Six Tamil-speaking political parties have requested a meeting with Sri Lankan president Anura Kumara Dissanayake and plan to meet the Leader of the Opposition to discuss matters affecting Tamil-speaking peoples, according to a recent press release.
The announcement follows a meeting of the parties' leaders and representatives at the Parliament Complex, where they reaffirmed an earlier decision to work together on issues of common concern while continuing to maintain their individual political identities and policies. The parties said they had formally written to the president requesting a meeting to discuss "matters of national importance" affecting Tamil-speaking communities.
After the proposed meeting with the president, the representatives also intend to meet the Leader of the Opposition and members of the diplomatic community to exchange views on the same issues and to continue efforts to build consensus through "constructive democratic engagement".
While pledging to cooperate where common ground exists, the parties stressed that each organisation would continue to function independently, retaining its own political positions, policies and identity, and said their collaboration would focus on advancing the interests of Tamil-speaking people while remaining committed to a "just, peaceful, and durable political solution".
The statement was issued by Batticaloa District MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam, the convenor of the group, on behalf of the six parties: the All Ceylon Makkal Congress, the Ceylon Workers' Congress, the Democratic Tamil National Alliance, the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and the Tamil Progressive Alliance.
The move follows the formation of the common platform earlier this month, when the parties identified constitutional reform, the long-delayed provincial council elections and land issues affecting Tamil-speaking communities as priorities for collective engagement, describing the initiative as an effort to build consensus among Tamil, Malaiyaha Tamil and Muslim political representatives.