By

Chitra Weerarathne

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has recently filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court, explaining their election manifesto during the recent provincial council polls, in the Northern Province.

The affidavit says that the position of the Illankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK), of which the TNA is the main constituent, concerning a political solution to the ethnic conflict, is that a solution should be found on the basis of a federal state within a united Sri Lanka.

The Amendment of ITAK constitution in 2008, including that of Article (2) merely substituted a number of words of sanskrit origin to pure Tamil alternatives and retained the idea that a solution must be found within a united Sri Lanka. This was the position of the TNA, at the recent election campaign in the Northern Province.

It said, “We as a people will thus be concerned about our historical habitats, our collective

rights, to exercise our position to determine what is best for us, to ensure self-government in the Tamil speaking North-East of the country, within a united Sri Lanka. We also state power sharing arrangements must be established in a unit of a merged Northern and Eastern Province, based on a federal state, in a manner also acceptable to Tamil speaking Muslim people of the area.

“The ITAK position pertaining to a federal solution within a United Sri Lanka has also been consistently articulated publicly on countless occasions by the TNA and its leaders.”

The affidavit was submitted in response to a fundamental rights violation petition filed by G. D. Punyawardane of Battaramulla, who has alleged that the TNA’s position runs counter to the Constitution of Sri Lanka at the election campaign.

Among the respondent are M. S. Senathirajah, the secretary of the ITAK, its office bearers and the elections commissioner. Counsel Kanishka Witharana appeared with Palitha Gamage and Kapila Gamage for the petitioner.

Counsel K. Kanag Ishwaran PC, appeared with M. A. Sumanthiran for the TNA office bearers.

The Supreme Court gave the parties time till December 8, 2014 to study the contents of the affidavit and state their opinions to Court.

The Bench comprised Chief Justice Mohan Pieris, Justice Chandra Ekanayake and Justice Rohini Marasinghe.
Courtesy:The Island