Wednesday, December 21, 2011

No Police Powers to Provinces

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has reiterated that the demand of the Tamil National Alliance for police powers to the North and East is not a practicable proposition. He pointed out that such an arrangement was causing problems in India, for instance, where during a law and order crisis, the Indian Centre has to liaise with the State Chief Ministers and this gets in the way of the centre in solving law and order problems immediately in the states concerned.

  Addressing the Editors of Media Institutions in the monthly gathering at the Temple Trees yesterday, the President has pointed out that The Tamil National Alliance has so far not obliged to the request made to them to name their nominees for the Parliamentary Select Committee, which will be entrusted with formulating a solution to the grievances of communities.
  
The President has said that the Tamil National Alliance is proving to be as difficult as the LTTE in talks, adopting the same negative tactics, and the TNA has a mindset problem, yet having a war mentality, and this is getting in the way when talking to the government. The President has pointed out that during the conflict there was no one in the North who wasn’t swayed by the LTTE and added that even today there are parties in the North having the intention of rousing communalism. The President has further said that the TNA is getting instructions from abroad and this is a considerable obstacle when it comes to conducting fruitful negotiations with the government.
 
Minister of Mass Media and Information Keheliya Rambukwella, the Minister of External Affairs Professor G.L.Peiris and the Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunge also attended the meeting. (niz)

News.lk