TNA faces pressure from ITAK grassroots to reject US move on domestic mechanism
[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 September 2015, 23:36 GMT] The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) hierarchy is facing pressure from the grassroots of the Ilangkai Thamizh Arasuk Kadchi (ITAK) against the move to extend its support to domestic investigations, informed sources told TamilNet on Thursday. In an interview to TamilNet this week, Eastern Provincial Council member of the ITAK, Mr Nageswaran Kumarasamy, categorically rejected the domestic accountability mechanism, which is to be proposed by the USA, Sri Lanka and other actors in collaboration in the forthcoming sessions of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, saying that a such mechanism lacks credibility and security in the context of the island of Sri Lanka.
Mr Nageswaran, who hails from Moothoor East in Trincomalee district, also reminded that the regime-change project has failed to resolve the root causes in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Egypt.
Similarly, any accountability mechanism that doesn't pave way for resolving the underlying national question in the island, is doomed to fail, he said.
Internationally mediated investigation is the only way forward, Mr Nageswaran said.
No-one seems to have a clear idea on how to achieve political justice based on the Geneva-process, the EPC Councillor said adding that a criminal procedure against
Rajapaksas alone was not enough to address the underlying crisis.
The TNA hierarchy should not be trapped to trade abandoning of internationally mediated investigations with the opposition leader post, Mr Nageswaran said.
Already, the majority of parties comprising the alliance (three of four) have ruled out the domestic mechanism.
The Northern Provincial Council, led by Justice C.V. Wigneswaran has also responded by passing a resolution rejecting domestic investigations and demanding international investigations.