Colombo: In the post-Prabhakaran political landscape, the pro-LTTE TNA which is supporting former Army chief Sarath Fonseka for the Presidential Elections has said it stood for a "united Sri Lanka" and sought for the solution to the ethnic conflict within the "undivided" country.
"All these discussions have been on the basis that any solution has to be within the framework of a united undivided Sri Lanka," the Tamil National Alliance Parliamentary leader R Sampanthan said.
"My discussions with both presidential candidates (President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Fonseka) were on the same issues none of which could have led to the division of the country," the TNA chief said.
The Tamil National Alliance which is an amalgam of the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi - the Federal Party, the Tamil United Liberation Front, and other Tamil political formations has demonstrated its clear commitment to this position both within Parliament and outside, he said in a statement.
The Tamil National Alliance has announced its support to opposition candidate General Sarath Fonseka at the forthcoming January 26 Presidential Elections.
Since then, there has been speculation regarding the basis on which such support was being extended, Sampanthan said, adding there has also been "untrue propaganda" in regard to this matter.
He said the party had stated it clearly why it could not extend its support to the mandate sought by Rajapaksa for a further term. PTIAs mentioned in the earlier statement of January 6 the party held discussions with both the main Presidential candidates, Sampanthan said.
"We have discussed with them matters of immediate concern to the Tamil people, and the political solution relating to the Tamil speaking peoples the Tamil and Muslim peoples in the North East," Sampanthan said.
He said, this was an issue which has been discussed at length by all political parties in the country, particularly by the Sri Lanka Freedom party the United National Party, the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi - the Federal party, the Tamil United Liberation front, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, the Tamil National Alliance and the left parties over a period of time.
"My discussions with the two main presidential candidates (Rajapaksa and Sarath Fonseka) in regard to a political solution revolved around what was stated by the
incumbent President himself.”
"Churning the communal cauldron by misrepresenting facts, for narrow political gain, cannot do any good to the people of this country.”
The people of this country have suffered enough and deserve an honourable and lasting peace, the Septuagenarian TNA parliamentary leader said.
"The end of the war provides us with an opportunity to bring about such peace," Sampanthan said, adding he appealed to all the people in the country not to be "deceived by untrue self serving propaganda”.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, January 17, 2010, 16:02