The parents and relatives of Tamil political prisoners have written to the leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and opposition R. Sampanthan, demanding that the party clarify their stance on Tamil political prisoners before the end of the week.
The families of hundreds of Tamil political prisoners said that they had been left confused and distressed by the conflicting stances expressed by different party members.
The TNA has offered different explanations to the issue, with some calling for a general amnesty and others saying an amnesty would benefit those accused of war crimes.
"We, the relatives of Tamil political prisoners, are distressed by the TNA's diverging stances," the letter read.
The signatories demanded that the TNA clarify their stance on what would be a permanent solution to the ongoing struggle to release Tamil political prisoners, most of whom have been held for years without charge or trial.
A hunger strike by some political prisoners earlier in the month led to a wave of protests and demonstrations across the North-East in solidarity.
Although the strike ended when Sri Lankan president, Maithripala Sirisena assured the release of prisoners with 'minor offences', the government refused to grant amnesty to political prisoners earlier this week.
Government refuses amnesty for Tamil political prisoners (27 Oct 2015)
Hunger strike ends as Sirisena assures release of prisoners with 'minor offences' (17 Oct 2015)
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