Sri Lanka's President and PM to meet again

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 November 2003, 18:22 GMT]
The second round of talks between the President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge and Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe are expected to be held Tuesday at the Presidential office for the first time after Norway’s pulling out of the peace process it has brokered twenty two months ago with a ceasefire agreement between the United National Front government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, political sources said.

The talks between the leaders of the two major political parties are expected to find an amicable solution to resolve the current political crisis which followed by the unilateral action of the President in taking over three key ministries and proroguing the parliament for two weeks, political observers said.

Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe has said he would attend the second round of talks with the President along with the leaders of the constituent parties in the ruling UNF, namely with Mr.Arumugam Thondaman of the Ceylon Workers Congress, Mr.Periayasamy Chandrasekaram of the Upcountry Peoples Front and Mr.Rauff Hakim of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress.

However during the first round of talk held last Wednesday Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe did not ask the President to restore the three ministries she took over last week to his government. Instead Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe wanted the President to take charge of the peace process and the UNF would provide full support for her in this venture, sources said.