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Premier gives assurances to prelates
By Shane Seneviratne
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe met the Mahanayakes of the Malwatte and Asgiriya Chapters and rejected the theory of a separate minority Tamil homeland in the north and east in what appeared to be a move to diffuse growing opposition by the majority Sinhalese to his efforts to strike a bargain with the LTTE in return for peace.

Premier Wickremesinghe went to Kandy to meet the Mahanayakes of Malwatte and Asgiriya - recognised as the heads of the country's somewhat influential Buddhist clergy - and assured them that he would be keeping them informed of each step in the upcoming peace talks between the government and the rebels scheduled for sometime in mid-June in Thailand.

He rejected the theory advocated by LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran on April 10 at his news conference in Kilinochchi near his jungle hideout where he said he would give up his armed struggle for a separate Tamil state only if the government recognised the right to self-determination.

Mr. Prabhakaran had explained that self-determination meant the recognition of the north and east as "traditional Tamil homeland", and went on to say that the Muslims living in the east were also included because they spoke the Tamil language. The Prime Minister said he would not permit the country to be divided, and would allow all its citizens to live in any part of the country.

Mr. Wickremesinghe's rejection of the Tamil homeland theory, which he has said before, comes only a week after local media reported that the government was not prepared to lift the ban on the LTTE un-conditionally as demanded by the LTTE, but would "suspend" the proscription for the duration of the peace talks, and consider lifting it completely only after a satisfactory resolution for the northern insurgency had been reached.

The Malwatte Mahanayake, Ven. Rambukwelle Sri Vipassi, asked the Prime Minister why his government stopped a procession of monks and others protesting the truce accord from coming to see him, and also why the government stopped the media from publishing a joint statement of Buddhist monks and civilians warning against the peace process with the rebels. The Prime Minister said the procession was stopped as it violated election laws in operation, but that he had permitted them to hand over the petition, though it had not been done.

Referring to the joint statement, the Premier said some of the signatories had not wanted the statement released to the media. He urged the Mahanayakes to ensure that the peace talks with the rebels took place, and not to give an opportunity for the LTTE to run away from the negotiating table, saying that the government and the majority Sinhalese were against a negotiated settlement to the northern insurgency.

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