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Pact puts onus on state

B. Muralidhar Reddy

COLOMBO: The agreement, signed by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the United National Party (UNP) on Monday, to resolve the ethnic conflict in the north and east says the state has the paramount duty of protecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country by all means at its disposal, including military action where appropriate.

The tentative agreement, a copy of which is in possession of The Hindu , says: "While terrorism requires a military response, the problems of the minority communities call for action at the political level, in the sense, the eventual solution to the ethnic issue has to be political in character."

It says emphasis would be placed on the principle that power-sharing is for people at large and explicit provision would be made to secure the entrenchment of establishing a fully "participatory system," affording ample space for all political interests and groups in elections.

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