Southern leaders hoping to contest the next presidential election are afraid of making public comments about the rights of the Tamil community,
said DTNF spokesman Suresh Premachandran.
Incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe has announced that presidential polls will take place next year, followed by parliamentary and provincial council elections.
Noting that Wickremesinghe, Sajith Premadasa and Anura Kumara Dissanayake have already declared their intention to contest, Premachandran said none of them are prepared to resolve, or even speak in the public, about issues of the Tamils.
They are not prepared to at least fully implement the 13th amendment to the constitution, he has told the weekend issue of ‘Virakesari’ newspaper.
Postwar presidential elections saw Tamils voting for the southern Sinhala candidates, but they continued to deceive the Tamils and did not fulfill the promises given, noted the Tamil politician.
A common Tamil candidate cannot win the election, but at least that will show to the southern leaders that the community cannot be deceived any further, he said.
Premachandran’s calculation is that none of the candidates will poll 51 per cent of the votes in the first and second rounds of counting.
Therefore, votes of the Tamils will be crucial for the outcome, he said, adding that a common Tamil candidate will further consolidate that factor.
