Colombo, Jan 26: Sri Lanka's government plans to hold a referendum before signing a final peace deal with Tamil Tiger rebels, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has said.
"When we arrive at a political solution, that political solution will be laid before the people of this country for them to decide," a newspaper quoted Wickremesinghe as saying at a party meeting yesterday.
"The decision will be the decision of the people and not mine. If the people accept it, then I will take it further," Wickremesinghe added.
The government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have been holding peace talks since September to end 19 years of hostilities. The rebels say that the country's 3.2 million minority Tamils are discriminated against by the Sinhalese who are 14 million of Sri Lanka's 18.6 million people.
There has been no fighting since the two sides signed a Norwegian-brokered ceasefire in February and its effect are showing on Sri Lanka's economy with a boost in tourism and other industries.
But the main opposition Peoples' Alliance party and nationalist groups say that the government is giving too many concessions to the rebel group. They say it is too early to trust the insurgents who in the past have twice broken ceasefires with previous administrations.
The political opposition's view is important for the prime minister as his government has only a two-seat majority in the 225-member parliament.
Bureau Report
