Govt affirms – talks not suspended

Leader of the House and Chief Negotiator in the TNA-Government talks Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva yesterday affirmed that they have not suspended or withdrawn from the ongoing negotiations to find a workable framework for the devolution of power.

Responding to media reports that the Government has suspended talks, the Minister said they have called upon the TNA to appoint members to the proposed Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) for continuation of the talks.

“I hope they will take note of this Cabinet decision,” he said. Explaining the background to the Cabinet decision, the Minister said, “Our Government is a coalition Government consisting of several alliance parties.

They too have certain vote bases in the country. They too represent certain schools of thought with regard to the North and the East issue.”

Therefore, he said the Government believed that a lasting solution could emerge only after reaching a consensus among all these partners.

He said there were divided opinions among the Tamil community, as well, with regard to just the TNA representing the Tamil voice. He said the PSC will answer all these concerns.

The Minister said that the solution that will ultimately emerge as a result of the talks should be accepted by the wider community in the South as well as the North. It should not be an exercise to please just one political party and their vote base.

If not the whole process will be a waste of time.

“It is not a difficult request for the TNA to fulfil,” he said adding that the Government hoped that the TNA would take note of the Cabinet decision and appoint members so that the talks can proceed as usual.

“We have not withdrawn from the talks or suspended the talks per se. But a request has been made to facilitate the continuation of the talks.”

MF