SLMC says Govt. could not take the Tamils for a ride

General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), M.T. Hassan Ali, requested the government to respect the outcome of the Northern Province polls, and expedite the process to find a political solution to the Tamil question. Addressing the media, MP Hassan Ali said, although the government had taken the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and the Muslims in the country for a ride, they could not do so with the Tamils in the North. “The government must address the unresolved humanitarian problems in the North and implement the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC). Failure to do so would lead to the government having to face a big problem at the UNHRC sessions in Geneva next year. The international community will be all out to act against the government. Therefore, taking the outcome of the elections for the Northern Provincial Council, the government must take prompt measures to address the unresolved issues of the Tamils and the minorities in the country,” Hassan Ali said. Referring to the manifesto of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), he said the manifesto was an important one as the whole world was speaking about its contents. “Therefore, the government, without adopting a confrontational approach when engaging with the TNA, must instead explore ways and means of settling issues amicably,” he said. by Our Political Correspondent CT