Brushing aside the criticism that he is nowhere near delivering a political solution even 30 months after ending the Eelam war, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse has blamed the Tamils, within the country and outside, for the delay by refusing to participate in the consultative process authored by him.
“The parliamentary select committee (PSC) is a good approach to what has been a vexed problem. Its members are legislators and their proposals could possibly find wider acceptance,” the President said in an interview at his Temple Tree residence here.
“It is important that the TNA (Tamil National Alliance) participate in the PSC with an honest intention of finding a political solution, but they are not nominating their members. Sampanthan seems scared of somebody. Now they are going to America complaining we are not doing this or that,” Mr Rajapakse said.
He said the TNA had been steered by the LTTE during the Prabhakaran era and now by the diaspora. They are worried that if a political solution emerged in Sri Lanka, their host countries would send them back home, he said, adding, “There is no point blaming me, it’s the Tamil parties that are delaying a solution.” Asked if he was not leaning a bit too much towards China, he said all the mega infrastructure projects were first offered to India but Delhi did not respond.