Resume peace talks - All Party Session

[January 20, 2006 - 4.00 GMT]

The leaders and representatives of all parties represented in parliament, other than the pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance (TNA), who attended the first round of the All Party Conference yesterday (19) summoned by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, were unanimous in reaching a common agreement that peace talks should be resumed without further delay.

The All Party Conference is President Rajapaksa’s first major initiative in the search for peace by reaching an understanding among parties of the South, and others represented in parliament, to enable the formulation of an agreed set of proposals to be placed before the LTTE at future negotiations.

It was held exactly two months after he assumed office as Executive President following the Presidential Election of November 17, 2005.

The participants emphasized that the unanimous decision reached at the inaugural conference for the resumption of peace talks should be announced as a ‘common agreement’ of the meeting.

The meeting was chaired by President Rajapaksa who said his Government would take all possible measures to resume peace talks immediately. The President said he would consult and exchange views with all political parties and others at every stage of the peace process.

The President in highlighting the objectives of the conference emphasized the importance of developing a consensus among political parties represented in parliament in order to commence peace talks. 

A media release from the Office of the President said a detailed exchange of views took place among the parties representatives who attended the meeting. It said there were representatives from 15 political parties at the conference who sat together in a bid to arrive at a "Southern consensus" to evolve a lasting solution to the ethnic problem.

All major political parties represented in parliament  the SLFP, UNP, JVP, JHU, MEP, LSSP, CP, SLMC, NUA, EPDP, UPF, the National United Front, Western Province People's Front and National Congress attended the inaugural session. 

 

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Last Updated Date: January 20, 2005 - 4.00 GMT