Rival political parties to sign accord to reach peace
The president and leader of the opposition are set to sign a memorandum of understanding today to tackle talks with the Tamil rebels together.
Colombo (AsiaNews/Agencies) The president of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapakse, is set to sign an agreement today with the largest opposition party in a bid to put an end to the country's bloody ethnic conflict. The news was revealed by the office of the president, who last night wound up talks with the leader of the opposition, Ranil Wickremesinghe of the United National Party (UNP).
The aim of the meeting was to agree a common position on resolving the conflict between the Tamil rebels and army, which has claimed over 60,000 lives since 1972.
The presidential office said "The memorandum of understanding will be signed today" at the official residence of the head of state. The president's Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) is a minority government and needs opposition support to approve legislation or any deals with the rebels in the north-east.
The opposition has in the past supported talks with the Tamil Tigers but Rajapakse's Marxist coalition partner, the People's Liberation Front, or JVP, opposes any concessions to the Tigers.
The initiative to reach agreement came on the eve of peace talks scheduled for this weekend between the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) amid increasing violence that has killed more than 2,300 people since December.
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18/02/2006
