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Signing of MoU a step in right direction - Ven. Samitha Thera MP

from Colvin L. De Silva our London Correspondent

Ven. Baddegama Samitha Thera Member of Parliament for the Galle District addressing a well attended meeting at the Red Rose Club in North London on the subject of " Current Political situation in Sri Lanka" said that the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Tamil Tigers was a step in the right direction. The meeting was convened by Wesley Muthiah an energetic community worker in London. The speaker said that the political package offered by the defeated People's Alliance Government was a failure as the two parties did not trust each other. He blamed the previous governments of having played games with politics and thereby ruining the country.

He continued to say that on this occasion, the prominent Buddhist clergy have come forward to support the peace initiative of the Prime Minister as they are completely war weary and felt that the country was losing its wealth both in terms of manpower and resources through the unwinnable war. 25% of the country's resources was spent on procurement of arms and ammunition and only 10% on health and education respectively. We have fought this war for almost twenty long years and what have we achieved? he asked. Neither the Sinhalese nor the Tamils have gained anything as the result of this senseless war, except destruction, he lamented.

The erudite parliamentarian said that the Tiger cadres have now removed the cyanide pill, hitherto worn on their necks to commit suicide should they be caught by the security forces and the Tiger leader has shown positive signs of entering into discussions with the government on power sharing and/or devolution. It was his view that there are clear signs of the emergence of a new political culture, based on consensus and not confrontation. He said that the left movement in Sri Lanka is very weak and fragile and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party is acting on their own accord without any consultation with the LSSP or the Communist Party. His lecture was followed by a question and answer session. He appealed to the Sri Lankan community to assist the deprived schools and other institutions in the South with computers, medical equipment and the like for use by indigent sections of the community. 

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