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EPDP Has No Objection to S.Lankan Govt's Talks with Tiger Rebels
Sri Lanka's Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP), a partner of the ruling People's Alliance (PA), has no objection to the government engaging in peace talks with separatist Tamil Tiger rebels, the party leader has said.
EPDP leader Dougals Devananda, also minister of Development, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of the North and Tamil Affairs of the North and East, said on Sunday that his party respects the majority view of the new coalition government.
However, he had cautioned the government that the past record of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was not that good. They may be trying to play the same game as they did in the past, he noted.
He added that the ethnic conflict in the north and east of the country could be resolved even without the LTTE if the other parties got together. The LTTE must remember that they are playing with the future of the nation and the minority Tamil community.
The Tamil community had defied the LTTE and voted at the October 10 parliamentary elections. Now the LTTE had agreed to peace talks because of international pressure, the minister said.
EPDP is a Tamil main stream political party which has throughout been opposed to the LTTE. There have been several clashed between the two groups in the north of the country. EDPD has worked closely with the armed forces and helped identify LTTE rebels.
The government had also allowed them to be armed as a precaution against LTTE attacks.
At the October 10 elections EDPD contested several seats in the north as a partner of PA and won four seats. It was rewarded by President Kumaratunga with a cabinet portfolio and two deputy minister positions for its crucial support in forming the coalition government.
PA, which gained 107 seats in the Parliament, was short of a 113-seat simple majority to form a one-party government.
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