Sri Lanka's main Opposition party on Thursday agreed to meet a government delegation on Friday to resolve the country's worsening political and economic crisis, but made it clear that any discussion would be on its own terms and demands. United National Party (UNP) leader Ranil Wickremesinghe replied to Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake's invitation for discussions, but stuck to key Opposition demands that the prorogued parliament be convened and a proposed referendum be cancelled.
Demanding that the talks be held within an agreed time-frame, he said, "Priority should also be given to the establishment of five independent commissions on elections, police, judiciary, media and public service." "Any dialogue should be predicated on these issues being taken as a matter of priority," he said in his reply to Wickremanayake.
Significantly, Wickremesinghe himself will not participate in the dialogue. He named a four-member UNP panel comprising party deputy leader Karu Jayasuriya, chairman Charitha Ratwatte and senior MPs Tyronne Fernando and K N Choksy to meet the government delegation. Meanwhile, UNP on Thursday went ahead with a planned anti-government rally where the party activists demanded that the government face a vote of no-confidence or quit.
The minority government on Tuesday formally invited the main Opposition for power-sharing talks in a desperate bid to restore political stability.
Bureau Report