Opposition Sri Lankan Tamils, Muslim parties vow to stay united

Sri Lanka's opposition Tamil and Muslim parties today pledged to continue their alliance in the forthcoming parliamentary elections, buoyed by a favourable electoral tide in north and east of the country in the recent Presidential polls.

"We have decided to work very closely with each other," the Parliamentary group leader of the pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance (TNA) R Sampanthan told a press conference.

Though the opposition candidate Sarath Fonseka lost the January 26 Presidential election to the incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa by over by over 1.8 million votes, he won major ground in Tamil dominated north and eastern provinces.

He said, the performance of the jointly contested Presidential elections had provided good results in the east and the north.

When asked whether the conditions in North were conducive to hold the much promised Northern Provincial Council elections and whether the party would desire a re-poll in Eastern Provincial Elections going by current performance of the Opposition party, Samapthan said, "We can have elections in (previously undivided) Northeast."

Speaking on the occasion, the Sri Lankan Muslim Congress chief Raul Hakim said efforts were on to not only continue alliance with TNA but with the combined Opposition that backed Fonseka.