Archives

by Ravi Ladduwahetty

President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga understands Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's position that deproscription of the LTTE requires deep thought and she recognises that the totality of issues involved in the peace process should be taken into account, Presidential spokesman Harim Peiris told the Daily News yesterday.

Peiris said that the issues which have drawn the attention of President Kumaratunga in relation to the deproscription are the rights of civilians, the need for a clear and a veritable commitment by the LTTE to the abstention of assassination and suicide bombings, the rights of children to be free from forced conscriptions, the right of non-Tamils to return to LTTE controlled areas and also the reciprocity in the peace process, the timing and the agenda of the peace talks.

The President is of the view that these issues have to be taken in unison and in combination while Premier Wickremesinghe has said that the issue has to be given deep thought, Peiris said.

"Life is not a vacuum and all these criteria have to be given consideration," he said.

Earlier, addressing a news conference at the Presidential Secretariat last evening, Peiris said that President Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe maintain regular dialogue between them on matters of national interest, but was tightlipped about details for reasons of confidentiality.

The President is fully committed to peace and is willing to work with the Government in this context. She was elected to office twice in succession on a mandate of peace, he said.

Commenting on election violence, Peiris said that the President was extremely disappointed that her Interior Minister had not taken action to stop post-polls violence.

He also refuted a press statement which said the President had approved the cancellation of appointments made after the dissolution of Parliament at two Cabinet meetings on December 26 and January 3.

Peiris said:" This is totally impossible as the President was in the UK on a private visit on December 26 and she was travelling to Kathmandu on January 3 for the SAARC Summit."

He also refuted statement made in a Sunday newspaper that the President was personally aware of the assassination of ACTC Leader Kumar Ponnambalam and that she had suppressed the investigation following a report that was submitted to her at Temple Trees which was her official residence at that time.

There was a rigid practice at Temple Trees where the bearers of all letters, reports and other documented mail are recorded along with the identification of the bearer and there has been no record of such a report in all the documented records of that time, he asserted.

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager