TNA coaxed to join PSC talks

by P. Krishnaswamy

Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) chairman and Deputy Minister of Cooperatives and Internal Trade Basheer Segudawood told the Sunday Observer that they are continuing to persuade the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to join the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) talks because their party strongly believes that it is the right forum to evolve a solution acceptable to all communities, including the Muslim community.

The SLMC considered the last TNA-Government talks not as a failure and, therefore, the talks can now be continued in the PSC. There is no alternative to talks and the only possible alternative is another round of talks, he said.

Peace efforts have not been successful in the past because political parties in the opposition adopted an expedient approach. This was the case beginning from the Bandaranaike-Chelvanayagam Agreement of 1957, the SLMC chairman said. However, the PSC consists of all political parties represented in Parliament and it will be possible for the Government to implement any solution on which a consensus has been reached in the PSC, he said.