By Mirudhula Thambiah

During a discussion with Tamil and Muslim political parties yesterday (1), Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs of the US Victoria Nuland had suggested that the parties resolve their issues based on a joint roadmap, especially when addressing land-related issues with President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Speaking to The Daily Morning, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Spokesman, Opposition MP, and President’s Counsel (PC) M.A. Sumanthiran said: “All the Tamil-speaking parties met her together. There were concerns from the Muslim community with regard to land, concerns from the upcountry parties and us, so she told us to jointly put down our land related concerns and to push that together. She said that while there may be different concerns, we should stay united to push all those matters that must be resolved. They will encourage the Sri Lankan Government to deliver on that.”

Sumanthiran also said that Nuland had told the parties that President Wickremesinghe had promised her that the Local Government (LG) election will be held. “She also told us that the President had promised her that the LG election will be held. We said that is important as they have been trying to scuttle it. Democracy is important and as far as we are concerned, accountability is important, and the US has led the process at the United Nations Human Rights Council, Geneva, Switzerland, and therefore, must do more than that now in order to take it to the next stage”.

Briefing Nuland on the recent all-party conferences, Sumanthiran said: “We told her that in our opinion, Wickremesinghe doesn’t possess the political will to do any of these and that all is proving to be empty rhetoric. We said at the beginning itself that we were sceptical, but we participated fully so that we are not blamed and so that it would not be a convenient excuse for not doing any of these matters that should be done. As we suspected, it is just empty rhetoric. If he really wants to do it, he could have done it and he can still do it. About the implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, we said that it is all there in the Constitution and that it is a matter of implementing it. You don’t need to have discussions over it.”

Meanwhile, Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) Leader and Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Opposition MP Mano Ganesan said that he had pointed out to Nuland that President Wickremesinghe should demonstrate his credibility by matching his words with deeds.

“The President needs to demonstrate his credibility and political will to the nation and the international community, by matching his words with deeds,” he added.

He further said that all the parties called for the US to assist Sri Lanka to reach out to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the bailout.

He further stated that all the Tamil-speaking parties had agreed that the President should simultaneously speak separately with all three Tamil-speaking communities, namely, the North-East Tamils, the Muslims and the upcountry Tamils. “Parties representing these three communities should conduct discussions separately with the Government of Sri Lanka and reach agreements. Once there are agreements, all should be brought to the all-party conference. This has been my constant insistence. Today, all of us agreed and informed Nuland of this. She said that she would convey our stand to the President. She has requested that we approach the solution to our issues on a step-by-step basis. She suggested that the parties should reach out to the President with a joint roadmap.”

Sri Lanka Muslim Congress Leader and SJB MP Rauff Hakeem, Ahila Ilankai Thamil Congress Leader and MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, All Ceylon Makkal Congress Leader and SJB MP Rishad Bathiudeen and People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam Leader and MP Dharmalingam Siddarthan also participated in this meeting

Nuland arrived in Sri Lanka yesterday on an official visit to mark the 75th anniversary of US-Sri Lanka diplomatic relations. At a media briefing yesterday Nuland stated that she had met with the political leaders of ethnic minorities to discuss national reconciliation, the return of lands, accountability, and various other issues that are being discussed with the Government. Commenting on the meeting with the minority party leaders, she said: “I felt that this group of minority leaders, in general, is glad that they are in consultation with the Government, but are eager to see their consultations start to produce real results for the people on the ground and particularly in the area of returning land, etc. We encourage that dialogue to continue, but also for the group to work together for a concrete solution that will meet the needs of their communities, to be given to the Government in this conversation.”

Courtesy:The Morning