04-20-2004, 04:34 PM
Sri Lanka Tiger leader maps strategy with Tamil lawmakers
Associated Press, Tue April 20, 2004 09:19 EDT . - - -held Kilinochchi in northern Sri Lanka - . The meeting between Prabhakaran and the TNA group, which makes up a vital block in Sri Lanka - 's hung parliament, was held 48 hours ahead of the first meeting of new parliament where the minority government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga's United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) is desperately seeking to iron out differences with its Marxist junior partner.
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), widely credited with powering the UPFA election victory, has refused to accept cabinet portfolios allotted to them, accusing Kumaratunga of failing to honor pre-poll agreements.
Embarrassed by the JVP ministers and deputies not taking their oaths of office, efforts to patch up differences ahead of Thursday's first meeting of parliament continue.
Meanwhile, the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), a party of Buddhist monks that won nine crucial seats in the April 2 election, accused Kumaratunga of a ''great betrayal'' by not exploiting the split between the northern and eastern factions of the LTTE to weaken the Tigers.
''It was a historic opportunity to use the split in the LTTE to crush terrorism,'' JHU lawmaker-monk Omalpe Sobhitha told reporters Tuesday.
Prabhakaran swiftly ended the rebellion led by his eastern military commander Col. Karuna, who has now gone missing, by blatantly ignoring his cease-fire agreement with the Colombo government and moving armed fighters across government-held territory and by sea.
Colombo has complained to Scandinavian cease-fire monitors of the violations, but neither government troops nor the Sri Lanka - Navy did anything to resist the movements by Prabhakaran's forces.
Associated Press, Tue April 20, 2004 09:19 EDT . - - -held Kilinochchi in northern Sri Lanka - . The meeting between Prabhakaran and the TNA group, which makes up a vital block in Sri Lanka - 's hung parliament, was held 48 hours ahead of the first meeting of new parliament where the minority government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga's United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) is desperately seeking to iron out differences with its Marxist junior partner.
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), widely credited with powering the UPFA election victory, has refused to accept cabinet portfolios allotted to them, accusing Kumaratunga of failing to honor pre-poll agreements.
Embarrassed by the JVP ministers and deputies not taking their oaths of office, efforts to patch up differences ahead of Thursday's first meeting of parliament continue.
Meanwhile, the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), a party of Buddhist monks that won nine crucial seats in the April 2 election, accused Kumaratunga of a ''great betrayal'' by not exploiting the split between the northern and eastern factions of the LTTE to weaken the Tigers.
''It was a historic opportunity to use the split in the LTTE to crush terrorism,'' JHU lawmaker-monk Omalpe Sobhitha told reporters Tuesday.
Prabhakaran swiftly ended the rebellion led by his eastern military commander Col. Karuna, who has now gone missing, by blatantly ignoring his cease-fire agreement with the Colombo government and moving armed fighters across government-held territory and by sea.
Colombo has complained to Scandinavian cease-fire monitors of the violations, but neither government troops nor the Sri Lanka - Navy did anything to resist the movements by Prabhakaran's forces.
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