Sri Lanka's feuding parties still search for formula to end political crisis

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, December 04, 2003

Sri Lanka's feuding parties still search for formula to end political crisis

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Sri Lanka's feuding political forces of President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prime Minister RanilWickremesinghe are still on the search for a suitable formula to end the political crisis, a government spokesman said on Thursday.

It has been a month since President Kumaratunga exercised her constitutional authority on Nov. 4 to sack three key ministers of the government of her arch political rival Prime Minister Wickremesinghe.

"The parties have not given up the search for a suitable formula," government spokesman and Constitutional Affairs MinisterG. L. Peiris told reporters.

Peiris said Wickremesinghe needs total and full control of the country's security apparatus if he is to handle the ongoing Norwegian-brokered peace process with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels.

Kumaratunga has put the three ministries of defense, interior and mass communication under her purview since her Nov. 4 action.

Top advisors of the president and the prime minister went into deliberations aimed at finding a compromise to the political standoff between the two rival parties who were forced into an uneasy political cohabitation since December 2001 parliamentary elections which brought the ruling United National Party led by Prime Minister Wickremesinghe into power.

"The objective is to revive the peace process so long as the government is satisfied that the prime minister has effective control of the security apparatus. That is our basic requirement,"Peiris said.

The talks, Peiris added, was set to be finalized by Dec. 15, the deadline set by President Kumaratunga, and the two sides were hopeful that a mutually acceptable solution can be found by then.

The peace process with the LTTE rebels has been put on hold as the Norwegian peace facilitators withdrew from the process in mid November due to the political standoff between the two feuding political forces.

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