UNP plans public opinion study

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 July 1999, 16:14 GMT]
Sri Lanka's main opposition party, the UNP, said today that it will formulate a national plan for the millennium in consultation with a wide cross section of island's population and political parties. While addressing a press conference in Colombo to explain the national plan, the leader of the UNP, Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe said that the views of the Liberation Tigers would also be obtained for preparing the national plan.

He said that even if the UNP cannot contact the LTTE directly in this matter, it would be keen to seek their opinion on issues that the plan intends to address through the supporters of the organisation.

However, Mr. Wickremesinghe pointed out that the national plan is separate from the UNP's approach to bringing the war to an end through negotiations with the Liberation Tigers.

Twenty five consultation committees dealing with issues such as the northeast war, law and order, the armed forces and defence, the Sri Lankan identity (whether it should be based on ethnicity, language, religion or culture) etc., to be formed for the purpose of obtaining and studying the views of the people and interested parties and groups.

The UNP will send questionnaires to five hundred thousand people in all parts of the island except the northeast.

According to the leader of the opposition, the UNP would place advertisements in the Tamil press to seek the views of the people of the northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka.

The program for preparing the national plan will be on from September to November he added.