Sri Lankan minor party may support new government

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, April 07, 2004

Sri Lankan minor party may support new government

A political party representing people of Indian origin Tamils said Tuesday that it does not rule out the possibility of joining the new freedom alliance government.

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A political party representing people of Indian origin Tamils said Tuesday that it does not rule out the possibility of joining the new freedom alliance government.

"We are keeping our options open," Arumugam Thondaman, leader of the Ceylon Worker's Congress (CWC) told reporters here.

CWC, a trade union cum political party is an ally of the oustedPrime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP).

In the April 2 parliamentary election, eight CWC parliament members (MPs) were elected to the parliament through the UNP symbol.

However, the CWC has an agreement with the UNP to act independently in helping either of the two major political partiesto form governments.

The eight CWC MPs could provide the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) led by President Chandrika Kumaratunga with a parliamentary majority.

The UPFA is set to become a minority government with just 106 seats secured in the election.

The ousted Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said the peace processwith the Tamil Tiger rebels was in jeopardy as the government did not command a parliamentary majority.

The CWC, if joins the UPFA, will provide impetus for President Kumaratunga to initiate her own peace drive with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels, analysts noted.

Source: Xinhua

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