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TAMIL NATIONAL ALLIANCE SAYS THEY ARE NOT INTERESTED IN JOINING THE GOVERNMENT

By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam backed Tamil National Alliance, a coalition of political parties who won the majority of seats in Northern and Eastern provinces announced they were not interested in joining the government or in the formation of it, reported the LTTE website the Tamil Net.

The statement of the Tamil National Alliance said the decision has been taken on the basis that the alliance would not be allowed to be manipulated in any way and they expected the political parties of the South to negotiate only with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , as the sole representatives of the Tamil people.

R. Sampanthan, MP for Trincomalee and senior leader of the Tamil National Alliance toeing the exact separatist political stand of the LTTE said, "The elections have proved beyond any reasonable doubt that the Tamil people are solidly behind the Liberation Tigers. The results are also an endorsement of the Tamils are an distinct nation and that they have the right to self determination."

" We expect the Sinhala political parties to negotiate," said Joseph Pararajasingham, MP for Batticaloa, another leader of the Alliance " with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on the basis of a Sinhala consensus with third party international mediation. There can be no resolution to the Tamil national question without a Sinhala consensus,"

The website said The TNA manifesto clearly defined that the government in power should negotiate only with the Liberation Tigers with third party international mediation , lifting the ban on LTTE in Sri Lanka , enabling them to participate in such talks as the sole representative of Tamil people and lifting of the ban on certain items to the Tamil areas.

Urging the resolution of what they called "the Tamil National Question" cannot be delayed any longer Sampanthan said, "It must be given the most urgent and serious consideration by the Sinhala political leadership and Sinhala political parties."

He blamed "lack of comprehension and inconsistency among the major Sinhala political parties " as a major cause for the failure to evolve a just and durable solution."

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