Jaffna co-op officials urge Sri Lanka's PM to establish IA

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 June 2003, 19:16 GMT]
The Jaffna District Agricultural and Consumers Co-operative Societies Union (ACCSU) said Monday that the long awaited permanent peace could be achieved only through establishing an Interim Administration (IA) for the Northeast province with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at the helm, sources in Jaffna said.

In a statement issued in Jaffna Monday the Co-operative Societies Union said people of the country those who expected peace and normalcy in their lives are now dismayed with the poor performance of the government of Ranil Wickremesinghe.

"People of the country expected Mr. Wickremasinghe to introduce a new political culture that would create an environment to find solution to the ills of the country. We feel that Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe has failed in his attempt to create such a situation," said the Union in its press release.

Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe would continue to fail in his attempt to find a political resolution to the national conflict if he followed the power hungry politicians in the south and also he would be marginalized from the main political arena if he bows down to chauvinism, said the press statement.

"Tamils today want normalcy in their lives. Only an interim administration with adequate powers to rebuild their war-ravaged areas will create such an environment. Prime Minister Wickremasinghe during the last general election through the manifesto of the United National Front (UNF) obtained the mandate of the people to establish an interim administration in the northeast. Why he is hesitating now to carry out the mandate given by the people of the country?" the statement questioned.

The obstacle to take forward the peace process is the non-implementation of the decisions agreed at the six rounds of peace talks held already between the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE, said the Union statement.

"We wonder how the present government which is unable to establish an interim administration for the northeast as promised is going to be able to find a permanent political solution to satisfy the aspirations of Tamils in the northeast," said the statement.