LTTE to be kept out of interim council

By Nirupama Subramanian

COLOMBO, JUNE 18. The Sri Lankan President, Mrs. Chandrika Kumaratunga, today ruled out the participation of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in a proposed interim council to administer the embattled north- east of the island.

A Government statement said an agreement had been reached with the Opposition United National Party (UNP) in talks last week that the merger of the northern and eastern provinces would be decided through a referendum.

``Until such time the referendum is held, it was discussed that an interim council would be established to administer the currently merged north-east province. The President, on behalf of the Government, has specifically stated that only those representatives of registered Tamil, Muslim and Sinhala democratic political parties representing the north-east should participate in the proposed interim council''.

According to the statement, the LTTE could join the interim administration if it entered the democratic mainstream and gave up violence.

It pointed out the existence of a gazette notification to set up an interim council since November last year. Earlier this week, Mrs. Kumaratunga was reported to have set a deadline of June 30 for reaching a consensus on all other issues with the UNP, so that the political package could be presented to Parliament before its dissolution in August. Today's statement leaves no doubt that the Government wants to present the package to Parliament without consulting the LTTE.

It is expected that this week, the Government would take discuss the proposed council with non-LTTE Tamil parties, four of which are represented in Parliament.

The proposed referendum is a concession to the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) which has articulated the community's fears of living in a Tamil majority north-eastern province.

Last week, amid reports of the proposed council and referendum, the LTTE circulated a leaflet addressed to Muslims living in Batticaloa and Amparai districts asking them to be vigilant against ``Sinhala chauvinist forces'' trying to create divisions between the two communities.

The appeal began with an address to ``all Muslim brothers and sisters'' and said: ``Regardless of the (incidents of the past), Tamil Eelam belongs to the Muslim and Tamil people.

``We urge your cooperation in working towards strengthening the Tamil Muslim relationship and also urge you to be vigilant in identifying the insidious designs of the Sinhala Government to bring about disharmony between the Tamil and Muslim people.''

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