Following weeks of disappointing negotiations with Sri Lankan President Wickremesinghe, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has put forward a seven-day ultimatum to meet three key demands.
The three demands are:
- The full implementation of the 13th amendment.
- The release of Tamil land occupied by the Sri Lankan military.
- The release of all Tamil political prisoners.
Last week, TNA politician MA Sumanthiran announced that the party will need to rethink its strategy of engagement with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe unless his government produces “actual progress”.
Sri Lankan President Wickremesinghe has claimed he would solve the island’s long-standing ethnic question before the country’s Independence Day on 4 February 2023.
The TNA has come under criticism from Tamil civil society organisations and the families of the disappeared for engaging with both Wickremesinghe and the Rajapaksas. The Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF), which has two MPs, has refused to engage in discussions maintaining that there is the point in speaking with the president unless he explicitly agrees to a federal solution.
The TNA, alongside other Tamil politcal parties, are set to meet with Wickremesinghe for a marathon round of talks from 10-12 January.
Read more here.
We need your support
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.
