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Colombo, London to pursue peace plan

B. Muralidhar Reddy

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom have agreed to take "necessary follow up action" on the peace process in the island nation.

The determination was made after President Mahinda Rajapakse met British Prime Minister Tony Blair at his country residence, Chequers, on Thursday. "Prime Minister Blair took time off his vacation to meet President Rajapaksa who was on a private visit to London", an official statement issued here said.

It said the two leaders used the opportunity to discuss issues pertaining to the peace process in Sri Lanka, further strengthening bilateral relations, including advancing economic ties and international issues. "The two sides acknowledged that the meeting was productive and agreed to take necessary follow up action", the statement said without elaborating.

Among others associated with President Rajapakse at the meeting were Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, Palitha Kohona, Secretary General of Government Peace Secretariat and Kshenuka Seneviratne, Sri Lanka High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. Sri Lanka President also met the Secretary General of Amnesty International, Irene Khan.

The unannounced visit of Mr. Rajapakse to London has triggered speculations on the possible motives in view of the prevailing security situation in Sri Lanka and the recent invitation extended by the Sri Lanka President to the main Opposition party, United National Party (UNP) to become part of his Government and help him in resolution of the ethnic problem.

The UNP leader and a former Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe is currently on a visit to India though exact purpose of his travel is not clear.

Woman abducted

Meanwhile in the national capital a woman, employed in the computer section of the Maharaja Television (MTV), was abducted early in the morning in Wellawatte. It is believed that six armed men, riding in a white-van, abducted Thavarajah Thavamani (26). Coming close on the heels of the abduction and subsequent release of a senior journalist earlier in the week, the incident has raised concerns in the media industry.

Thavamani, a native of Karainagar, Jaffna, is an engineer by profession. She had recently joined MTV and was attached to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka prior to her employment in MTV. MTV Channel telecasts MTV English, Sirasa TV in Sinhala and Shakthi TV in Tamil with separate channels for each of them.

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