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"Firstly, we need to secure the Tamil nation from the ongoing genocide" - Gajendrakumar

Speaking to The Weekend Leader, the leader of the Tamil National Peoples' Front (TNPF), Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, explained his reasons for calling for a Transitional Administration in the North-East, stating that "firstly, we need to secure the Tamil Nation from the ongoing Genocide."

See here for part 1 of the interview, extract reproduced below:

Q: You were the first Tamil leader to demand internationally supervised transitional administration of the Tamil homeland in the North and East of Sri Lanka at the UNHRC in Geneva. Can you elaborate how it would function and fulfill the aspirations of the Tamils?

A: We want an internationally backed Transitional Administration for three main reasons. Firstly, we need to secure the Tamil Nation from the ongoing Genocide. This can only happen if we are taken out of the hegemonic grip of the Sinhala State.

The second reason is that if we truly want an accountability mechanism to be successful, then the Tamil people must feel safe in being able to come out and give evidence.

This can only happen if the Tamil homeland is taken out of the strangulating grip of the Sinhala State, and a protective mechanism is put in place. We see the Transitional Administration as such a protective mechanism.

And thirdly, a meaningful reconstruction of the destroyed livelihoods of our people can only happen through an administration that is accountable to the Tamil people.

In other words, the Administration we envisage is not merely a protection mechanism, but one that would have sufficient powers to handle the immediate resettlement, and the rebuilding of livelihoods and development needs of our people.

It is important to state that this Transitional Administration would exist only till such time an acceptable political solution is found to the Tamil national question. So it is not a substitute for a negotiated solution. It is something that must be set up in the interim period.

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