2ND LEAD (UPDATE)

New Delhi meet of Tamil parties ends without consensus

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 24 August 2011, 18:55 GMT]
The two-days meet of Eezham Tamil political parties held in New Delhi on Tuesday and Wednesday on the initiative of Congress Party parliamentarian Sudharshana Natchiappan ended without consensus, participants told TamilNet. The main issue was that those who didn’t want to disappoint the Congress agenda didn’t want to resolve on the status of Eezham Tamils as a nation and that the nation has the right to self determination in the island. Instead, some of them wanted to concentrate on measures of protection and on accepting whatever that is given. The TNA wanted to avoid specific wordings and demands on issues of fundamental nature in order to stage-manage a New Delhi sponsored consensus of Tamil political parties.

Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam and Kajendren Selvarajah of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress were keen that defining the status of Eezham Tamils as a nation and asserting to their right to self-determination are fundamental to discuss any political solution within one country in the island.

The TNA wanted to avoid such wordings and demands.

Some of the participants suggested to include the concept nation, but to avoid the claim for the ‘right to self-determination’.

But finally, those who wanted to satisfy New Delhi didn’t want to even say Eezham Tamils are a nation in the island.

At that point the meet ended without consensus, despite almost everyone agreeing on calling for de-militarisation of North-East and international investigations on alleged war-crimes and crimes against humanity.

The statement that failed to find the consensus was drafted my Mr. Sumanthiran of the TNA, with inputs from Mr Gajendrakumar.

The meet was participated by Mr M.A.Sumanthiran and Mr Mavai Senadhirajah of the ITAK, Mr Suresh Premachandran and Sivasakthi Anandan of EPRLF, Selvam Adaikkalanathan of TELO, Mr V. Anandasangari of TULF, PLOTE represented by Mr. Bhavan in lieu of Mr Siddharthan, Mr. Paranthan Rajan of ENDLF and its advisor Mr. Ravindran from Australia, Mr. T. Sridharan and Mr. K. Thurairatnam of the EPRLF (Padmanabha Wing), and Mr. Gajendrakumar Ponnampalm and Mr. Selverajah Kajendren of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress.

EPDP of Douglas Devananda was not invited and TMVP of Pillayan did not attend. Pillayan told BBC Tamil that he had reservations how his participation would be viewed by Colombo and that he didn't have enough time to respond.

Mr. Paranthan Rajan was seen hosting the participants in New Delhi.

The participants are expected to leave New Delhi on Thursday.

Chronology:


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