Sri Lankan Tamil party ready to work with gov't

A Sri Lankan minority Tamil political party on Sunday said that it is ready to work with the government to address issues in the Tamil-dominated north.

Northern Provincial Council (NPC) Chief Minister-elect C.V. Wigneswaran however said his party will not join the government.

Speaking at a press briefing in the northern town of Jaffna after the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) won a landslide victory in the NPC polls, Wigneswaran said that in some areas the new council will need to work with the government.

"We are ready to work with the government. That does not mean we are going to join the government," he said.

Wigneswaran also said that once the new council takes oaths, they will discuss future issues that need to be addressed, including the issue of land and police powers for the provinces.

Tamils in Sri Lanka's north backed the TNA at the polls which took place after 25 years, with Wigneswaran receiving 132,255 votes in Jaffna.

TNA legislator M.A. Sumanthiran said that the TNA will join a parliament process to address the national issue if some conditions are met first. The government had accused the TNA of boycotting the parliament process.

The U.S. Embassy in Colombo meanwhile called for a transparent and independent investigation into various attacks during the Northern Provincial Council polls and for the perpetrators to be brought to justice swiftly.

The Embassy said it remains concerned about reports of elections violence and was particularly troubled at reports of involvement of uniformed individuals in these acts.