DAILY MIRROR
11th of April 2009
TNA split on talks with India
By Kelum Bandara
http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=45996

A rift has emerged in the TNA over a decision to decline Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon’s invitation for a meeting, with some MPs warning of serious repercussions if the leadership decided to go ahead with the meeting.
Responding to Thursday’s Daily Mirror page one story headlined ‘TNA turns down Menon’s invitation’, TNA General Secretary Mavai Senathirajah said his party had not taken any such decision, and asked how the party could do so in the absence of leader R. Sampanthan who is now in India.
Mr. Senathirajah said he would be going to India soon to consult Mr. Sampanthan on this matter.
“We asked for a meeting with the Indian government. That is why, this invitation has been extended to us,” he said.
However, TNA parliamentarian N. Srikantha said that except for Mr. Senathirajah, nine out of the ten MPs who attended the group meeting on Thursday were of the view that the TNA should not meet the Indian Foreign Secretary until India brings about a ceasefire here.
Mr. Srikantha said MPs G.K. Ponnambalam, S. Kishor, T. Kanagasabai, T. Kathiraman, K. Pathmanathan, P. Ariyanethran, S. Cyril and K. Thurairatnasingham subscribed to this stand.
He said the Indian government should work out a ceasefire in Sri Lanka through diplomatic channels even at this late hour.
“We have been asking for a meeting with the Indian government since last year. A TNA delegation met Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Sri Lanka in August last year. There was an invitation for us to meet him in New Delhi. But, that invitation never materialized,” Mr. Sri Kantha said.
He said thousands of people had died and asked whether there was any purpose in having talks with the Indian government now without a ceasefire in place.
“There should first be a atmosphere conducive for such talks,” Mr. Sri Kantha said.
He said the Indian election was now round the corner and the Tamil Nadu state along with the adjoining enclave of Pondiccheri has 40 MPs to be elected to the Lok Sabha comprising 543 MPs. “Sri Lankan Tamil national question has become an emotive issue in India in the run up to the election. The number of Tamil MPs from Tamil Nadu can tilt the balance of the three-cornered fight of the Indian election,” Mr. Sri Kantha said.
He said the people of India however were with the Sri Lankan Tamils because of their linguistic, cultural and religious affinity.
MPs Vino Noharathalingam, S. Kanagaratnan and S. Ananthan who are in Sri Lanka did not participate at the meeting while MPs S. Kajendran, P. Sithamparanathan, M.K. Sivajilingam, S. Jeyanandamurthy and C. Chandrakanthan are in Europe, and MPs S. Premachandran and S. Adekkalanadan are in India with TNA leader.



BBC -SANDESHYA
Sat, 11th of April 2009
TNA rejects Indian invitation
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sinhala/news/story/2009/04/090410_tna_india.shtml

TNA says India has failed to take any action to broker a truce in Sri Lanka
Tamil parliamentarians in Sri Lanka say they have rejected an invitation by the Indian government for talks on the conflict in the island.
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian N Srikantha told BBC Sandeshaya that they were invited by the Indian Foreign Secretary, Shivshankar Menon, for talks in Delhi on 15-16 April.
“We resolved that we should not respond positively to this invitation now given the fact that India has not taken any meaningful attempt diplomatically or politically to bring about a ceasefire,” he said.
Only ten TNA MPs out of 22 have taken part in the discussion on Thursday, and TNA leader R Sambanthan is currently in India.
'No links with LTTE'
Mr. Srikantha said his party has no direct links with the Tamil Tigers.
India has expressed serious concern over the plight of civilians
The TNA cannot “brush aside” reports that LTTE is keeping civilians in the battle field as a human shield but the LTTE is trying their best to protect themselves, he said.
“But the fact remains that the people numbering more than 50,000 who have already crossed over to government controlled area are practically detained,” he said.
The Sri Lanka government reject the accusation by the human rights groups that civilians fleeing the LTTE controlled territory are detained in camps similar to “concentration camps”.
The MP also denied reports that TNA rejected an earlier invitation for talks by Sri Lanka President, Mahinda Rajapaksa.
“We never rejected President Rajapaksa’s invitation. We responded stating the reason why we are unable to meet face to face with him. Our demand is this –have a ceasefire, and then we can play our role,” MP Srikantha said.