UNP decides to boycott APRC

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 February 2007, 16:20 GMT]
The main opposition United National Party (UNP) has decided not to participate in the future deliberations of the All Parties Representatives Committee (APRC). This APRC was appointed by the Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapakse last year to work out a common programme reaching consensus among southern political parties to find a political solution to the Tamil national question through peaceful means.

A decision to this effect was taken at the Working Committee of the UNP held Friday at UNP headquarters Sri Kotha in Colombo.

UNP spokesperson, Gayantha Karunatilake, said that there was no purpose in participating in the APRC process as Mr. Rajapakse has violated the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by his party with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), main constituent of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government last year on six identified issues giving top priority to find a solution to ethnic conflict.

However, the UNP will continue to extend its co-operation to find a political solution to the ethnic conflict on the basis of its proposals already submitted by the UNP delegate K.N.Choksy at the APRC sittings held last month, the party spokesperson said.