• Govt. moves for constitutional changes
• Axed ministers as powerful deputies
• $50m air guarantee no good
• Thunder showers due next week
• PA-JVP cross connections in Telecom sales 

Govt. moves for constitutional changes

By Shelani de Silva

The move, The Sunday Times learns, is a way out for the Government to bring in a new-look constitution to offer during negotiations with the LTTE, which it hopes to resume through Norwegian facilitation.

The commission will comprise representatives from political parties in Parliament, members of the clergy and a cross-section of the public. It will call for written submissions from citizens and these will be processed before calling on a few organisations to make oral submissions.

Once proposals are made by this commission, they will be submitted to Parliament where it is hoped that a two-thirds majority will see the passage of the amendments, if necessary with a referendum thereafter.

This was reportedly one of the options the government had, apart from the extra-constitutional process or the constituent assembly process after it held the now abandoned referendum to introduce a new constitution.

The PA-JVP agreement demands, however, that constitutional amendments for the appointment of a constitutional council and four independent commissions be passed in Parliament by September 24. In addition, it requires the abolition of the Executive Presidency and the setting up of an independent media commission within six months.

However, the JVP has demanded that the Government should not introduce any proposals "that may lead to controversy" until such time that a "broad consensus" is arrived at "through a wide-ranging dialogue with the participation of all segments of society aimed at reaching a reasonable resolution of the national question."

This clause is contained in the section dealing with devolution of powers and therefore the LTTE issue, which otherwise the PA-JVP memorandum of understanding studiously avoids referring to, despite its high profile status in the country's continuing problems. 

In a national TV interview on Thursday, President Chandrika Kumaratunga said the peace process through Norwegian facilitation would continue.

Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar said in a TV interview yesterday that Clause 20 of the PA-JVP agreement relating to negotiations with the LTTE only prevented for one year any move by the Government to make unilateral offers of devolution to the LTTE. But it did not prohibit the Government from consulting the people or the LTTE, for a solution to the northern insurgency within this year, he said.

Mr. Kadirgamar said extensive discussions were held with the JVP leadership on this vexed issue and that there was no bar to the Government initiating a dialogue with the LTTE through Norwegians and seeking to arrange a temporary halt to offensive military operations.

Consultations with the Norwegians are scheduled for tomorrow in Colombo. The resumption of stalled peace talks with the LTTE, a mutually agreed ceasefire and other issues are to be discussed.

Norwegian parliamentary elections will also be held tomorrow with the likelihood of the incumbent Labour government being defeated. The opposition Christian-Democrats, however, have pledged to continue the role of facilitator.

JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva told The Sunday Times in an interview that the party believed that a weak government should not handle such an important issue within a year.

"We don't mind if devolving power is in the government's mind but it cannot be done within this year," Mr. Silva said.

"The Government's stand and the JVP's stand on the ethnic conflict are different. The government's stand is to devolve power, our stand is to give equal rights and to restore democracy to solve the national issue. It is obvious there is a conflict of ideas," Mr. Silva explained.

Meanwhile, the government in an apparent attempt to involve the UNP in peace talks, despite the deal with the JVP, has written to the four-member UNP delegation which took part in the abortive PA-UNP talks.

The letter addressed to UNP Chairman Karu Jayasuriya is signed by the PA delegation to the talks.

The draft of proposed joint statement by the PA and the UNP tabled by the PA delegation on August 25 at the discussions on the possibility of forming a government of consensus states inter alia"

"The overall objective of the government and the LTTE, as has often been publicly stated, is to find a negotiated solution to the ongoing armed conflict in Sri Lanka. The UNP shares this objective 

"The Government and the UNP propose that the necessary measures be taken to alleviate any hardships and dangers to civilians affected by the ongoing conflict, and that a mutually agreed temporary halt to offensive military operations be declared with immediate effect. 

The Government and the United National Party, recalling the statement twice made by the Leader of the LTTE in the course of his speech on 27th November 2000, that "We are not imposing any preconditions for talks", request the LTTE to commence talks at the earliest." 

UNP whip Tyronne Fernando who was a member of the UNP delegation told The Sunday Times they had received the invitation from the PA and were considering it but the clause on stopping the devolution proposals needed to be clarified.

"If we are to make a joint appeal to the LTTE, it should be something meaningful to the LTTE for talks. We would like to know what they mean by saying there would be no devolution of power," he said.

Meanwhile, the business community is also launching an all-out campaign for peace. While, Ceylinco Group boss Lalith Kotelawela has invited the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran for talks, the whole business community is to launch a peace initiative on September 19. Under the theme 'Sri Lanka First — It's now or never', the business leaders are calling on all employees and others to stage a lunch-hour peace demonstration. 

Axed ministers as powerful deputies

The move, in effect, will mean that some present ministers will become deputy ministers exercising responsibility for some of the functions assigned to ministers — a move intended to appease those who will lose their cabinet portfolios and to ensure the perks they enjoy are retained.

The deputy ministers positions will be strengthened by giving them much more than the powers and functions of existing deputy ministers. Similar staff will also be allocated.

In the amalgamation, the deputy minister is to be handed over one specific subject. Thus the minister will be technically in charge of one section of the ministry and the other section will be overseen by the deputy minister.

In the process President Kumaratunga is also likely to undertake additional portfolios. She now holds several portfolios, including finance and defence.

The Sunday Times learns that under plans being considered, the ministers who become deputy ministers would continue to have ministerial security with backup vehicles and other facilities.

Under the memorandum of understanding signed between the PA and the JVP on Wednesday the cabinet has to be slashed to 20 before September 12.

$50m air guarantee no good

By Tania Fernando

Civil Aviation Ministry Secretary W. P. S Jayawardena declined to comment about the rejection of the US$ 50 million guarantee, saying that the ministry had not informed underwriters officially about the cabinet decision to offer US$ 50 million.

But aviation sources said the insurance underwriters wanted a bigger guarantee.

Though the cabinet decision was not officially communicated to insurance underwriters, the Ministry issued a media statement offering US$ 50 million guarantee.

Mr. Jayawardena said since discussions were still in progress, he could not disclose details.

The guarantee was offered by the cabinet in anticipation of getting insurance underwriters to reduce the surcharge on the aviation sector and build up confidence so that international flights could use the Bandaranaike International Airport.

Since the July 24th Katunayake attack, airlines have imposed a surcharge of US$ 80 for every passenger and Mr. Jayawardena said this would continue until a decision was taken.

Thunder showers due next week

PA-JVP cross connections in Telecom sales 

The JVP reiterated yesterday that it would not allow the government to go ahead with further privatisation of Sri Lanka Telecom, but Telecommunication Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva insists he is going ahead with the sale of the remaining shares.

The government has already sold 49 percent of the Sri Lanka Telecom shares to Japan's NTT and the remaining shares were to be sold through the Public Enterprises Reforms Commission (PERC) by calling for bids.JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva told The Sunday Times that under the MoU his party would not agree to the privatisation of the remaining shares of Telecom and wanted the deal stopped.

Minister de Silva, however, told a news conference on Thursday that under the MoU, they could go ahead with the deal.

Sri Lanka has pledged to the IMF that it will raise 275 million dollars by the way of privatisation receipts by the end of the year and the bulk of the money was due to come in from the sale of Telecom shares.

During the budget presented for this year the government pledged that it would go ahead with the Telecom deal.

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