dbsjeyaraj.com

By D.B.S. Jeyaraj

Whenever demands or proposals are put forward to devolve more powers so that the Tamil and Muslim people of the Northern and Eastern Provinces could have a greater role in administering their areas of historic habitation one of the standard responses is to point out that more Tamils and Muslims live outside those two provinces.

It is also an incontrovertible fact that the greater part of Tamils of recent Indian origin described generally as Up Country Tamils or Plantation Tamils or Hill Country Tamils reside in the seven Sinhala majority provinces.

By D.B.S. Jeyaraj

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) contesting under the House symbol of Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK)has performed creditably in the recently concluded Parliamentary elections. By the dint of this performance the TNA has strengthened its claim to don the political leadership mantle of Sri Lankan Tamils.

Though results of Trincomalee district are yet to be officially released due to the re-poll scheduled for Kumburupitty polling station according to unofficial estimates the TNA leader Rajavarothayam Sampanthan has won his seat there.

By D.B.S Jeyaraj

The press communique issued on October 22nd 2001 heralding the formation of the Tamil National Alliance(TNA)was signed by four persons representing the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF)All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC) Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO) and Eelam Peoples Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF).

They were R.Sambandan (TULF), N.Kumarakuruparan (ACTC)N. Srikantha (TELO) and K.Premachandran(EPRLF)The press statement had four salient points that more or less amounted to an “articles of association” for the Tamil National Alliance.

The first was about how places on candidate lists were to be allocated to each of the four parties in a Parliamentary General election. The arrangement was as follows: