Govt renews challenge to NDF presidential candidate:

‘Disclose agreement with TNA’ - Wimal Weerawansa

by Uditha KUMARASINGHE

The Government yesterday renewed its challenge to New Democratic Front (NDF) presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka to disclose the agreement he has reached with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA).

“The Opposition presidential candidate has not yet disclosed this agreement to the country. But Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe at a recent press briefing commented on an agreement reached between the TNA and the Opposition presidential Candidate Sarath Fonseka,” National Freedom Front Leader MP Wimal Weerawansa told a media briefing at the Mahaweli Centre in Colombo yesterday.

“Therefore we challenge the Opposition and its presidential candidate to declare at a press briefing whether they have reached any agreement with the TNA or not.”

He said the JVP says that they are not aware of such an agreement reached between the Opposition presidential candidate and the TNA. The JVP had not been present when this agreement was signed. The JVP is only used to paste posters and erect political stages of the Opposition candidate. “We would like to know the JVP’s view on this agreement.”

According to Weerawansa, this agreement has been signed between Sarath Fonseka and TNA Leader R. Sampanthan at the residence of UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake. The UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and MP Mangala Samaraweera had also participated. In addition, TNA MP K. Thurairatnasingham has told the media that two ambassadors of Western countries also took part to provide evidence to the international community on this agreement.

The TNA has been split into three parts. Sampanthan represents the faction allied to the LTTE. It is very clear that Fonseka has signed an agreement with this pro-LTTE faction, he said. TNA Leader Sampanthan has told a newspaper that Fonseka has agreed to re-merge the North and the East, remove High Security Zones and provide a sustainable solution to the ethnic problem.

Fonseka has pledged to provide a solution to the ethnic problem based on the talks that commenced from the time of the Dudley-Chelvanayagam pact up to Oslo. MP Rauff Hakeem at a meeting held in Vavuniya has said the Opposition presidential candidate has agreed to provide an interim administration, he said.

He said the Government did not agree to the demands put forward by the TNA. Therefore, they reached this agreement with Fonseka. Responding to a question raised by a journalist whether the TNA decision to support the Opposition candidate would affect the vote base of the President, Weerawansa said it would not cause any impact.

“If the Government has any doubts on the election, we would have obtained TNA support by agreeing to all these conditions. But the Government is not ready to betray the mandate given by the people for mere votes.”

“Earlier Fonseka said ‘country before self’. Now when he goes to the North he promises to give an interim administration. When he comes back he says ‘country first’. This clearly shows his double standards. His political manifesto has not mentioned anything about the unitary state of the country. I think the people will not be foolish enough to vote for this kind of candidate.”

“We urge the people who came to the streets and celebrated when V. Prabhakaran was killed not to allow anybody to turn back the great victory achieved by the country,” he said.

Education Minister Susil Premajayantha said the TNA has put forward 14 conditions. They put forward these same conditions to the Government as well. “But the stand of the Government was that we can’t go for any solutions which would affect the country’s unitary state. Any solution should safeguard the rights of all communities. The Government is not ready to take decisions that put national security into danger. The Government conveyed this to the TNA. They then put forward these same conditions to the Opposition presidential candidate. He accepted these conditions for narrow political objectives”, he said.