EXTREME` POLITICAL PARTIES SIDELINED

y Christy Mahesh de Silva

In an effort to streamline the government and give it broader scope , the government is attempting to sideline extremist elements such as the National Freedom Front (NFF) and Jathika Hela Urumaya(JHU) in order to implement the 13th Amendment as a solution to the North and East problem, LAKBIMAnEWS reliably learns.
In such a scenario the NFF headed by firebrand politician Wimal Weerawansa is likely to be deprived of the Ministerial portfolios which the government pledged to offer them, political sources said.
Inside sources told LAKBIMAnEWS that President Mahinda Rajapaksa had decided to postpone his earlier decision to offer a cabinet post and non cabinet minister post to the NFF.
The President has been forced to take this stance in order to avoid any internal conflict within the government as all the allies of the UPFA coalition including SLFP, CP, LSSP, EPDP, UNP breakaway group, SLMC breakaway group and other Tamil parties have condemned the verbal attacks made by NFF leader Wimal Weerawansa regarding Prof. Tissa Vitharana who had said that the APRC proposals will be ready in a few weeks for implementation.
NFF leader Weerawansa condemning Prof. Vitharana told this newspaper, that Vitharana is trying to give to the separatists on a platter what they clamoured for in the past 30 years, and that the need of the hour was to develop the north and east while creating a conducive environment where all nationalities could live in harmony. (Please read interview on page 6).
JHU spokesman Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe said the JHU stance was that the Eastern provincial council should be treated exactly as the other provincial councils in other areas of the country are treated. We are against giving any more than what the other PCs have. Specially in the case of giving police powers, we say that there should be a mandate of the people to decide on that``, he noted.
In view of the possibility of losing the backing of these two parties, some high ranking government officials are having discussions with a section of the UNP to solicit their support, LAKBIMAnEWS understands.
Meanwhile, a high level Sri Lankan delegation that visited India last week assured New Delhi that it intends to implement a proposal, which will be a development on the 13th Amendment to the Lankan Constitution, and will provide for considerable devolution of power to Lankan Tamils.
The delegation, comprised Senior Adviser to Sri Lankan President Basil Rajapaksa, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and Secretary to President Lalith Weeratunga.
I was assured that it is the intention of the Government of Sri Lanka to implement the proposal which would be a development on the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution, which you would recall was designed to devolve considerable power to the Sri Lankan provinces, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna told reporters after the meeting with the Lankan team, Indian Express newspaper reported on June 25th.