Minority parties extend support to form All Party Govt

Many minority political parties represented in the Parliament have decided to extend their support to form an All Party government considering the current dire economic situation the country is facing.

Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), Tamil Progressive Front (TPA), Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), and Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) have informed President Ranil Wickremesinghe of extending political support to an All Party government that would lead the country towards resolving the worst economic crisis. 

One of the main parties in the Opposition- TNA met President Wickremesinghe at Presidential Secretariat yesterday evening and assured the party's support to revive the country's economy while putting forward ten points-based requests based on issues Tamil-speaking people face in both North and Eastern parts of the country. 

The ten based points put forwarded by TNA are the immediate release of prisoners detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) for years without convictions, Upgrading Kalmunai as Divisional Secretariat, the release of private lands currently occupied by military and state institutions, repeal of PTA and fast tracking justice mechanisms available under Office of Missing Persons (OMP) on the fate of enforced disappeared persons and resettlement of war-affected people etc. 

Meanwhile, other political parties- SLMC, TPA, CWC and EPDP have already indicated their support for forming an All Party government considering the current the current crisis. All Ceylon Tamil Congress led by Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam rejected President Wickremesinghe's call to join the all-party government. 

EPDP leader Douglas Devananda who holds the Cabinet portfolio of the Ministry of Fisheries said that minority parties should join hands with the government at this juncture to revive the local economy with a stable government in place. 

Addressing the ceremonial session to open Parliament, President Wickremesinghe yesterday (3) reiterated his call for parties in Parliament to unite in the formation of an All-Party Government.

“I respectfully extend the hand of friendship to all of you. I confidently invite you to put aside the past and come together for the sake of the country. I have already initiated discussions with political parties in forming an All-Party Government”,  President Wickremesinghe said 

This was after the President prorogued parliament last week.  

The President stated that the government had initiated negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a four year programme. “We would continue those discussions from this month. It is our expectation to conclude the staff level negotiations expeditiously and successfully,” he remarked.