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| Sunday, 7 December 2003 |
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President, PM in final round Dec. 15 by Don Asoka Wijewardena The stand-off between the Presidency and Government comes to a head next Monday (December 15) when President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe meet for talks which, UNP sources say, must be a 'make or break' round. Highly placed party sources told the Sunday Observer that if the December 15 meeting failed to set up a power sharing mechanism, the UNP was not prepared to continue with further negotiations and would rather face snap elections eventually. Presidential sources said that a 'final decision' would be taken at this meeting. Cabinet spokesman G. L. Peiris addressing the Malaysian Bar Council in Kuala Lumpur, yesterday said the government was hopeful that the current crisis would be resolved by December 15. "We hope for a satisfactory conclusion of these talks. Of course it cannot be open ended, that is why we indicated timeframe", a Reuter report quotes Prof. Peiris. "There was unmistakable evidence of a deep sense of commitment on both sides to find a solution ... a positive solution can be hoped for (by December 15)". Spokespersons for both sides told the Sunday Observer that the talks between Presidential Adviser Mano Tittawela and UNP Chairman Malik Samarawickrema had resulted in the formulation of two sets of proposals from either side. The President's representatives are presenting, a proposal for a 'National Government' while the Prime Minister's representatives have come up with a proposal for a 'Government of National Consensus.' A final decision on these proposals awaits the December 15 meeting between the President and the Prime Minister when the two examine the proposals in detail. The Committee of National Consensus comprising Advisor to the President Mano Tittawella, Secretary to the President W.J.S. Karunaratne, Secretary to the Prime Minister Bradman Weerakoon and UNP chairman, Malik Samarawickrema have been holding a series of discussions and have compiled a set of recommendations and proposals for the attention of the President and the Prime Minister. Highly placed political source told the Sunday Observer that Tittawella and Secretary Karunaratne had made proposals for national government in which power could be shared for the good governance of the country and the economy. At the same time Bradman Weerakoon and UNP chairman Samarawickrema had prepared a set of recommendations to have a Government of National Consensus in which both the President and the Prime Minister could work together by setting priorities to cater to the needs of important national issues with the proper management and utilisation of the massive aid package promised by donor governments. A senior UNP spokesman said that both the President and the Prime Minister would have to take a final decision either to have a government of National Consensus or National Government. He added that the United National Party had already taken a firm decision not to continue any more discussions with the President regarding the political crisis in the event of a failure to agree on December 15. The UNP would prefer to face snap elections eventually, he said. According to political sources, in addition to the Committee of National Consensus two other Committees comprising non-political professionals from both parties are to be appointed by the President and the Prime Minister to analyse controversial problems arising from the core issues and these two committees would be required to arrive at impartial decisions. |
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