Talks between Tamil political representatives, from both the TNA and the TNPF, and Tamil civil society groups were held in Mannar this weekend under the chairmanship of the Bishop of Mannar.
Seeking to mitigate against the effects of the on-going structural genocide and arrive at a common policy on political solution for the Tamils, the notion of creating a broader Tamil body incorporating political representatives and civil society groups such as a Tamil National Council was discussed.
A four member committee consisting of MA Sumanthiran of the TNA, Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam of the TNPF, and two civil society activists, K Guruparan and V Puvitharan was formed and tasked with putting together a working framework for such a council.
Whilst there was widespread support for such move, the leader of the TNA R. Sampanthan was less enthralled. Before eventually conceded he did not disagree with the formation of such a body on principle, sources at the meeting report his initial response to a was to say that he and the TNA would listen to everyone's views and would make a decision [rather than a TNC style body].
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