SLFP General Secretary writes to Opposition Leader : Extend co-operation to achieve dignified peace

Responding to grave aspersions by UNP and Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe to say that President Mahinda Rajapakse and the constituent parties of the United People's Freedom Alliance including its allies are responsible for the present day LTTE rampage of Cease-fire violations, the SLFP General Secretary, Minister Maitripala Sirisena, in a letter to the UNP and Opposition Leader said: "We have paid serious attention to various political utterances by you during the last few days aspersing that President Mahinda Rajapakse, the UPFA and their supportive parties at the last Presidential Election must take the responsibility for various atrocities and murders committed by the LTTE.

"These statements by you pose a serious bearing on the peace process. President Mahinda Rajapakse has categorically stated that a new approach is necessary to usher in peace. This became necessary consequent upon the Cease-fire under your initiative which did not open the door to go beyond in order to begin a peace process.The peace talks with the LTTE was stalled during your regime.

Your Government did not have a plan to re-start the peace process. In the face of violations of the Cease-fire by the LTTE, you first as the Prime Minister or subsequently as the Opposition Leader did not condemn such violence but informally justified their actions.

You ignored the reasonable national and international demand for the participation of all stakeholders in the peace process including the Muslims.The result was the stagnation of the peace process. The country came to a stage of neither war nor peace. Meanwhile LTTE continued with the hunt of political leaders and violations of the cease-fire agreement.

"It was against this backdrop that Mahinda Rajapakse contested the Presidential Election seeking a mandate to re-start the peace process on a multi-party basis by restructuring the Cease-fire Agreement and solving the problems pertaining to mediators and monitors. Mahinda Rajapakse's pledges to some extent were beneficial to you so as to make you state that the participation of the SLFP too was necessary to solve the national problem.

"President Mahinda Rajapakse, in his speech soon after swearing in as the new President, and in the Presidential Address in Parliament as well as in his first budget speech extended an open invitation to the Opposition to join in the search for a new peace process. It is the opinion of the Maha Nayaka of the Malwatta Chapter and other religious leaders that the main opposition party should cooperate with the President to pursue a new peace process.

"The new President is ready by now to commence discussion with the parties in the South. It goes without saying that the on-going killings and other Cease-fire violations on the part of the LTTE are detrimental to the peace process. No peace loving person can attempt to gain petty political mileage out of the criminal acts of the LTTE. Peace loving people at this stage must bring pressure on the LTTE to stop forthwith violations of the Cease-fire Agreement and push forward the peace process by mending the shortcomings in the Cease-fire Agreement as it stands today.

"The utterances you make today contravenes the demand of the religious leaders including the Maha Nayaka Theras and belies your stance during the Presidential Election period that the main political parties should unite to solve the national problem.You seem to have reverted to the same old political gambling. I may say that this attitude is not consistent with the aspirations of not only President Mahinda Rajapakse but also of the multitude of voters who supported your candidacy at the last Presidential Election.

"In the circumstances, I urge you earnestly to act in conformity with the dignity of your position as the Leader of the Opposition and respect the aspirations of millions of citizens to achieve a dignified peace and extend your cooperation to the Government under the leadership of President Mahinda Rajapakse".