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UPFA
cabinet crisis deepens
The crisis in the UPFA deepened and the formation of the cabinet was further delayed when the SLFP's policymaking central committee members last night decided to reject the key JVP demand for the Mahaveli Development to be given to a JVP minister. Almost all members of the SLFP central committee, except for Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse, took up the position that the subject of Mahaveli should be retained by SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena as Minister of River Basin Development and they could not compromise on that demand, party sources said. Mr. Rajapakse, whose appointment as prime minister was strongly condemned by the JVP, took a surprise position when he said the standoff could be resolved if Mahaveli was handed over to the JVP. Eventually the central committee, which held the special crisis meeting in Kandy presided over by President Chandrika Kumaratunga, decided that the subject should not be handed over and the decision was due to be conveyed to the JVP. All office bearers of the central committee, except Anura Bandaranaike, attended the meeting. The Sunday Times learns that a senior SLFP member had got state-run television to carry a story that assigning the Mahaveli Ministry to the JVP would be similar to allocating an extra ministry to it. The JVP central committee is to meet today in Colombo to discuss the crisis and related matters, including the news item broadcast on the state media. The SLFP central committee's decision came a day after President Kumaratunga held talks, also in Kandy, with JVP leaders but failed to resolve the dispute over Mahaveli though compromises were offered in other areas. Party sources said President Kumaratunga agreed to re-assign the National Film Corporation to the Ministry of Cultural Affairs while fertilizer and economic centres would also come under ministries to be given to the JVP. Despite four hours of talks between the JVP leaders and President Kumaratunga, some key issues were not resolved and no end was in sight to the cabinet crisis which erupted last Saturday when the JVP boycotted the swearing-in ceremony. At Friday's talks, the PA was represented only by President Kumaratunga while the JVP delegation led by Tilvin Silva included Wimal Weerawansa, Nandana Gunathileka and Anura Kumara Dissanayake. During the talks, the President reportedly said she was "helpless" on the Mahaveli issue as Minister Sirisena was insisting on retaining the subject under his Ministry of River Basin Development. Mr. Sirisena who represents the Polonnaruwa district got most of his votes from the farmers in the Mahaveli zones at the April 2 elections to gain the first place in the preference vote race in the district by beating a JVP member who trailed him by 11,000 votes. At the end of the talks, the President reportedly requested the JVP delegation to consider the matters and get back to her yesterday.. Tilvin Silva had responded saying it was "useless" as they would have to come back with the same answer. He said what they had conveyed to the President was a JVP politburo decision. The JVP at this meeting also brought up issues where it alleged that the SLFP leadership had violated the memorandum of understanding signed by the SLFP and the JVP before the elections. These issues included the appointment of certain top government officials after the general elections. The JVP had also expressed concern over the appointment of more than one deputy minister to some of the ministries. President Kumaratunga earlier had met with senior SLFP leaders including Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse, Mangala Samaraweera, Nimal Siripala de Silva, Sarath Amunugama and Susil Premjayantha prior to meeting the JVP. Earlier the JVP members were present at a ceremony attended by President Kumaratunga at the Dalada Maligawa to mark the special exposition of the Sacred Tooth Relic. The Sunday Times learns that some senior JVP members are gravely concerned about the ongoing standoff. According to them, the SLFP leadership has given priority to problems of individuals rather than issues of national importance. They also condemned what they call SLFP's 'politics of pleasing'. |
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