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UNP tries to explain somersault over Cooray
Sunday, 3 July 2005 - 2:32 AM SL Time
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The UNP yesterday explained its stance on supporting former Western Province Chief Minister Reginald Cooray to return to office as influenced by their desire to ensure the smooth running of all elected bodies in the interest of stability.
`Our party has decided that what we want is a presidential election by the due date this year. Meanwhile, we will help to ensure the smooth running of all elected bodies without disruption,` Kithsiri Kahatapitiya, leader of the UNP in the Western Provincial Council, said yesterday.
He stressed that they will not accept office in the Reginald Cooray administration and enter into any power sharing deal. All they wanted to do was to enable the administration to perform its functions smoothly without toppling it and the same policy would be followed as far as the central government and the other provincial councils are concerned.
Western Province Governor Alavi Moulana said that he planned to reinstall Reginald Cooray on Sunday as the Chief Minister.
Moulana said that both Cooray and serving Chief Minister Nandana Mendis were present with the UNPers and others who presented affidavits supporting Cooray at his office on Friday when the future course of action was `sorted out.`
JVP group leader Waruna Rajapaksa acknowledged that those opposed to Cooray were now the minority following the latest development. But there were 44 members, including their own 23-member group, opposed to Cooray. He said that 10 members of the UNP and 9 members of the SLFP who remained opposed to Cooray will sit in the opposition. Nandana Mendis is expected to be one of them.
The UNP said that they will continue to sit in the opposition side of the WPC, but Rajapaksa asked `how can they do that after extending support to Cooray and his administration'`
Kahatapitiya said that the UNP was not looking for any ministerial office or to bring down the central or provincial administrations.
`What we demand is that presidential elections be called without delay. That is why we are holding the Jana Bala Meheyuma. We want the president to bring down the escalating cost of living and provide relief to all the victims of the tsunami wherever they are ' south, west, north or east. All of them are suffering,` he said.
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