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Sri Lankan President Prepared to Give up Executive Presidency
Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga said on Tuesday she was ready to give up the Executive Presidency as soon as the new constitution was adopted, the state-run Daily News reported on Wednesday.
Kumaratunga who was addressing a gathering of influential Buddhist monks explained the need for the new constitution and added that it would help end the 18-year ethnic war with the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels.
"I have offered to surrender the executive powers with immediate effect with the implementation of the new constitution but the UNP (United National Party) is still unwilling to support the process of constitutional reforms, " she said.
The war is funded by expatriate Tamils who want a lasting and durable peace and a firm assurance that they can live safely in the country, she said.
She said that over 700,000 Tamils are being fleeced 10 US dollars a month which means the LTTE rebels collects 84 million US dollars a year for its activities from them.
Earlier this month Kumaratunga suspended the parliament for two months and called for a new constitution scheduled on August 21, a move to forestall the most probable passage of a no-confidence motion against the government tabled by the main opposition UNP to the parliament last month.
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