File photograph: TNA leader with the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka last year.
The Tamil National Alliance sent out a congratulatory tweet to US President-elect Joe Biden and US Vice President-elect Kamala Harris this week, as they reacted to their US electoral victory.
“As the premier political party representing the Tamil People in Sri Lanka, we congratulate (Biden and Harris) on a momentous victory,” said the tweet.
As the premier political party representing the Tamil People in Sri Lanka, we congratulate #President_elect_Joe_Biden and Vice President elect @KamalaHarris on a momentous victory.
— TNAMedia (@TNAmediaoffice) November 8, 2020
The message from the TNA comes as parties in Sri Lanka reacted to the news in the US. Sajith Premadasa from the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) was the first to congratulate Biden and Harris, just minutes after results were called.
The recent US election follows the high-profile visit of US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, to Sri Lanka where he was greeted by Sinhala protests and a refusal by the Prime Minister to meet with him. Pompeo’s visit marked the highest-level US government official of cabinet rank to visit the Sri Lanka John Kerry visit in 2015. Prior to his reception in Sri Lanka, government officials were reported to have said it is “not for outsiders to tell Sri Lankans how to run their country”.