The Colombo Telegraph has published a statement by the TNA on the party's recent visit to India. Reproduced in full below:

A Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentary delegation led by its leader R. Sampanthan and comprising, S Senathirajah, K Premachandran, A Adaikalanathan, A Vinayagamoorthi, Pon Selvarajah and M A Sumanthiran visited New Delhi on the invitation of the Ministry of External Affairs between the 10th and 13th of October 2012. During the visit the delegation met with the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, the Minister for External Affairs Shri S M Krishna, the Leader of the Opposition Shrimati Sushma Swaraj, the National Security Advisor Shri Shiv Shanker Menon, the Secretary of External Affairs Shri Ranjan Mathai, the Joint Secretary Shri Shringla and other officials.

In an interview with the pro-government newspaper, The Sunday Island, the Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa called for the 'abolition of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution without further delay'.

Stating that the 13th Amendment was 'nothing but an impediment to the post-war development process', Gotabhaya Rajapaksa asserted 'that the SLFP-led UPFA should either do away with the 13th Amendment or amend it taking into considering ground realities'.

The Sri Lankan embassy in the US has managed to ward off a campaign launched by a US congressman pushing for progress on the UNHRC resolution adopted earlier this year, according to sources at Sri Lanka's External Affairs Ministry.

Speaking to the Sunday Leader, sources at the ministry said they had managed to have House Resolution 177, first presented by Republican congressman, Michael Grimm in 2011, removed from the calendar this year, but feared that it may be re-submitted and passed before January.

Indian and Sri Lankan officials have held talks about civil nuclear cooperation between the two countries.

A statement, released by Sri Lanka’s External Affairs Ministry, said that the discussions were “warm and friendly”.

Meeting the TNA leader R. Sampanthan and his delegation, the Indian Foreign Minister SM Krishna stressed the need for early resumption of talks.

The seven member TNA delegation are currently visiting India, and have also met with the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Sampanthan said,

Sri Lanka’s information minister Keheliya Rambukwelle has announced that a joint task force, consisting of private and public sector personnel, has been set up to double trade between Sri Lanka and India.

Industry and commerce minister Rishad Bathiudeen made the proposal, which was then accepted by the cabinet.

Members of the JHU, Sri Lanka’s Sinhala Buddhist Nationalist party have been blocking plans to extend the ancient Shiva temple in Munneswaram, Chilaw.

Temple authorities had applied in May 2012 for permission to construct a ten-storey front tower (Rajagopuram) for the building, but are yet to be given the go-ahead by the Divisional Secretary.

According to TamilNet, an ancient scripture was found during preparations for the construction, which the Department of Archaeology have now claimed belongs to Buddhist culture.

Sri Lankan government officials in Colombo have ordered the divisional secretary of Moothoor to hand over a playground to the occupying Sri Lankan officials, reported TamilNet.

Consequently, the playground has been handed over without any discussion with the people of the area or the school administration.

The playground, which has been in use since 1948, served as a common central recreational sight for multiple villages in the Moothoor area, and will now be used as land to provide for Sri Lankan Police residence.

Sri Lanka’s infamous Minister Wimal Weerawamsa has questioned whether the Secretary of the Judicial Services Commission had ‘attacked himself’, reported the Daily Mirror.

Speaking on Thursday the Minister stated that

“The facts surrounding the attack are rather suspicious”

Celebrating their launch as an affiliated body of the Conservative Party, British Tamil Conservatives held a drinks reception at the Tory Party Conference 2012 in Birmingham on Tuesday.

The BTC has become the first ethnic specific group to be affiliated to the Conservative Party in the UK.

Celebrating this success along side the BTC were a number of notable members of the Party including: the Party Chairman Grant Shapps, Cabinet Minister Theresa Villiers and the Vice President of the National Conservative Convention, Steve Bell, as well as many other MPs and MEPs.