The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) making a submission to the committee of experts appointed to draft a new Constitution has proposed that the Nature of the Sri Lankan State should be a 'United Republic' comprising the institutions of the Centre and of the Regions. The proposals which are to be considered when drafting a new Constitution had been sent to the Secretary to the Experts Committee to Draft a new Constitution on December 28. TNA Leader R. Sampanthan has sent the letter representing the Tamil National Alliance which is an alliance of Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK), Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) and People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE). In the letter, the TNA proposed that “Sri Lanka shall be recognised as a free, sovereign, independent and united Republic comprising the institutions of the Centre and of the Regions, which shall exercise powers of governance as laid down in the Constitution.” “One of the Regions shall be for the territory predominantly occupied by the Tamil speaking peoples in the North-East. “The Constitution shall recognise Sinhala, Tamil, and English as the official languages throughout Sri Lanka, and the languages of administration in the entire island. “The Constitution shall provide for a government with a ceremonial President who is accountable to Parliament, and who acts on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister shall be the head of the cabinet of ministers,” it said. The letter further said a new constitution was imperative if Sri Lanka is to move forward towards sustainable peace and prosperity as a united country. “As the representatives of the Tamil People of Sri Lanka, we wish to assure the country of our commitment to a united, undivided, indivisible country, in which all peoples are treated as equals and the multi-ethnic, multi-lingual and multi-religious plural nature of the country is affirmed, preserved, and celebrated. “We believe and emphasise that a constitution is and should be the social contract between different peoples who inhabit the country. “Therefore, the fundamental feature of the constitution and its basic structure must reflect the basic agreement between Sri Lanka’s peoples, be they majority or minority in numbers. “We hold that sharing powers of governance is now an inextricable part of Sri Lanka’s current social contract, and is deeply tied to the dignity of the Tamil people of this country. “Therefore, any attempt to renege on past commitments to ensure meaningful sharing of powers of governance would amount to an affront to the dignity of the Tamil people, and a grave breach of the current social contract between the various peoples of this country,” the TNA said.