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By V.S. Sambandan
A day after it lost three Ministerial portfolios, the ruling United National Front (UNF) said it enjoyed the confidence of a majority 124 MPs in the 225-member Parliament, and would not resort to any unconstitutional move. It said it would go ahead with its budget-making process. The "arbitrary'' move by the President — though entirely constitutional — "infringed'' the "fundamental criteria'' of democracy. The Presidential Secretariat scotched the speculation that prevailed during the day that the President had taken over the Finance portfolio as having "absolutely no truth". Earlier in the day, the President met the service commanders, and passed orders for a short-term emergency. The move, according to the Presidential Secretariat, was aimed more at maintaining normality. "The emergency will be for a short-term'' and is "purely to maintain essential services, if required,'' Defence and Presidential Secretariat sources told The Hindu. The period would also be used to "take stock of the security situation,'' the sources said. A gazette notification, specifying the period of emergency, is expected tomorrow. Ms. Kumaratunga's constitutional position was further strengthened, with a five-member Supreme Court Bench unanimously determining that the "plenary Executive power including the defence of Sri Lanka is vested and reposed with the President''. The President's Senior Adviser on Foreign Affairs, Lakshman Kadirgamar, said the President had "specifically asked'' him to state that "the ceasefire agreement stands and will stand. There is no question about it''. Also, the President had "no intention of resuming or provoking the resumption of violence''. Unity `non-negotiable' On the peace process and the negotiations with the LTTE, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, headed by Ms. Kumaratunga, said that "some of the provisions'' in the LTTE's counter-proposals "may be talked about''. But the "sovereignty, territorial integrity and the unity of Sri Lanka is not negotiable'', Mr. Kadirgamar said. Elaborating on the SLFP's critique of the LTTE's counter-proposals, Mr. Kadirgamar said the rebels' demand for plenary powers in the northeast would lead to an "erosion of powers'' of the Sri Lankan Government. While the preamble of the proposals revealed the LTTE mindset, if its demand of the "immediate vacation'' of the armed forces from the northeast was met, the "whole of the NorthEast will crumble'', he said. The LTTE's demand on marine and offshore resources would bring the role of the Sri Lankan Navy "to naught'' and give the LTTE control over two-thirds of the island's coast, extending up to the Exclusive Economic Zone. Later this evening, in a show of unity, UNF Ministers addressed a press conference, in which they said the ruling party was "firmly in control'' of Parliament. The Presidential move, the Chief Government Negotiator, G.L. Peiris said, came at a time when the peace process had "reached a particularly delicate and significant stage''. The Finance Minister, K.N. Choksy, said the move on the eve of the presentation of the budget had hit investors' confidence. The economy had performed well during the last two years, with increases in growth rates, a decline in inflation and appreciation of the Sri Lankan rupee. The Cabinet Ministers also said they would send the letter of support, signed by 124 MPs to the Speaker and the President.
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