SLMC discusses its version of Interim Administration proposals

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 January 2004, 11:51 GMT]
Key officials of Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) met Saturday night at SLMC Head Quarters in Colombo to discuss SLMC's version of proposals for Interim Administrative Structure for NorthEast and to obtain formal acceptance by SLMC' Special Political Division, sources said.

It was also decided to submit the proposals for discussion within the academic, intellectual, and civil society communities and Muslim religious leaders in the NorthEast before the final version is published as a formal document, attendees to the meeting said.

The SLMC completed a tour of India and selected European countries to study federal systems of government before coming out with the proposals.

Although, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has not publically commented on the SLMC proposals, LTTE's views on Muslim participation as a third party in the peace talks between LTTE and Colombo have been articulated by S.P.Thamilchelvan in a recent meeting with Muslim and Tamil Journalists on 19 December.

Mr. Thamilchelvan said: “We, the Liberation Tigers, are negotiating with the Sri Lankan state on the basis of the strategic military parity that we achieved by waging war against it for 25 years, shedding blood and sacrificing many lives. But the Muslim leadership always chose to be an integral part of governments that came to power (in Colombo). This is the fundamental difference. Therefore it is wrong to say that the Muslims are being politically ignored because they have no role as the third party to the peace talks”.

“The demand that Muslims should participate as a third party in the peace talks is not appropriate at this juncture. Muslims have joined governments that came to power in Sri Lanka for the last 25 years. Thus they could have secured their rights long ago from the governments in which they took part," Mr. Thamilchelvan told the visiting Muslim and Tamil journalists.