EPDP still studying SLFP proposals

Dharma Sri Abeyratne

COLOMBO: The Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) is still studying the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) proposals submitted to the All Party Representative Committee (APRC), an EPDP sources said.

Refuting reports that the EPDP was against the SLFP proposals, a EPDP spokesman said it would be impossible to state the view of the EPDP at this juncture.

The EPDP proposals has also been submitted to the All party Representative Committee which has drawn its attention on preserving the country's unity status.

The EPDP proposals consist of three stages which will ensure the legitimate aspirations of the Tamil speaking people.

The first stage is to implement the 13th Amendment, which was the outcome of the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord, to the constitution in full in the North-East province. The North East Provincial Council can be activated by giving political leadership to the existing administrative mechanism in the region.

The second stage is to reinforce the 13th amendment by conferring additional powers on the North and East Provincial Council to make it a centre of greater authority. This can be achieved by amalgamating the subjects in the concurrent list with the Provincial Council list, which can be achieved within the constitutional arrangements. The third stage would be with the consensus reached among all the political parties in the APRC and with the LTTE, to arrive at a lasting final political solution.

After implementing the above two stages, the whole country will move towards the final solution. At this stage, the LTTE too will be forced to accept a peaceful political solution "All the people in the country have suffered for more than 25 years due to the conflict. The war has resulted in thousands of deaths.

It has created thousands of widows, orphans, disabled and displaced. As the political leaders, it is the duty to rise above the party politics and to act with statesmanship," said the EPDP spokesman.