TNA representatives meet UN envoy

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 September 2005, 04:23 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance parliamentarians, Mr. R. Sampanthan, Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham, Mr. Gajendran Ponnambalam and Mr. M. K. Sivajilingam on Tuesday met Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, the Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General Mr. Kofi Annan, in Colombo.

The TNA MPs briefed the U.N. Envoy on current political situation, explaining Tamls concerns related to the peace process, the Cease Fire Agreement, scuttled tsunami aid-deal and the humanitarian situation in the NorthEast.

The MPs also gave a historic overview of the Tamil struggle justifying the Tamil demand for right to self-determination, TNA sources said.

The meeting took place in Hilton Hotel from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., sources said.

As Special Adviser, Mr. Brahimi advises the UN Secretary-General on a wide range of issues, including situations in the areas of conflict prevention and conflict resolution.

Mr. Brahimi has undertaken special missions on behalf of the Secretary-General to a number of countries, including Iraq, Afganistan, South Africa, Haiti, Congo, Yemen, Liberia, Nigeria and Sudan.

Before coming to the U.N., Brahimi, who represented the National Liberation Front (FLN) in Jakarta during Algeria's 1956–1961 independence movement, was the Algerian Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1991 until 1993.