Tamil party calls for formation of secular national front

A Sri Lankan Tamil party today called for the formation of a new secular national political front with participation from majority Sinhalas and minority Muslims to find a credible solution to problems of the Tamil people.

The move came during the convention of the Eelam People's Revolution Liberation Front (EPRLF), a constituent party of the Tamil National Alliance, in Jaffna.

TNA sources said its leader R Sampanthan told the convention that neither the Tamil people nor the Tamil politicians are demanding a separate Tamil state.

It is the wish of all Tamils that a lasting political solution be given to address the grievances of Tamil people in the north and east.
 

Suresh Premachandran, a TNA senior and the leader of the EPRLF said that no Tamil party alone could achieve a solution. Trying to seek international help was not the answer.

Therefore the TNA must form a broader National Front with the South-based Sinhala leftist parties and Muslim political parties.

This would enable the Tamils to see a credible solution to address their grievances.

The EPRLF has a history of working with the Sinhala majority left leaning parties.

They won uncontested the first ever election for the merged north and eastern provincial council - a result of the Indian intervention in Sri Lanka in 1987.