The Hindu : Front Page : JVP pulls out of Chandrika Government

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 16, 2005

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Front Page

JVP pulls out of Chandrika Government

V.S. Sambandan

Ruling coalition set to lose majority, but Government faces no immediate threat as budget is months away

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's ruling ally, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), has withdrawn its support to the Government. A party spokesman said: "We have withdrawn our support to the Government and our Ministers will be sending in their resignation papers on Thursday," a JVP spokesman told The Hindu just after midnight on Wednesday night.

With the JVP's pullout, the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) coalition is set to lose its parliamentary majority as President Chandrika Kumaratunga did not withdraw the joint mechanism proposal by the midnight of June 15. Under the proposal, the Government was to share tsunami aid relief with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

However, as the next budget is scheduled for November, there appears to be no immediate threat to the Government. The UPFA had the support of 117 MPs, including 39 from the JVP, in the 225-member House. JVP leader Somawanse Amarasinghe is scheduled to make a detailed statement on Thursday. The JVP has four Cabinet Ministers and four Deputy Ministers.

In a detailed letter on Wednesday, responding to the JVP's objections to the joint mechanism, Ms. Kumaratunga said the party's pullout decision was "baseless." Asking the JVP to cooperate to find a solution, she said the party would have to assume "full responsibility" for the consequences of its pullout. The P-TOMS, Ms. Kumaratunga said, was "only meant for coordinating relief." The June 15 midnight deadline passed with no change in the position adopted by the JVP.

Daylong efforts on Wednesday to avert a parting of ways included a visit by Mr. Amarasinghe to Kandy to meet the influential Mahanayakas — leaders of the Buddhist clergy.

At the political level, senior members of the main ruling party, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party on Wednesday urged the JVP to reconsider its deci sion.

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