Jaffna NGOs call for common election programme

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 October 2001, 16:54 GMT]
Non-governmental organisations in Jaffna Thursday called on all politicians and parties intending to contest the general elections in the northern peninsula to come under one umbrella based on a common programme. The statement issued jointly by 47 NGOs operating in Jaffna, urged political parties to formulate the common agenda on the basis of the Tamil people’s right of self determination, the lifting of the ban on the Liberation Tigers and the resumption of the peace talks with third party mediation.

The Jaffna NGOs also asked the political parties planning to contest in the peninsula to work towards establishing a durable peace.

“We will ask all the parties to accept the fundamental issues before they field their candidates, regardless of their political differences,” a NGO source in Jaffna said.