Shanakiyan Rasamanickam, a parliamentarian from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), addressed an audience of Tamil diaspora in Toronto, Canada, stating that the party was progressing towards a "permanent solution" to the ongoing ethnic conflict.
His speech comes following the meeting between a TNA delegation with the US State Department earlier this week.
In his speech, Rasamanickam spoke about his party’s goal to achieve a favourable political settlement for Tamils in the Sri Lankan polity.
“We are progressing towards a permanent solution and we need your complete support towards that end,” he told the audience.
Rasamanickam also recollected that he was initially denied a chance to express his views on the 20th Amendment when a parliamentary debate was taking place on that issue. He acknowledged that he was granted two minutes of time only after he made a request. The 20th Amendment to the Constitution has been widely reviled for its centralisation of power in the hands of the executive branch of the government.
Also at the event was TNA parliamentarian M A Sumanthiran, who was part of a delegation of Tamils that held meetings with US government officials last week.
Some members of the Tamil community protested outside and at the event over concerns that the TNA was settling for a solution that did not go beyond the 13th Amendment or would include a merged North-East and instead advocated for an independent Tamil state.
TNA leaders have for several years promised a political solution to the ethnic conflict is forthcoming. However, more than 12 years since the of the armed conflict, Tamils on the island and around the world are still waiting.
