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| Sunday, 21 December 2003 |
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A principled basis for bipartisanship Getting the peace process back on track would be the number one priority of the entire polity states National Peace Council of Sri Lanka in a media release. The stalling of the peace process, coupled with the suspension of Norwegian facilitation, has been the most dangerous aspect of the political crisis that erupted with the President's take-over of three ministries of the government. Getting the peace process back on track would be the number one priority of the entire polity. The National Peace Council views the joint committee of high officials appointed by the President and Prime Minister to work out an agreement between them as a positive action. We are glad that these two leaders have publicly acknowledged their need to work together even at this late stage. We note that unilateral actions taken when joint actions are both expected and necessary will create suspicion that what is really being sought is to implement a hidden agenda. In any negotiation much depends on the spirit with which the negotiators enter into the negotiations. Erosion of confidence at the outset itself due to unilateral action is a bad sign. We appeal to the two sides to make a sincere effort to reach an agreement that will enable the peace process to be taken forward. It should be clear to the politicians on both sides that people do want another election as it will not provide an answer to the problems that need to be solved jointly. On the other hand, a successful building up of the joint committee concept could not only resolve the political crisis. It could also take the country towards a bipartisan approach to constitutional reform and to the resolution of the ethnic conflict. The National Peace Council believes that bipartisanship will be best achieved on the basis of the acceptance that the ethnic conflict can only be resolved through negotiations and that the framework should be a federal one. We call on the President and Prime Minister, with the backing of their respective parties, to agree to a joint initiative to democratise the polity through constitutional reform that also provides accommodation for an interim self-governing unit in the north east of the country. |
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