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Mano-Malik talks fail This may happen if current efforts to reach a consensus with the UNF government and resume the peace talks end in failure. The next round of talks between the President's senior advisor, Mano Tittawella, and UNP chairman Malik Samarawickrama is expected to get under way next week. A prorogation of parliament and a subsequent reshuffle, though arguably wrong in moral terms, are not excluded by law since a reshuffle will thus enable the President to have MPs from her own party to the cabinet. Such a cabinet, PA sources say, will be in a position to enforce progressive policies of the PA prior to elections and have her own cabinet to supervise the general elections. The moves are being considered as the SLFP and the JVP finalise plans to sign their memorandum of understanding on Tuesday at the BMICH in Colombo. Along with the MoU the two sides will also be signing a document titled the "Pancha Maha Piliweth" or "Five great aspects". Both parties have decided not to release the contents of the MoU to the public, but release only the second document. SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena and JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva will sign the MoU at an auspicious time in the morning followed by a news conference. This, according to senior SLFP members, is a process towards a wider political alliance and other parties of the PA are also likely to join soon. Sources from both parties said the main aim of the alliance was to go for a parliamentary election and the two sides would seek a mandate for a new constitution and the abolition of the executive presidency. Tuesday's short ceremony, for which the theme song has been composed by veteran musician Premasiri Kemadasa, will only accommodate two speeches of representatives of the two parties. The new alliance will be named Eksath Janatha Nidahas Peramuna, enabling it to come first on the ballot paper in terms of the Sinhala alphabetical order. The Sunday Times learns that the constitution of the new alliance has been finalised with the JVP getting the chairmanship but no finality has been reached on the symbol though frontliners like Anura Bandaranaike have proposed the hand symbol. Though it was expected that JVP leader Somawansa Amarasinghe would arrive from London for the signing ceremony, party sources said he would be here only on Tuesday evening. Meanwhile, Presidential sources said Ms. Kumaratunga would not attend it for security reasons. But other sources said that for some reason the President wanted to distance herself from the new alliance. The officials of the new alliance are to be appointed soon. The Sunday Times learns that Anura Bandaranaike will be the alliance leader, Nandana Gunathilake the chairman, Mangala Samaraweera the secretary and Mahinda Rajapakse the National Organizer. |
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