The Hindu : Chandrika rules out fresh polls

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Aug 10, 2002

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International

Chandrika rules out fresh polls

By V.S. Sambandan

COLOMBO AUG. 9. The Sri Lankan President, Chandrika Kumaratunga, said tonight that she had no intention of dissolving Parliament "now'' and she would "not hesitate'' to use her constitutional powers to "prevent dismemberment of the country''.

In a 21-minute recorded address to the nation, aired over television, in Sinhalese and English, Ms. Kumaratunga spelt out the "core issue'' for the proposed negotiations with the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. It was to find a way of "arriving at a permanent solution to the ethnic conflict through a reform of the structure of the state in a manner that will help to resolve the problems of the Tamil people, while providing justice to the Sinhala and Muslim peoples''. The negotiations, she said, "should also take into account the concerns and views of all interested parties''.

Ms. Kumaratunga's statements, made against the twin backdrop of a charged domestic political atmosphere and widespread expectations over the proposed talks with the LTTE, come as an assertion of the vast powers she wields as the Executive President. On her powers to dissolve Parliament after it completes a year — Ms. Kumaratunga said: "I have no intention to dissolve Parliament at this point of time''.

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Chandrika rules out fresh polls