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President attempts to allay fears of a possible war, stresses that alliance is committed to ‘negotiated settlement’
Alladin Hussein in Colombo,
January 22, 2004, 11.55 pm.
President Chandrika Kumaratunga today called upon all major political forces to join hands if the country is to get rid of its long standing crisis, the two decade long ethnic conflict. Ms. Kumaratunga also emphasised that the recently sealed SLFP-JVP alliance was just the first phase of a grander alliance, the Presidential Secretariat announced today.
She pointed out that during her entire political life she has been committed to a negotiated settlement on the ethnic conflict and added that both parties in the alliance too believed that ‘war was not the solution’ to the ethnic issue. However, the President said the alliance did have some reservations on certain aspects in the manner in which Prime Minister Wickremesinghe was conducting the peace process.
MS. Kumaratunga emphasized that the SLFP and JVP had reached a consensuses especially with regard to the economy and the ethnic issue. She said “a market economy with a human face” would be the alliance’s economic principle, which would revive and adopt global advances in modern technology, maximize foreign capital investment on the basis of mutual benefit with a view of opening the country to global economic progress.
The President was also appreciative of the recent statement made by LTTE Political Wing Leader Thamilselvan, that the LTTE leadership was willing to negotiate peace with any Southern party with a peoples mandate irrespective of individuals, according to the Presidential Secretariat.
Published: Thu Jan 22 13:21:46 EST 2004
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Protesting Buddhist Monks
Leo de Lile in Colombo,
8.85pm, SLT Jan.22, 2004.
Protesting Buddhist monks march in Pettah, Colombo, Sri Lanka on Thursday,
Janaury.22, accusing some Christian groups working in the country of
converting Buddhists to Christianity, and demanding that they should be
banned.
Over one hundred members of the National Monks Front, an extreme
nationalist organization, claim that over 600 Christian groups are operating
as volunteer, humanitarian organizations in predominantly Buddhist Sri Lanka
and converting Buddhists promising financial benefits.
More...
Published: Thu Jan 22 10:02:43 EST 2004
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Indian Oil Agreement Fully Effective Now
Bandula Jayasekara in Colombo,
SLT 1.50 P.M Thursday 22 January.
The agreement signed between the government of Sri Lanka and the Lanka
Indian Oil Company (LIOC) became fully effective today after the Managing
Director of the LIOC M. Nageswaran paid the balance US $ 45 Million to
Finance Secretary Charitha Ratwatte at the ministry of Economic Reform,
Science and Technology. Thereafter the government handed over to LIOC
documents to license, import, and store and distributes Petroleum Products
in Sri Lanka making the agreements signed on 30 December last year fully
effective. The sales agreement was negotiated for a total price of US $ 75
Million.
Lanka Indian Oil Company (LIOC) a fully owned subsidiary of IOC was handed
100 Filling Stations owned by Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) in December
2002 on an interim agreement pending independent valuation of the relevant
assets by the Financial Advisor, Ernst & Young (E & Y).
A statement from the Ministry of Economic Reform stated that in keeping with
the policy of liberalizing the Petroleum Sector, Public Enterprises Reforms
Commission (PERC) on behalf of the government conceptualized a model for
restructuring Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) in 2002. Accordingly, the
market is to be partially liberalized by allowing 3 players in to the down
stream petroleum retailing in Sri Lanka. The government invited Indian Oil
Company (IOC) to be the second player and a third player is currently being
identified through a competitive process.
Published: Thu Jan 22 03:02:00 EST 2004
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