Expression of Unified position vital- Wickremesinghe

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 November 2004, 16:21 GMT]
''Sri Lanka's President must candidly discuss the peace process with leaders of Janatha Vimukthy Preramana (JVP) and arrive at a common position acceptable to both President Kumaratunge and the JVP,'' said opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe at the United National Party (UNP) New members intake meeting on Tuesday evening, held at UNP party Head office, political sources in Colombo said.

''The UNP is anxious to arrive at some form of agreement with regard to the ongoing peace process. Any attempt to change the constitution by illegal methods, removing the speaker, convening a constituent assembly or holding a referendum will impede the search for a consensus between the UNP and UPFA. Civil society, religious leaders and others are urging for a consensus,'' Wickremesinghe said.

He cautioned, ''Any diversionary measures adopted by the Sri Lanka government to delay the peace process will likely push Sri Lanka into an unprecedented crisis.

''Meanwhile, we are always ready to give the support to start the peace talks based on the Interim Self-Governing Authority (ISGA) proposals,'' he said.