The concept of TNA as a broad alliance has become a legacy with Suresh Premachandran’s move in convincing Mr. Sampanthan to make the alliance into a political party, blame opponents of the latest move by the TNA hierarchy, which has applied to register the alliance as a political party. The TNA has applied to register itself as a political party with R. Sampanthan as the leader and Mavai Senathirajah representing ITAK, Suresh Premachandran of EPRLF Suresh faction and Selvam Adaikalanathan on behalf of Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO), as joint secretaries.
Senior members of Ilangkai Thamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK) in Jaffna have begun registering strong protests against Tamil National Alliance (TNA) led by R. Sampanthan for tendering application to register the TNA as a political party in Sri Lanka, accusing TNA leadership for trying to sideline the role of ITAK and other political parties which are fellow constituent parties of the original TNA.
Professor K. Sitampalam of Jaffna University, ITAK Jaffna district General Secretary Kulanayagam and ITAK senior member C. V. K. Sivagnanam are some of the ITAK stalwarts, who have raised the above accusation against the TNA leadership.
ITAK stalwarts accuse that R. Sampanthan, the leader of ITAK has succumbed to the designs of Suresh Premachandran, the leader of Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), a constituent political party in the TNA.
The ITAK stalwarts in Jaffna have called for an immediate ITAK conference to address the issue.
Entangled in personality issues, the TNA hierarchy and the stalwarts of ITAK in Jaffna, are all acting alike, was the opinion of Tamil circles in Jaffna.
Difference of opinion among the constituent parties of TNA had already caused the withdrawal of former TNA parliamentarians Sri Kantha and M K Sivajilingam, during the last presidential election. Mr. Sivajilingam, a Tamil politician with credible support in the grass root was pushed into a corner by the top hierarchy during the presidential elections.
During the last parliamentary election, former TNA parliamentarians Gajendrakumar Ponnampalam of All Ceylon Tamil Congress, Ms. Pathmini Sithamparanathan and S. Kajendren had fallen out with the TNA hierarchy, when Sampanthan, Maavai and Suresh adopted ‘internal right to self-determination,’ an approach which contradicts the principle of evolved by Thanthai Chelvanayakam, adopted and shaped by the champions of the Tamil struggle.
The top-hierarchy of the TNA has ‘taken for granted’ the support extended by the Tamil people, stemming from their desire to uphold Tamil unity symbolically inherited in the name of the TNA, academic circles in Jaffna said, adding that the TNA leadership should not fail at this juncture if Tamils are to face the next challenge by the Rajapaksa regime, which seeks to divide the Tamil people, using the forthcoming provincial elections of Northern Province.
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