Sumanthiran wants US as mediator here

By Dinasena Ratugamage

The government should present a solution to the issues faced by the Tamil people in the North and the East and the US should be the mediator that studies and approves those solutions, TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran said yesterday addressing the media in Jaffna.

Michelle Bachelet remained at the helm of the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights, and that was a great advantage to gain support for the proposals made by the TNA on the issues faced by Tamils, MP Sumanthiran said.

The TNA MP said that they had asked for an appointment with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to discuss their proposals with him prior to the UNHRC session.

“We also want to talk to him about implementing the recommendations given by the UNHRC during previous sessions,” he said.

Earlier the TNA leader R. Sampanthan told US Ambassador Alaina B. Teplitz that the provincial council system was not enough to resolve the issues faced by the Tamils in the North and East and that both provinces should be merged and administered by the Tamil people.

Speaking with the US Ambassador about the UNHRC recently, Sampanthan briefed her on the promises made by the government to the international community on resolving the issues faced by the Tamil people. They also discussed the UN resolution against Sri Lanka.

“I told the Ambassador that all governments were not sincere in their proposals to resolve the grievances of the Tamil people in the North and the East. Therefore, this issue had been dragging on for decades,” he said.

The TNA leader also told the US Ambassador that the international community should directly intervene to provide a solution to the struggle of the Tamils.