|
|
 |
 |
| Sunday, 23 November 2003 |
 |
|
 |
Politics |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
TULF conflict takes new twist by P. Krishnaswamy The internal conflict within the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) over the presidentship of V. Anandasangaree, MP, has taken a new twist with hard-worded letters being exchanged between him and other senior parliamentarians of the party, demanding his resignation as president. Senior Vice President of the party and MP for Batticaloa, Joseph Pararajasingham had initiated action recently to oust Anandasangaree as president and submitted to the Secretary General of the party, R. Sampanthan MP, a resolution of their Batticaloa District Committee insisting on it. Two other party stalwarts, Ravi Raj, MP for Jaffna and R. Thurairatnasingham, MP for Ampara, followed suit. TULF sources said that these initiatives are the result of pressure being exerted by the LTTE. Replying to Pararajasingham, Anandasangaree has stated in a letter: "I am not keen on clinging on to the office of President against the wish of our party supporters. Before I quit office, I should know whether the request for my ouster is a genuine effort initiated by party members on their own free will. I am answerable to the 36,217 voters who voted for me and for several thousands of others who voted for the TULF candidates like you." The TULF with seven MPs is the largest constituent of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) which represents a majority of the Tamil minorities of the North and East. The other three constituents are All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC), with three MPs, Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO), with four MPs, and the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF-Suresh Wing) with one MP. The current crisis over the presidentship developed after Anandasangarees controversial remarks against the LTTE claim that they were the sole representatives of the North-East Tamils. But inspite of it, a confidence motion in favour of him was passed unanimously by the 42 member central committee of the party on July 6, 2003. Meanwhile, ACTC leader A. Vinayagamurthy MP is initiating efforts to form a National Tamil MPs' Forum to voice the uniform views of the Tamil National community on vital matters such as the peace process, the peace proposal put forward by the LTTE, the permanent unification of the North and East and other important national issues. The Forum would comprise of MPs of the TNA, Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC), Up-country People's Front (UPF), Western Province People's Front (WPPF), People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) as also Tamil MPs of the UNP, ACTC spokesman and Secretary of the Tamil National Action Committee (TNAC), N. Kumarakurubaran, said. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
