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| Saturday, 9 October 2004 |
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Politics | |
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| UNP changes its tune Prof. G.L. Peiris of the UNF in a statement to the media on Thursday endorsed President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga's stand for the resumption of peace negotiations, which is, that it should be based on the Oslo declaration. The President has at all times made it clear that the Government accepts the concept of setting up an interim administration, whilst a permanent solution is negotiated and implemented, Government sources told the Daily News. The stand adopted by the LTTE is that the Government should first discuss the LTTE's ISGA proposals and only that. The UNP, meanwhile, has been echoing this LTTE view. At a press briefing on July 29, 2004, Parliamentarian Dr. Rajitha Senaratne said: "The UNP will extend its wholehearted support to the UPFA Government if it adopts a clearly articulated policy on the peace process accepting the ISGA as a base for future talks". The UNP also released an extensive official statement on August 23, 2004, again insisting the UPFA Government begin peace talks based on the ISGA. After the Oslo declaration of November 25, 2002, the international community appealed to Sri Lankan's and their political leaders to support a national consensus on the need for a final political settlement. They said: "We encourage the elected representatives of the people of Sri Lanka to take part in such efforts and it urged the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE to make every effort to promote an inclusive peace process. They also suggested a national consensus be built to face the difficult steps ahead in the peace process." The explicit purpose for the establishment of the National Advisory Council for Peace and Reconciliation (NACPR) was to achieve a consensus involving all religious, ethnic and political groups. The UNP which chose to boycott the NACPR's inaugural session, has now begun to change its line. Professor Peiris who till recently called for the ISGA to be discussed, now talks of the broader canvas of the Oslo declaration. The UNP is most welcome to join the dialogue initiated by the NACPR. |
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