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| Tuesday, 3 February 2004 |
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Politics | |
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| Prospects bleak at Mano-Malik talks Although the Mano -Malik talks are reportedly to be held today, the prospects of an agreement being reached are bleak, well-informed political sources told the Daily News . They pointed out that the deadlock at the talks was a result of the stubborn insistence of the UNF Government' sdemand for the Defence Portfolio. This has been firmly turned down by the President. According to the Constitution and two Supreme Court judgments the Defense Portfolio cannot be vested in anyone other than the President. Sources close to the President's Office said that despite the propaganda being carried out by the UNF spin doctors there was nothing new in the "new " proposals submitted by the Government. The draft MOU prepared by the UNF was like old wine in new bottles. It was difficult to accept. The well informed sources said that in fact, it had now emerged the real motive of the Government was to cripple the powers of the President, far from wanting to reach a compromise. Hence, its intransigence. " They want the pre-November 4th situation where all powers of Defence were vested in the Prime Minister. They also want all powers over the armed forces handed to the Prime Minister. The President in the spirit of compromise has gone that extra mile and offered to give powers on the peace related matters to the Prime Minister or a Minister of National Security as was Lalith Athulathmudali under President Jayawardene," the sources said. From the very inception of the Mano-Malik consensus talks the UNF had insisted on having all powers of Defence. the Government had engaged in the talks, in order to pull the wool over the eyes of the national and international community and create a facade that it was anxious to reach a settlement, when in fact the opposite was the truth. |
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