Lankan rulers, Oppn to meet for talks

Emerging out of the meeting, Wickremesinghe said “It was a good beginning and the meeting was held in an friendly atmosphere”. Both the government and opposition decided that all outstanding issues could be discussed during a series of meetings in a fixed time frame.

He, however, refused to divulge any details of talks saying a joint communique would be released later.

The first round of discussions between the government and the opposition was scheduled this morning after Wickremisinghe conveyed his party’s decision to participate in the talks. Earlier, he did not attend a meeting convened by the president saying he wanted more time to finalise his party’s proposals.

The government delegation, led by Kumaratunga, included seven senior ministers of the ruling Peoples’ Alliance. The five-member UNP delegation is led by opposition leader Ranil Wickremsinghe, party chairman Karu Jayasuriya and general secretary Gammini Atukorale. The President and the opposition leader last met in 1997 to discuss a solution to the ethnic conflict.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan government has virtually disowned the alleged utterances of a senior minister relating to the closing down of parliament and courts with justice and constitutional affairs minister G L Peiris stating in parliament that the government did not echo the minister’s view point.

Prof Peiris told parliament yesterday for the second time in a week that the government would not engage in any action that would lead to the dismantling of courts and the closure of the supreme legislature.

Responding to queries from the opposition on the series of statements made by Sports minister S B Dissanayake, Peiris said the courts are unsurpassable in a democratic society. “I would like to ask the opposition to banish their fears in the certain knowledge that there is no change whatsoever with regards to the government’s policy.”

The issue was taken by on a motion moved by the United National Party which wanted to know why action had not taken against the minister concerned.

“The Chief Justice himself has appointed a panel to look into the minister’s reported statement as the courts have taken a serious view of it. Why can’t the President stop her own minister from making irresponsible statements?”, UNP MPs asked.

The opposition’s main grudge was that despite Peiris’ earlier policy statement in the house, Minister Dissanayake twice repeated his earlier assertion.

Dissanayake had later issued a statement saying that his speech was distorted by the media and tendered an apology for creating a controversy involving the courts.