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by Rodney Martinesz

UNF spokesman and National list nominee Prof. G.L. Peiris re-stated his claim that Parliament will remain the centre of power by virtue of its control of public finances.

He was responding to claims made by the President and Anura Bandaranaike that the President will remain in power for another four and a half years and electing a different government would be fruitless exercise. He said it is Parliament which votes money for running the state and the control of Parliament will be in the hands of UNF after the 5th of December. "It will be Ranil Wickremesinghe who will control the purse strings after this date and the President would have to accept this position", he told the media.

Prof. Peiris was also critical of the move to grant three increments to members of the Presidential Security Division arguing that ordinary policemen in the border villages too should have been considered.

He also noted that the government had failed to hold interviews for police promotions whereas two interviews are normally held to grant promotions from IPs to the rank of Chief Inspector every year. Only one such interview had been held in the entire seven year period of this government.

He said the PSD was receiving favoured treatment even in the payment of batta.

UNP media spokesman Dr. Karunasena Kodithuwakku said they would hold the government fully responsible for any incident, in the light of evidence that two youth from the North were being trained at the Directorate of Military Intelligence in Panaluwa to carry out an assassination bid on leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. Dr. Kodithuwakku told a media conference on Wednesday that this training was being carried out in the full know of the security establishments.

"In addition to the evidence we have of a Tamil group been employed to carry out the assassination, there is also information from the Ministerial Security Division (MSD) that the LTTE is planning to assassinate our leader".

"So now there is a threat from the LTTE as well. We ask the government to provide extra security to our leader".

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