COLOMBO, 17 November — The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) of four parties contesting the upcoming parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka says it is prepared to forget the systematic decimation of its leaders by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and accord it pride of place as the only group entitled to talk on behalf of the people for a solution to the ethnic conflict.
"We cannot keep thinking about the past. We are looking at the future. We have to think along fresh lines for the good of our people" said R. Sambanadan, general secretary of The United Liberation Front (TULF), the main constituent of the Alliance.
Answering questions after a function to release the National Alliance manifesto, Sambanadan said the people were unanimously of the view that the time had come for meaningful talks only with the LTTE Tigers.
"We recognize the LTTE as a paramount factor in the struggle for the rights of the people," Sambanadan said.
The TNA manifesto declares that its immediate aims and objectives are the lifting of the economic embargo on the LTTE-held areas of the northeast and other restrictions imposed on Tamils in general, a cessation of hostilities and the commencement of talks with the LTTE with the assistance of an international third party.
The Alliance has also demanded that Sri Lanka remove the ban it has imposed on the LTTE in order to facilitate peace talks.
The TNA felt that such proscription did constitute an impediment to the free and full participation of the LTTE at peace talks.
