He made these comments yesterday (3rd Oct.) at the special parliamentary session held to celebrate 70 years of parliament democracy.
Elections alone can't ensure democracy. Pluralism must be respected but in reality it did not happen, he said.
Only the majority opinion was represented therefore we had to experience a long time fight. The Tamils had to fight to protect their identity and respect and thereby all of has learnt lessons, said Sampanthan.
All of us want to live in a unitary Sri Lanka and despite shortcomings we need to work united to achieve that goal said the opposition leader.