Details of talk between PA and Tamil parties

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 February 2000, 16:26 GMT]
The Government has agreed to vest all state lands to regional councils in the respective regions including forest reserves and excluding tea, rubber, coconut and teak plantations, research farms and national parks, according to Tamil party sources.

Delegations from Tamil parties today met the government leaders led by President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge at Temple Trees.

Tamil parties wanted powers for regional councils to get loans direct from foreign countries. Regional councils could obtain loans from foreign countries through the Central Minister of Finance, according to the draft constitution tabled at the talks. Tamil parties vehemently objected to this. The Government later agreed to allow regional councils to obtain loans for developments in their regions from foreign countries and international monetary institutions directly.

Tamil parties also requested that appointments to higher positions in the judiciary be made on an ethnic ratio and that this be included in the draft constitution.

President Chandrika assured Tamil parties that there was no need to include that in the draft constitution and she would ensure that by adopting a Cabinet decision in that regard. Tamil parties agreed to that suggestion.

Leaders of TULF, EPDP, PLOTE, TELO attended today's talks.

Two new representatives were included in the TULF delegation today. They were Mr. Jospeh Pararajasingham and Mr. Mavai Senathirajah, Members of Parliament. The TULF team was again led by its Secretary General R. Sampanthan, MP.

Messrs; Douglas Devananda, D. Siddharthan and V. Addiakalanathan led the EPDP, PLOTE and TELO delegations respectively.