The Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO), a constituent party of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), has said that it would not support current proposals for a new constitution as they fall far short of an acceptable solution for Tamils, recalling that the TNA was elected on a mandate to push for a federal solution.
In a statement TELO said that the current proposals undermined Tamil demands for self-determination and would strengthen the Sinhala Buddhist majority community.
TELO also objected to the proposed constitution’s emphasis on guaranteeing Buddhism’s foremost place.
Senior TNA figures have been at the forefront of formulating and pushing for a new constitution in Sri Lanka which has led to accusations from some Sinhalese politicians, including Mahinda Rajapaksa, that Tamil politicians were leading the government to divide the country.
However Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has vigorously denied claims that the constitution would introduce federalism or demote Buddhism from its foremost place in the state.
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