Best hope for permanent peace ever -Ranil

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 April 2002, 18:19 GMT]
The chances for peace are better than ever, said Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Friday. "The hope for permanent peace has been built which is not witnessed before in this country," said the Prime Minister, addressing a conference at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall designed to educate the newly elected heads of local government institutions in the south.

The Prime Minister further said, "it is a mark of progress in the peace process that three ministers of the United National Front (UNF) government have been invited for talks by the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam."

The Prime Minister said that his government was elated over the remarks by the LTTE leader Mr.Pirapaharan that he could consider a political solution to the ethnic problem on the basis of a self-rule with the right of self-determination within a united country.

"The path to peace is very difficult. However we have to travel along that route with optimism," said Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe.

In the meantime, President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge Friday visited the Peace Secretariat of the UNF government and held discussion with its members about the outcome of the Wednesday's press conference by the LTTE leader Mr.V.Pirapaharan.

President Kumaratunge told the members of the Peace Secretariat that she was keenly studying the comments of Mr.Pirapaharan and that she would be consulting the leaders of all political parties regarding the comments made by the LTTE leader.

The President said she would issue a statement shortly about her stand on Mr. Pirapaharan's comments.

Meanwhile the politburo of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress meets Friday night in Colombo to decide on the composition of the delegation, which is to meet the LTTE leadership on Saturday in Vanni.

The politburo will also decide the matters, which are affecting the northeast Muslim to be discussed with the LTTE leaderships Saturday, SLMC sources said.