A two-thirds majority in the Sri Lankan parliament does not mean the ruling Rajapaksa regime can ignore the concerns of the Tamil people, declared Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader R Sampanthan.
Speaking to reporters last week, Sampanthan stated that “the government could not ignore the concerns of Tamil people just because it has a two-thirds majority in Parliament”.
“Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and his government should find solutions to the problems faced by the Tamils,” he added. “The Government says it will bring in a new constitution and that should offer concrete solutions to our issue.”
Reflecting on the TNA’s electoral performance, which saw it return 10 MPs from across the North-East, Sampanthan claimed “the Government attempted to divide the votes of Tamil people through various means”.
“It tried to weaken the TNA and reduce the number of seats we have in Parliament. But we have not been weakened. Soon, we will regain what we have lost.”
Speaking to reporters last week, Sampanthan earlier claimed that the Rajapaksa’s Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) “bribed its way into winning a lot of seats by dispensing money and liquor to the people”.
“We are willing to work with the government to create permanent reconciliation in the country,” he said. “However, I don’t consider the election that took place to be a democratic one.”
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