TNA to meet Navaneetham Pillay, on 30 August.

     The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) will stress on the need to demilitarize the North, and request the United Nations Human Rights Commission’s intervention to obtain the release of Tamil political detainees, when the Alliance meet the UNHRC Chief, Navaneetham Pillay, on 30 August.

Pillay, who is scheduled to arrive in Colombo on 25 August. She has invited the TNA for talks scheduled to be held on 30 August, focusing on human rights issues, as well as the forthcoming Northern Provincial Council polls.

TNA Spokesperson and the Jaffna District Parliamentarian, Suresh Premachandran, said “Since the UNHRC sessions in Geneva last March, there had been no satisfactory progress on many issues. The militarization in the North and East is the prime issue. The TNA wants the Security Forces to be confined to their barracks during the NPC polls, as well as reducing the number of forces present in the North. Therefore, the TNA will lay more emphasis on the demilitarization in the North during the talks with Navi Pillay.”

He also said the plight of more than 800 Tamil political prisoners, war crimes and disappearances were the other issues which would be in the TNA’s agenda, for discussion with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The TNA delegation led by its Leader, R. Sampanthan, will include NPC’s chief ministerial candidate, C.V. Wigneswaran, and Parliamentarians M.A. Sumanthiran and Mavai Senathiraja.

Navi Pillay is also scheduled to visit Jaffna during her stay.