Sri Lanka Monks party opposed to federalism

Sri Lanka's all Buddhist Monk party is opposed to the moves to introduce a federal constitution to the country, a top official said Friday.

Ven Dr Omalpe Sobhitha, general secretary of the JHU, or the Heritage Party, said that a resolution was adopted at the party's first national convention held on Thursday that Sri Lanka must remain a unitary state.

The party is to oppose vehemently the moves to change the unitary character of the country by way of a constitutional amendment or through a referendum, Ven Sobhitha stressed.

Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga is believed to be considering a move to hold a national referendum on constitutional reform -- among the changes sought is to have a federal constitution and to abolish the present presidential style of government.

Federalism is being mooted as a solution to the country's long running separatist ethnic conflict that had claimed over 64,000 lives since the mid 1980s.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels, who had espoused the cause of a separate state for the minority Tamil community, have agreed to explore a federal solution to the conflict.

Kumaratunga recently said that given the chance at a referendum she was certain that almost 80 percent of Sri Lanka's voting public would endorse federalism as the answer to the conflict.

The JHU which has nine legislators in the 225-member parliament and the Kumaratunga government's main coalition partner the JVP or the People's Liberation Front have expressed opposition to the federal plans.

Source: Xinhua