PNM alliance aims to split East from NEP

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 March 2006, 11:10 GMT]
The Patriotic National Movement (PNM), an alliance of Sinhala nationalists, on Wednesday formed a "task force" named "Defenders of Eastern People's Rights" in collaboration with Sinhala nationalist parties, Muslim and Tamil groups in the East. The task force was formed after a meeting with the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), MLM Ataulla's National Muslim Congress (NMC), K. Vigneswaran's Akila Ilankai Tamil United Front (AITUF), a break away party of the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP), and key operatives of Karuna Group, a PNM activist has disclosed to Colombo media. The task force aims to split the East from the North Eastern Province (NEP).

The task force "Defenders of Eastern People's Rights" was formed as "common front" to work for the common goals disregarding the political indiferrences between the founder parties, according to the key PNM activist who doesn't wish to be named.

Meanwhile, the JVP, a key force in the PNM alliance, released photos taken at the event to the media. The photos excluded certain participants at the meeting.

The organizers, according to the PNM activist, have defined the separation of Eastern Province as a "step to safeguard the rights of the people in the eastern Sri Lanka."

The main opposition United National Party (UNP), National Unity Alliance (NUA) led by Ferial Ashraff, Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), an all-monks nationalist party, People's United Front (PUF) led by Dinesh Gunawardana, also invited by the PNM, did not attend the meeting, the source further said.