Cessation of hostilities if elected -Ranil

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 August 2000, 13:20 GMT]
The United National Party (UNP) will bring about a cessation of hostilities agreement with the Liberation Tigers if it comes to power said party leader Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe, addressing a press conference Sunday at the opposition leader's office in Colombo.

He said that the UNP will discuss constitutional reforms aimed at resolving the ethnic conflict in the island with the Buddhist clergy, the opposition, the Tamil parties and the Liberation Tigers and reach a consensus if it were to be elected.

UNP is very firm in its policy that power should be devolved to the provinces without dividing the country. The UNP was agreeable to most of the proposals on the devolution of power as stated in the reforms. However these proposals should be widely discussed with all sectors before being introduced, Mr.Wickremasinghe further said.

The Opposition Leader said the UNP was able to defeat President Chandrika Kumaratunga's "Hitlerist actions" in Parliament recently with the help of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) and the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO).

He said issues of restoring peace, protecting democratic rights and improving the income of the people thus bringing down the cost of living would be highlighted in the UNP's election manifesto.

UNP leader said his party's election manifesto would be released in a few days time.