(UDHAYAM, COLOMBO) – Suresh Premachandran, the leader of the Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), requested India to uphold the promise of uniting the Northern and Eastern provinces to form a single Tamil-majority entity, as envisioned by the India-Sri Lanka Accord of 1987.
However, S. Jaishankar, the Indian Foreign Secretary, told the TNA that India is disinterested in the matter, during his visit to Sri Lanka.
He explained that a lot of time has passed since 1987, and that the new Sri Lankan Government has brought about more opportunities for Tamils and respected their rights. He also advised them to not focus too much about the merge, ignoring more pressing matters. He added that it was up to the Sri Lankan Government to decide on the merge. Nevertheless, he encouraged the Tamils to keep fighting for the issue.
He also assured the TNA that he would investigate why President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe are stalling the drafting of the constitution. “The foreign secretary assured the TNA that he would raise these matters when he meets the President and the Premier,” the TNA said in a statement.
