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Lankans agree on Interim Council, with LTTE aboard

In a major breakthrough in the on-going talks to formulate a new constitution, the Sri Lankan Government and opposition United National Party have decided to constitute an Interim Council to administer the Tamil-dominated north and eastern provinces for five years. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam will be permitted to participate provided it stopped the war.

Official sources in Colombo said that President Chandrika Kumaratunga and United National Party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe arrived at this decision during their meeting on Thursday night. Both, however, ruled out monopoly status for the LTTE. They wanted all political parties from the Tamil provinces to participate.

Both Chandrika and Ranil have been holding discussions since last month to formulate a new constitution, which would incorporate a broad autonomy package to devolve powers to the northern and eastern provinces. They will refer the same to the LTTE after it is finalised.

The north and eastern provinces had been merged on a temporary basis in 1987 as a consequence of the Indo-Lanka accord signed by former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and Lanka's former president J R Jayawardene. The latest decision means that this arrangement will continue for another five yeas.

Later, the government will hold a referendum in the east to ascertain whether the province opts to stay with the north or preferred a bifurcation. The province has a mixed population of Tamils, Muslims and Sinhalese.

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