President denounces Tamil National Alliance’s call for international inquiry

President Mahinda Rajapaksa says the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the major Tamil party of the country, needs to move away from the war mentality of the Tamil Tiger terrorist group LTTE.

Addressing the media personnel at the Temple Trees yesterday, the President said instead, the TNA must appear on behalf of the needs of people they are representing in the country and not on the requirements of pro-LTTE migrant groups.  Accusing the Tamil party of working in conformity with the wishes and requirements of LTTE loyalists in the world, the President denounced the TNA’s call for an international inquiry against the country as the most serious treacherous act and harm they were doing for the country and for the Tamil people.

President Rajapaksa emphasised that the government will not grant police powers to provincial councils as sought by the TNA and said the arguments presented by the Ceylon Workers Leader and Minister Armugam Thondaman on problems that could arise due to provision of police powers to the provincial councils are reasonable.

He said the government has never engaged in a dispute with the TNA, but the party was participating in talks with the goals of the LTTE in mind. He urged the TNA to make efforts for a political solution instead of making undue political efforts for the world to unnecessarily interfere in Sri Lanka.  “The Eelam dream is still reigning in them. What the Tamil Alliance should do is to nominate representatives to the Select Committee for a political solution,” the President said.

The President also noted that the government has recruited Tamil speaking citizens to the police. Interviews are presently being conducted to recruit another batch of Tamil citizens to the police service.