Sri Lanka's main Tamil party denies links to rebels

Sri Lanka's main minority Tamil political party on Sunday dismissed allegations that it had worked with Tamil Tiger rebels.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) had been accused of spreading the ideology of the Tamil Tigers, also known as the LTTE, who fought a 30-year war in Sri Lanka before their defeat in May 2009. "We do not have any allegiance to the LTTE nor are we committed to their ideology. We stand up for the rights of the Tamil people but we are not in favor of terrorism nor do we encourage it and everyone knows this,"TNA legislator M.A. Sumanthiran told local Sunday Leader newspaper.

He also denied claims that the Tamil Tigers may regroup and resume terrorism in Sri Lanka, adding that those claims were part of attempts by certain parties to create fear among people. "There is absolutely no truth in the claims that the LTTE is attempting to regroup. But even if there is such a move people will not allow it or support it as it is they who have suffered the most during the war. Therefore, the people are quite steadfast in not allowing such terrorism to begin again as they know that they will be the ones that are worst affected,"he said.

The TNA had recently sought the right to name its party leader as the opposition leader in the Sri Lankan parliament but some opposition parties are against it due to its alleged past links with the rebels.

The TNA had backed new President Maithripala Sirisena during the January elections after often being accused by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa of failing to back his projects for the war-ravaged north.