PRESIDENT CHANDRIKA KUMARATUNGA ‘S OFFICE SAYS SHE IS SERIOUSLY CONSIDERING DE-MERGING THE NORTH AND THE EAST
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles
August 21.11.30 AM:Creating ominous signs for the political plans of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s spokesman Harim Peiris said the Sri Lankan President was seriously considering the appeals of the Muslim and other organizations to de-merge the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka
Under the deteriorating security of the Eastern Province of the country, many Muslim leaders of Sri Lanka said that the two provinces which were linked under the pressures of the Indian government temporarily to satisfy the Tamil Tigers should be de-linked immediately to release the Muslims from the domination of the Tamils in the Northern Province.
The Muslims in the multi ethnic Eastern Province did not want to be swayed by the LTTE dominated politics of the North, many complained.
The two regions , the Northern and Eastern Provinces , that possess about two thirds of the strategic shoreline of the island nation and one third of the land mass of the country were linked as a concession to the Tamil Tigers under the Indo-Sri Lanka Pact (1987) which was not fully implemented mainly due to the LTTE refusing to accept it. But the merging remained intact despite a promise to hold a referendum to be held to finally decide on the linking. The LTTE was also opposed to a referendum. In fact, the LTTE was making arrangements to declare the strategic port of Trincomalee in the Eastern Province their capital when they formed the putative state of Eelam, separating from Sri Lanka, Tamil political sources said.
Harim Peiris did not elaborate how the President would de-merge the two provinces.
But the President’s intention came to light at a crucial time when the Ranil Wickremesinghe administration and the LTTE on principle had agreed to establish an
un-elected LTTE dominated interim government for the merged Northern and Eastern Provinces, leaving out all Tamil democratic parties.
The Sinhalese, who make one third of the population of the Eastern Province also started a signature campaign from Trincomalee demanding the de-linking of the two provinces.
