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| Sunday, 31 August 2003 |
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Minority, leftist parties against de-merger by P. Krishnaswamy and Deepal Warnakulasuriya Prominent leftist leaders and minority politcal parties representing the North East have strongly opposed moves by President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga to de-merge the two provinces. Even the two constituents of the Opposition PA, the National Unity Alliance (NUA) and the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP), have strongly opposed the de-merger. While the two provinces now remain tentatively unified under provisions of the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord signed in '87, the negotiatory process between the Government and the LTTE and the peace formula itself are based on a unified interim administration. EPDP leader, Douglas Devananda MP, lodged his protest to President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga last week. This was followed by a joint communique, with the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) and Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students (EROS), which were the militant groups that returned to the democratic mainstream after the signing of the Peace Accord. NUA leader Ms. Ferial Ashraff stated that they would not oppose a political solution based on the merger. But senior leader of the party, Segu Issadeen MP, told the Sunday Observer that "the PA and the JVP can say anything but a de-merger will never help bring peace". The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) has also stated that power-sharing arrangements for the Muslims should be within a unified Northeastern province. The Tamil National Alliance (TNA), of which the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) is the main constituent, held a press conference on Tuesday to express its concern over the new political line being pursued by the PA, which during its regime had promised a political settlement based on the North-East unification. Spokespersons of militant parties said that they joined the democratic mainstream because they believed that the unification of the two provinces provided for under the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord would pave the way for a final political settlement. Terming the de-merger proposal an 'irresponsible act', the leftist leaders have warned that it would damage the peace process and create a political crisis. Democratic Left Front Leader Vasudeva Nanayakkara said that according to the Constitution, the North East cannot be demerged without a referendum. He said he didn't see any sensible need to demerge the North and East and warned doing so would lead to more problems. Dr. Wickremabahu Karunaratne, leader of the New Left Front said that he didn't expect the President to take such a drastic move and warned that such a move would result in the collapse of the peace talks, and the country would return to war. Communist Party General Secretary D.E.W. Gunasekara said that the President should not give into the pressure of extremist and racist groups. He also said that de-merging and appointing two governors to the North and East should be done with the consent of the majority. |
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