News

President brings CWC, UPF in and opens doors for UNP looking for national consensus

By Our Political Editor

A Government-JVP alliance is in the balance over the issue of abrogating the Ceasefire Agreement of February 2002.

In a response to the JVP’s 20-point common programme, the Government issued a ten-page document titled “Wishes of the Public Being Turned into Reality”.

In that the Government took up the position that to resolve the ethnic conflict it is important there is some sort of a ceasefire. However, the Government acknowledged that the CFA is not consistent with the country’s constitution or the laws of the country.

This contentious issue figured prominently at a politburo meeting of the JVP this week. Many speakers were of the view that the JVP should not join the Government if this demand was not conceded. This is based on the JVP’s belief that if the CFA completed five years, that would pose legal problems over the country’s sovereignty. Speakers pointed out that views expressed by eminent legal counsel had confirmed this fact. Hence they argue that joining the Government would amount to accepting responsibility over the CFA.

The politburo has decided to place the issue for a final decision before the party’s Central Committee.

Government sources said another issue, the JVP’s reported refusal to accept Cabinet portfolios after joining was also causing concern. However, a JVP source who spoke on grounds of anonymity said the matter had not yet been discussed with the Government.

It is against this backdrop, The Sunday Times learns, that President Mahinda Rajapaksa wrote on Friday inviting the UNP to join the Government “under the motto country before every other thing” and declared he needed its “full co-operation.”

A four-paragraph letter was addressed to Karu Jayasuriya, deputy leader of the UNP. Its leader and leader of the opposition, Ranil Wickremesinghe was on an overseas tour and is expected in Colombo today.

Mr. Jayasuriya told The Sunday Times his party would respond to Mr. Rajapaksa only after discussions with Mr. Wickremesinghe. He said the UNP would not “rush in to reply the letter” and would discuss the invitation with all sections of the party. On Friday night Mr. Jayasuriya read out the letter to Mr. Wickremesinghe.

He is learnt to have made no comment except to say he would study the matter upon his return to Colombo.

Another political party supporting the Government, the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) was also angered by another move of President Rajapaksa – inviting the Ceylon Workers’ Congress and the Upcountry People’s Front into his Government. On Friday he swore in CWC leader Arumugam Thondaman as a cabinet minister and gave two deputy ministers posts to his party MPs. UPF leader P Chandrasekeran was also sworn in as a cabinet minister and one of his MPs as a deputy.

The JHU said yesterday that President Rajapaksa should explain under what circumstances he got the CWC and the UPF to join the Government. JHU spokesman Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe told The Sunday Times that the CWC and even UPF were known to be pro LTTE political parties. The JHU had been campaigning against him.

He said the JHU would ask President Rajapaksa whether they joined after pledging to accept Mahinda Chinthana. If it was not so, they said it was not proper for him to have taken them into the Government. He said the JHU would take a decision on their course of action after hearing from President Rajapaksa.