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TNA to support Fonseka

COLOMBO: The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has decided to support the Sri Lankan Opposition consensus presidential nominee General (retired) Sarath Fonseka, an announcement by United National Party (UNP) which is leading the alliance in support of the General.

It came within hours of the retired General, in a bid to get the support of Tamil voters, on Monday handing over to TNA leader R. Sampanthan a document pledging to address their concerns on the nearly three lakh war displaced.

While indications were that a majority in the TNA would back the retired General in the January 26 poll, there had been no formal word till now from the TNA on their interactions with the former Army chief. TNA, an alliance of militant-turned-political groups stitched together by LTTE chief Velupillai Prabakaran in 2001, has had its share of problems after the military defeat of the LTTE in the Eelam War IV (July 2006 to May 2009).

In fact, one of the senior parliamentarians from the alliance, K. Sivajilingam is contesting the presidential poll as an independent candidate. At least one TNA parliamentarian has extended support to ruling front’s candidate President Mahinda Rajapaksa. For several weeks now, the TNA leaders had been negotiating separately with the President on the conditions under which they could consider endorsing his effort to secure a second term.

The document handed over to the TNA by the retired General among others commits Fonseka to lift the state of emergency (in vogue since August 2005) in the country at the earliest, release all the persons who are in detention without any evidence within one month of coming to power and grant general amnesty to those who were engaged in war activities and help in their rehabilitation.

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