did along with H.E. The Prime Minister.”

EAM separately met Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources  Douglas Devananda. They discussed issues pertaining to fishermen and exchanged views on devolution.