Rajapaksa should walk the extra mile on Tamils issue: Chandrika

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse should walk the "extra mile" and do a "lot more" for political reconciliation of minority Tamils, who are different from LTTE, says former President Chandrika Kumaratunga.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse should walk the "extra mile" and do a "lot more" for political reconciliation of minority Tamils, who are different from LTTE, says former President Chandrika Kumaratunga.

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66-year-old Kumaratunga, who was herself seriously injured in an LTTE attack in late 1990s, alleged that some elements in the present government do not understand that Tamils as a population are different from the terrorist organisation, which was militarily defeated in 2009.

She also sees the prevailing environment in the island as a "big window of opportunity" to resolve the decades-old ethnic conflict by addressing their grievances through political means.

"We are concerned that as much as can be done is not being done. Almost three years have passed and we are all very happy that the Tigers, the terrorist organisation has been defeated decisively.

"But what worries me is that some people in the government don’t understand that the terrorist organisation is different from Tamils as a population,” she told PTI in an interview here.