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JVP moves for common candidat
President calls TNA leadership for meeting today and UNP leader tomorrow
By Our Political Editor
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) yesterday vowed to talk to "partriotic elements" in all political parties for a common candidate at the upcoming presidential election and to abrogate a joint mechanism which President Chandrika Banaranaike Kumaratunga wants to sign with Tiger guerrillas to share aid for tsunami recovery.

This will be a priority task for the JVP which will quit the UPFA Government on Thursday if President Kumaratunga does not call off this move, JVP leader Somawansa Amerasinghe said. His party has already issued an ultimatum to her to do so before midnight on June 15.

Read for full text of Somawansa Amerasinghe's exclusive interview to The Sunday Times.
The move came as President Kumaratunga invited the Opposition UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe for talks tomorrow at the Janadipathi Mandiraya. She is to discuss matters pertaining to the joint mechanism with Tiger guerrillas.

President Kumaratunga has invited the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) for a meeting today at 11 a.m. at President's House.

Deputy Minister Dilan Perera had extended the invitation on behalf of the President.
TNA parliamentarian Joseph Pararajasingham said a delegation comprising Parliamentary group leader R. Sampanthan, MPs Gajendra Kumar Ponnambalam, Suresh Premachandran, Mavai Senathiraja and K.Sivajilingam would attend the meeting.

Though the joint mechanism was expected to be signed on June 12 or 15, Ms. Kumaratunga has now decided it will not take place this month. A fresh date in July or thereafter is yet to be determined.

"We have an obligation to those who voted for us. We will engage in discussions with patriotic elements within the SLFP, the UNP, the MEP, the NUA, the EPDP and other groups. This is for a mutually agreeable joint candidate," he said in an interview with The Sunday Times.

"JVP Cabinet Ministers will resign and all MPs will sit in the opposition benches. In addition we will also move to opposition benches in all the Provincial Councils," he added.

Mr Amerasinghe said the common candidate would also be the rallying point for all those who had expressed their opposition to how the Tiger guerrillas had strengthened themselves politically and militarily. It will also be a rallying point for those seriously concerned with the erosion of the country's sovereignty.

The interview came as the JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva wrote a four-page letter to President Kumartunga on Friday giving reasons why she should not sign a joint mechanism with the LTTE. He said she should give up the idea of signing an agreement on this joint mechanism before June 15. Although President Kumaratunga was to have signed the agreement with the LTTE at an auspicious time on June 12 or 15, she has decided to delay it further.

This week, when SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena asked her whether he should cancel a proposed trip to London in view of the signing, she told him to travel.

She said no signing would take place until after his return on June 22. The Sunday Times learns that the signing ceremonies will be further delayed indefinitely.

This is said to be in view of certain assurance President Kumaratunga gave the Mahanayake Theras on Friday.

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