PRO-LTTE SUDAR OLI NEWSPAPER SAYS RANIL’S WATERED DOWN VERSION OF LTTE INTERIM GOVERNMENT VERY UNLIKELY TO BE ACCEPTED BY THE TIGERS
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles
May 30. 06.55 PM:Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s watered down version of LTTE Interim Government to handle finances in the provinces of North and East would be rather unlikely to be accepted by the Tamil Tigers since it lacked all the powers the rebels expected to obtain under their proposal, the pro-LTTE daily Sudar Oli reported
The government of Wickremesinghe submitted their version of interim government through Norway’s special envoy Eric Solheim to the LTTE leaders in Kilinochchi.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) demanded an interim government of the two provinces outside the Constitution of Sri Lanka , which the country’s second largest opposition party, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna called a defacto separate state
President Chandrika Kumaratunga threatened to sack the Ranil Wickremesinghe government if such a step was taken
An LTTE dominated autonomous Interim Government would contravene the Sri Lanka Constitution and would be terminated , the People’s Alliance, the main opposition party headed by the President, threatened
According to the wishes of the rebel group the foreign donors should not have been allowed to interfere in monitoring the projects they financed. But according to the government’s proposal they would have a say in proposing , planning and implementing the development projects.
The Sudar Oli alleged that the government’s version of the LTTE Interim government looked like a body of an advisory council and the LTTE representation in it was not very clear.
Since the LTTE expected wide ranging powers of selecting varied projects and utilizing the foreign funds in the implementation of the projects, the watered down version allowed foreign donor involvement in the implementation of the projects Sudar Oli said the government proposals allowed government servants in the supreme body of the interim council.
According to the Sudar Oli the government version disregarded the LTTE domination in the control body of the LTTE Interim government. The government’s proposal , according to Sudar Oli proposed the Chief administrator of the body to be appointed by the Sri lanka government.
The government’s proposals included, the dropping of the armed struggle for a secession of the country, and the conflict to be resolved within a United Sri Lanka to be attached to the interim government
Sudar Oli said, according to the government proposals only state troops could carry arms and human rights , and pluralistic politics had been attached as conditions to the interim administration.
The pro-LTTE newspaper said the UNP earlier promised the LTTE interim government and the government proposals indicated it was backing out from its original promises now.
