PA opposes 19th amendment, demands talks agenda

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 September 2002, 15:08 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s main opposition People's Alliance Tuesday demanded that the agenda of the proposed direct talks between the government and the Liberation Tigers should be made public before the commencement of such talks in Thailand. Mr.Mahinda Rajapakse, Leader of the Opposition told a press conference that the PA had already decided to oppose the proposed 19th amendment to the constitution restricting Presidential powers related to dissolving parliament.

"To instill confidence in the masses about the outcome of peace talks the agenda should be made known in advance. Otherwise people will lose confidence," said Mr.D.M.Jayaratne, General Secretary of the PA, at a press conference Tuesday at the office of the Leader of Opposition.

"High expectation prevails among all the communities about the outcome of the peace talks which are scheduled to begin on September 16 at Thailand," former minister Mr. Jayaratne said.

Mr. Jayaratne also outlined the PA’s opposition to the government’s privatisation plans: "State banks, insurance, education, health, transport, posts and ports should not be privatised. State media, including television and radio also should not be privatised."

He admitted that a vibrant private sector is needed for a developing society, but insisted giving a ‘monopoly’ to the private sector will do more harm to the country's economy.