TNA MP M. A. Sumanthiran today stated that the committee appointed to look into changes to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution is not a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) at all, and that actually it’s a “President’s Select Committee.”

He stated that the idea for a PSC to find a solution to the national issue was formulated in September 2011 during bilateral discussion held between the Tamil National Alliance and the government, and that it was pushed “in-between” talks.

He stated that the government asked the TNA put aside the discussions and join the parliamentary committee instead, with assurance that the agreements they had reached during the talks would be taken to the PSC.

He stated that after an agreement was then reached between the President and the leader of the TNA on conditions to participate in the PSC, the government went back on its word, exited the bilateral discussions and asked the TNA to just attend the parliamentary committee.

Sumanthiran said that is the reason the TNA did not attend the PSC, and that this matter was even raised in parliament by the Opposition Leader.

Now after 2 years have passed they are saying the Parliamentary Select Committee is being established and are asking us to join it, he said. “We are not that stupid to attend such a select committee just shaking our hands.”

He stated that the government has an agreement with the TNA and that it should be fulfilled first. The government and the President themselves accepted the fact the TNA will only participate in the PSC after an agreement is reached through bilateral discussions.

The TNA MP stated that the same issue Majoritarianism which has existed in the country for 60 years has been brought to the PSC, referring to the majority representatives appointed by the government.

He further stated that Ministers such as Tissa Vitharana, Rauf Hakeem and Dr. Rajitha Senratne who had invited them to attend the select committee and assured that they would personally safeguard the rights of the Tamil people, have all been excluded from the PSC.

“This is not a Parliamentary Select Committee. PSC stands for President’s Select Committee,” Sumanthiran said, speaking at a ‘Vipakshaye Virodaya’ press conference in Colombo today.   

Pointing out that there is no opposition representative in this PSC, he claimed that it is only a “sub-committee” of the Government Parliamentary Group and only those handpicked by the President have been included in it.