Ranil urges Chandrika to own setback

By V. S. Sambandan

COLOMBO, APRIL 25. The United National Party (UNP) of Sri Lanka, today said the Elephant Pass military debacle had strengthened the bargaining position of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and called upon the President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga, to personally make a statement on the setback at a special session of Parliament.

The call by the Opposition comes in the backdrop of a withdrawal by security forces from the northern Elephant Pass military base complex a few days ago, leaving the well-fortified base to the control of the Tigers for the first time since the outbreak of the ethnic conflict in 1983.

Describing it as ``a military and political setback,'' the Opposition leader and the former Prime Minister, Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe, told a press conference that the loss of the camp gave the rebels a position from which they could escalate their demands during their impending talks with the Government, through a Norwegian initiative.

The Opposition would ``no longer support'' any military stand taken by the Government for political ends.

But, the southern initiative to forge a bipartisan consensus between the ruling People's Alliance (PA) and the UNP ``will continue'' as scheduled.

The Tiger advances posed a threat to Jaffna town and the Palaly air base. Mr. Wickremesinghe urged Ms. Kumaratunga ``to come to Parliament and tell what happened'' in her capacity as the Defence Minister.

Recalling his party's earlier position of a phased de- escalation, he said, the ``Government should have gone in for de- escalation in January itself'' when it would have been able to contain the LTTE advances. He saw ``no cessation of hostilities'' in the immediate future.

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Section  : International
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