Amid what international ceasefire monitors described as a deepening humanitarian crisis in
But their ‘satyagraha’ were ignored by the mainly Sinhala MPs as well as President Mahinda Rajapakse who visited Parliament.
Tamil MPs sat on the red carpeted floor of the Well of the House in front of the Speaker’s Chair for hours on several successive days during parliament sittings since last Tue. The protest was a sombre affair in contrast to the noisy protests the Tamil MPs have staged before.
But the MPs on both sides of the House continued with their business as usual with the government not bothering to come up with any kind of response to the Tamil National Alliance (TNA).
Only Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) leader Rauff Hakeem made any reference to the concerns raised by Mr. Senathirajah, saying the government was sending the wrong signals by not listening to the views expressed by the democratically elected representatives of the Tamil people.
The ‘satyagraha’ continued this week with no government assurances coming their way.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa himself visiting the parliament complex on Thursday mainly to check on the attendance of government MPs in parliament, the Sunday Times reported.
Ignoring the protesting Tamils, the President left after spending some time on his regular public relations exercise by chatting to MPs including those of the main Sinhala Opposition at the parliament lunch room, the paper said.
The Sunday Times’ lobby columnist observed: “with the indifferent attitude of the government towards their passive resistance, the TNA might soon revert back to its usual method of protesting. The Tamil MPs might feel that only violent and vociferous protests would bring any worthwhile response from this government.”
