Lanka Tamils willing to accommodate Muslims: TNA leader

Sri Lanka's minority Tamil community is willing to accommodate the wishes of Tamil-speaking Muslims and resettle them in the north as part of the new constitutional process, the leader of the opposition told Parliament today.
R Sampanthan, who heads the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), said his party was prepared to work with the government to address the issues faced by Tamils and Tamil-speaking people.
He urged the government to resettle displaced Muslims in the north.
The LTTE in 1990, as part of their policy of ethnic cleansing, had evicted Tamil Muslims from Jaffna.
The Jaffna Tamils were settled in displaced camps in the northwestern region of Puttalam.

Sampanthan said there is a feeling among Muslims that Tamils do not want them in the north.

"We hope this country will have a new Constitution which has been a dire need," he said, adding that the Constitution must be acceptable to all and should ensure a solution within a united Sri Lanka.
The government's Constitutional reform process began in January this year.
The whole Parliament was converted into a Constitutional assembly with cross-party participation.
Six sub-committees that were appointed that are currently finalising their recommendations.
Their recommendations will be submitted to the 21-member all party steering committee before the final draft is formulated.

The new Constitution seeks to replace the 1978 one that is currently in force.