Six Tamil and Muslim political parties have come together to form a common political platform aimed at jointly advocating for issues affecting Tamil-speaking communities across Sri Lanka, while stressing that the initiative is neither an electoral alliance nor an anti-government movement.
The platform brings together the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA), All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC), Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC), Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK), and the Democratic Tamil National Alliance (DTNA).
Speaking at the launch in Colombo on Monday, the leaders said the initiative seeks to address common concerns of Tamil-speaking communities living in the Northern, Eastern, Western and plantation regions.
Among the key priorities identified by the parties are urging the Government to introduce a new Constitution in line with its election pledge, ensuring justice, equality and meaningful power sharing, holding long-delayed Provincial Council elections, and resolving land-related issues affecting communities across the country.
The leaders said the platform would engage with the Government, opposition parties, civil society and religious leaders to pursue these issues through dialogue.
Responding to criticism that the grouping was based on ethnicity, the leaders rejected such claims, insisting that the platform was not a “racist alliance” but one that opposes racism.
They stressed that the initiative should not be interpreted as being against any ethnic community, nor as an alliance formed against the Government or in support of the opposition.
The parties said the platform would focus on areas where all six parties share common positions while continuing to maintain their individual political identities.
Commenting on the initiative, TPA Leader Mano Ganesan said the initiative was not an electoral alliance, but a platform to advance a new Constitutional Process, early Provincial Council Elections, Land Rights in the Northern and Eastern Provinces and upcountry plantations, within an undivided Sri Lanka.
Also commenting on the initiative, ITAK General Secretary M.A. Sumanthiran, said that it was the first time in decades that political representatives of the Northern, Eastern, Malaiyaha Tamil, and Muslim communities had established a collective political network to voice on agreed issues pertaining to Tamil-speaking communities.
“This is a platform where Tamil-speaking parties can raise a common voice on issues that affect us all. It is not an alliance. Each party remains free to hold its own political views, but where there is common ground, we will work together because a united voice carries greater strength,” he said. (Newswire)