International   

Hope of consensus in Sri Lanka

B. Muralidhar Reddy

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka All Party Representative Committee (APRC) Chairman and Minister Tissa Vitharana is hopeful of building consensus on province as the unit of devolution though the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) has favoured district as the point for power sharing as a solution to the ethnic issue.

Prof. Vitharana's observations came even as the Janatha Vimukthi Permuna (JVP) joined several other parties in opposing the May 1 devolution package proposed by the SLFP.

The JVP has contended that the SLFP package was against Mahinda Chinthana, the November 2005 Presidential election manifesto of Mahinda Rajapaksa. The party has argued that SLFP proposals do not envisage a provision to preserve the unitary character of the island nation. Prof. Vitharana told The Hindu that the devolution package made by the SLFP was not a final document and would be subject to discussion and amendments at the APRC. "The SLFP is scheduled to officially hand over its document to me on Friday. The APRC at the last meeting agreed that the basis for future discussion should be the document circulated by the APRC Chairman. The APRC also agreed that where they differ from the proposals, they would submit specific amendments," he said.

Prof. Vitharana said SLFP secretary general and Minister Maithripala Sirisena, while releasing the proposals at the May Day rally, had clearly stated that they were proposals for wider debate. "Hence they are not final proposals per se. They are a set of proposals for discussion."

Unitary character

JVP Parliamentary group leader Wimal Weerawansa said though the SLFP said Sri Lanka was a State which was sovereign and independent; the party had not spelt out its stand on preserving the unitary character of the country in terms of the Mahinda Chintana policies. The Ceylon Workers Congress has also opposed the SLFP proposal to make district as the unit of devolution and said it would soon submit its own set of proposals.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Mottaki, Rice could meet at Iraq meet
Now, Royal has slight edge
"Other terrorists copying LTTE methods"
Legal battle continues in Pakistan
Labour faces tough election test
Hope of consensus in Sri Lanka
Britain offers help to Sri Lanka
Arrest of Darfur suspects sought
Oust-Olmert campaign
"Rajiv Gandhi questioned security lapses"

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu