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Talks with Kadirgamar
PM says President 'uncontactable'
In crucial talks this week between Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and former foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar to avoid Parliament calling for a snap election before December 5, the Premier complained that President Chandrika Kumaratunga was "inaccessible" and "uncontactable".

Mr. Wickremesinghe said he often found it "impossible" to contact the President, and that either the switch-board is not operating or messages are either not conveyed to her or not responded to.

The Prime Minister had also categorically stated that his government had no intention of impeaching the President at this stage, and that he had already conveyed this to her, but he said that he would however not stop investigations into her past conduct as President.

Among the other complaints by the Prime Minister were the emergence of a "parallel government" to his administration by Presidential directives, and how the President as head of the cabinet was working at the same time to bring its downfall. The one-to-one talks were held for one and a half hours in the PM's parliamentary office last Tuesday, and were aimed at breaking the log-jam in the current workings of the cohabitation government.

The discussions revolved around concrete measures to be taken to make the French-style constitution work, rather than force a snap election.

Mr. Wickremesinghe's UNF coalition suspects the President wants to call for parliamentary elections soon after December 5, and to frustrate such a move has indicated its willingness to call for one before that.

The PM-Kadirgamar talks scrupulously avoided the constitutional legalities as to who had the power to call for elections, but were aimed at reaching an amicable working arrangement for cohabitation. Both came armed with respective grievances.

How best to assure that President Kumaratunga does not surprise the UNF Government with an election was also discussed at length with divergent views expressed, as were issues like the flood of no-confidence motions against Ministers, demonstrations opposite 'Temple Trees', and the harassment of opposition MPs.

The Premier assured Mr. Kadirgamar that instructions had already been given that any opposition MP arrested must be granted bail immediately. There were no face-to-face talks after the Tuesday meeting between the two, but they have been in telephone contact over the week.

Mr. Kadirgamar complained that the behaviour of some of the ministers, not all, at cabinet meetings presided over by the President was "unacceptable", and had urged the Prime Minister to ensure official business was conducted in a dignified manner.

The two discussed how to effectively run a cohabitation government by giving more teeth to the proposed all-party executive committee system in Parliament; having cabinet sub-committees examine issues of lesser importance that come up before cabinet - sometimes cabinet has to decide on over sixty items ranging from complicated tenders to extensions of individual public servants; giving air-time for the President, among other matters.

The on-going peace process was also discussed and both politicians agreed that this process should be "insulated" from the other domestic issues.

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