“Not all Sinhalese are racists "- Wickremasinghe

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 November 2003, 17:05 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister, Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, said Saturday evening that all the Sinhalese living in the south are not racists and only a handful of them are opposing the current peace efforts. His comments came when he was addressing a meeting in Mawanella as part of a campaign to create awareness among the masses in the south about the urgent need to recommence the stalled peace talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, media sources said.

The Sri Lankan Prime Minister said the proposal for the establishment of a national reconciliation government would not bear fruit unless the political parties involved in this venture come to an agreement first on the basis for the peace efforts.

Mr.Wickremasinghe said that he considered the LTTE's interim administrative structure proposal as a healthy sign to take forward the peace process.

He added that he had requested the Muslim leaders also to forward their proposals on behalf of the Muslims in the northeast.