Sri Lanka’s major Tamil party, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) says that it has reached to a situation where they are unable to continue further talks with the government on political reforms.
TNA parliamentarian M.A.Sumanthiran told BBC Sandeshaya that they are awaiting a response to three issues; the structure of governance, the subjects and functions allocated to the central government and the provincial councils and issues pertaining to fiscal and financial devolution that it had presented to the government.
No response
Mr Sumanthiran said that the TNA is prepared to begin talks once it received government’s response to them.
He said that it has been five months since the three issues were presented to the government in writing.
The government said on Thursday that the TNA had given only 10 days for it to respond to their demands.
“It is certainly not possible, nor is it consistent with the national interest at this stage, to make a final pronouncement on crucial issues, hastily and without wider consultation”, the government Information Department website said.
Parliamentary Select Committee
The government will proceed with the appointment of a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC), as it is the appropriate forum for a discussion in which all the representatives of the people can participate with a view to identifying the constitutional reforms, it states.
TNA MP Sumanthiran said the government had told them that the consensus of the current ‘government-TNA’ talks will be subsequently put before a PSC.
“There is no consensus at our talks as yet and once an agreement reached through these talks we will be able to put it before a Parliamentary Select Committee”, MP Sumanthrian added.
BBC Sinhala