Monday, October 31, 2011

http://www.dailynews.lk/2011/11/01/news02.asp

Minister Samarasinghe tells UN:
‘Do not consider TNA as sole rep of Tamil public’
Chamikara WEERASINGHE
Sri Lanka’s Special Envoy on Human Rights, Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe has asked United Nations Under Secretary for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe and UN Secretary General’s Chief of Staff Vijay Nambiar, not to consider the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) as the sole representative of Tamils in Sri Lanka.
Dr. N Maheshwari
Minister Samarasinghe who attended the 66th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, told the Daily News that he made it known to Nambiar and Pascoe that TNA is not the only representative of the Tamil people.
Samarasinghe said he told Nambiar and Pascoe that they should be careful in dealing with the TNA for there are other political parties that represent the voice of Tamil people whose ideas and political views are quite contrary to that of the TNA.
The minister said he briefed Nambiar and Pascoe on the political situation in Sri Lanka and the progress of the government’s reconciliation process and North and East development during meetings held on the sidelines of the Third Committee meeting of the UN assembly.
“I pointed out to them that there are Tamil political parties in the South where majority of Tamil people live, and they too want to discuss with the UN officials about their ideas and the UN will have to invite them too,” said Samarasinghe.
”I told them that in this case they will not have time for anything other than discussing Sri Lankan politics with the leaders of the Tamil political parties in Sri Lanka,” he said.
‘I pointed out to them the statistics of the 2010 general elections and showed them that in the Vanni district the TNA only polled 38.96 percent whereas the UPFA polled 35 percent of the votes. In the Trincomalee district , TNA could only get 23.81 percent of the votes, whereas the UPFA secured 42.78 percent, he said.
Asked if he had met UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on these occasions , he said he met Moon with Nambiar once and briefed them on the elections that were held in the country after the war, its de-mining success, resettlement of IDPs, rehabilitation of ex-combatants and also about the progress of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC).

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