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Parties press Ranil on Presidential talks [02 March 2000] Representatives of twelve political parties urged UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday to attend talks with President Kumaratunga to establish a southern consensus in resolving the ethnic conflict. LSSP Leader and Minister of Science and Technology Batty Weerakoon said that the UNP proposals are good even if they are belated. "We have invited him with the extreme hope that there will be inputs from him also to resolve this crisis," Minister Weerakoon said. However, Communist Party General Secretary Raja Collure accused the UNP Leader of presenting the same proposals that were presented two years ago. Collure said, "However, we are of the view that there should be a firm bipartisan consensus for the amicable resolution of this crisis without any myopic and insular considerations". Collure urged the opposition leader to begin negotiations with the President as a matter of utmost priority. SLMC General Secretary and Deputy Chairman of Committees Rauf Hakeem said that it is really the prevarication of the UNP Leader for the last two to three years that inhibited the establishment of a southern consensus in this regard. "One should give serious consideration to the UNP Leader's alternative proposals to the resolution of the ethnic conflict despite their being stale, as a responsible political party which is trying its utmost to build a Sri Lankan national identity for every citizen of this country to live in an atmosphere of political, economic socio-cultural freedom" he explained. TULF General Secretary and Trincomalee District Parliamentarian R. Sambanthan said that the UNP Leader should bear in mind that the Presidential Elections are now over and his party should give top priority for the resolution of this ethnic crisis. "He should also live in the grim reality of the context that the President has pledged to abolish the presidency and her commitment has not been tampered with", he said. EPDP Leader and Jaffna District Parliamentarian Douglas Devananda said that the UNP should also fall in line with the present needs as far as the ethnic crisis goes. TELO President K. Srikantha said that it is important that the President and the UNP Leader meet soon to resolve this issue at the earliest. DPLF Leader and Vanni District Parliamentarian Dharmalingam Siddharthan pointed out that there are plenty of blanks in the UNP Leader's proposals in respect of the Independent Commissions for the Police, Public Service and the Elections, which we cannot come to grips with. "The UNP Leader's proposals are also very incomplete in aspects relating to the devolution package. It does not specify details of the character of the State, etc." he said. DUNLF Leader Srimani Athulathmudhali said that that it is time for UNP Leader to fulfill his pledge in extending his cooperation to the peace process. "He should not make excuses on coming together for these all important talks" she said. Liberal Party General Secretary Harim Peiris said "We are very disappointed that the meeting which was scheduled to be held between the President and the Opposition Leader was postponed". Sinhalaya Maha Sammatha Bhoomiputhra Pakshaya Leader Dr. Harischandra Wijetunga said "Our stand on this matter is that the government should consult the people and especially the majority community in respect of the ongoing constitutional reform process. Sri Lanka Muslim Party Presidential Candidate Abdul Rasool said on the importance of arriving at a common consensus irrespective of different proposals.
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