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Alliance
manifesto at odds with MoU
The manifesto also contradicts the positions taken by senior members of the parties after the signing of the MoU on January 20. Information Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar clearly stated a few weeks back at a news conference that his party would commence the negotiation process with the LTTE without any pre-conditions. But the UPFA manifesto says the negotiations will be on "reasonable conditions". Speaking during a television debate JVP candidate Bimal Ratnayake dismissed his party's acceptance of statements made by individuals. These contradictions have been spotlighted from January 20 with the signing of the MoU between the SLFP and the JVP. The English version of the MoU has shed the term "conditions" for negotiation and instead used the term "negotiations on correct basis". Meanwhile the Sinhala text of the MoU says negotiations with the LTTE would commence on 'reasonable conditions' (sadarana kondesi). Also the election manifesto of the UPFA looks at building a new economic order. It says " this new economic order should be built through the competitive participation of a strong private sector and strong public sector…", "…based on well managed foreign investment, incentives and promotion of local industries and enterprises". But just two months earlier the SLFP-JVP MoU spoke of "promoting an economy which will give pride of place to local production…" but in the manifesto this sort of economic configuration has been scrapped with "good management" replacing "pride of place". The manifesto does not refer anywhere to the concept of an open economy nor does it denounce it and thus it is vague on the open economy. Likewise, in the Sinhala version of the MoU the concept of the open economy is directly attacked while in the English version the handling of the open economy is criticised but not the concept in principle. The manifesto only calls for a negotiated settlement of the ethnic conflict with the controversial contradictory position of the two parties on the resolution of the conflict being unstated. The SLFP favours devolution while the JVP advocates decentralization. In a recent interview with 'Business Today' the JVP leader had attacked the concept of devolution as a solution to the ethnic conflict '. He had said "On the national question, people are talking about devolution, division or sharing of power and other formulae. Everyone has become prisoners of devolution…what we say is, please stop talking about devolution". JVP Propaganda Secretary Wimal Weerawansa told The Sunday Times, that his party's position would be that of the policies introduced through the manifesto and not on remarks made by any person. |
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