Kumaratunga ally slams PA's chauvinism

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 June 2002, 16:55 GMT]
The Lanka Sama Samaja party (LSSP) Monday accused the main opposition Peoples Alliance (PA) led by President Chandrika Kumaratunge that "it does not maintain a definite position regarding the ongoing peace efforts and the government's economic programme". The general secretary of the LSSP and a former minister in the PA government Mr. Batty Weerakone said the PA has joined the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna to whip up racial hatred in the country, forgetting the economic problems of the masses.

He added the leadership of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the chief constituent of the PA, had dismantled the Peoples' Alliance.

The LSSP, the oldest leftist party in the island, is one of the main constituents of the Peoples' Alliance.

The relationship between the PA and LSSP has been strained since the last general election as the President failed to accommodate the LSSP general Secretary Mr. Batty Weerakone in the national list of parliamentarians as promised, political sources said.

Meanwhile the PA general secretary and former minister Mr.D.M.Jayaratne said Monday that the central committee of the PA is scheduled to meet Tuesday at the Presidential Secretariat to review the progress made in regard to the implementation of the cease-fire agreement signed by the government and the LTTE. He said that the cease-fire violations since the agreement came into force would also be discussed. President Chandrika Kumaratunge is to preside over the crucial meeting, sources said.