President for launching PSC without delay

Chamikara WEERASINGHE

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has stressed the importance of setting up the proposed Parliamentary Select Committee in motion to find a workable solution to the national issue without delay, Senior Minister of Scientific Affairs Prof. Tissa Vitharana yesterday told the Daily News.

Prof Vitharana said: "The President had asked all political parties to commit to their participation in the proposed Parliamentary Select Committee(PSC) meetings to find a solution to the Tamil problem. However, it is the Tamil National Alliance, being a political party that represents the Tamil public, that has indicated that it does not want to participate in it."

The members of the Tamil National Alliance have said that they would take part in the PSC provided the government met their demands, which include, implementation of the 13th amendment, recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission report and many other demands which the LTTE wanted through their Interim Administration proposals made in 2003, the Professor said.

"My request is that TNA members sit on the Parliamentary Select Committee to serve the larger national interest," he pointed out.

"The government does not want to drag the proposed PSC process. The deliberations of the PSC should end before the end of the year and a report must be submitted to the President for further action," he added. The TNA has also said that PSC deliberations should start on the basis of the earlier discussions they had with the Mangala Moonasinghe Committee up to the All Party Representatives Committee.

"All these matters could be solved but not before the PSC had started," he said.

Asked whether the opposition UNP has declared their participation in the Committee, Prof Vitharana said the UNP had told him that they would participate in the PSC only if the the TNA participates in the proceedings.

"They have a good point there not to participate if the TNA representatives do not, because it is the Tamil problem that calls for a political solution," he explained.