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Lankan govt may consult LTTE on devolution plan

Contrary to the rigid stand adopted by the Sri Lankan government, a senior minister has said that the proposed devolution package is to be presented to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, and that the terrorist organisation may find a place in the proposed interim council for the north-east.

Senior minister and People's Alliance general-secretary D M Jayaratne has been quoted by the local media as saying that the government was in the final stages of processing the proposal, and that "we can give the proposals to the LTTE only after processing them."

Earlier, the government had stated that the proposals would directly be placed in parliament without the involvement of the LTTE.

It is understood that the government has 'no-objection' to the participation of any organisation, which is a party to the conflict in the north-east, in the proposed interim council, paving the way for the LTTE's inclusion.

This is a clear shift from the government's earlier stand. President Chandrika Kumaratunga had said that there was no place for the 'murderous LTTE' in the interim council and it could participate only after entering the democratic political mainstream by shunning violence.

Almost all Tamil parties and the United National Party had taken exception to this statement, and urged the government to change its stand. Tamil parties told the government that setting up a council minus the LTTE would not serve any purpose.

Kumaratunga and UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe met at the president's official Temples Trees residence on Wednesday for more than three hours and discussed the devolution package. Discussions between the PA and the UNP are scheduled to last until the end of this month.

The devolution package is expected to be presented to parliament by the end of July.

UNI

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