This Article is From Dec 02, 2014

Sri Lankan Presidential Challenger Not For Federalism to Tamils

Sri Lankan Presidential Challenger Not For Federalism to Tamils

Presidential candidate of the common opposition Maithripala Sirisena waves to his supporters in Colombo on December 1, 2014.(Associated Press photo)

Colombo: The opposition candidate in Sri Lanka's Presidential election has pledged to reject demands from ethnic Tamil leaders for a federal model to solve the country's decades-long ethnic conflict if he wins next month's vote.

Maithripala Sirisena also agreed on Tuesday with a Buddhist nationalist political party to preserve the constitutional prominence given to Buddhism.

Sirisena made the pledges when the National Heritage Party led by a Buddhist monk signed a pact to support Sirisena in his campaign against incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa in the January 8 election.

Sri Lanka's military in 2009 crushed a 25-year separatist insurgency to create an independent state for the country's ethnic minority Tamils.

Tamil leaders say they have abandoned separatism but want a federal devolution of power to the Tamil-majority north and eastern provinces.
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