Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka's rival Prime Minister and President met yesterday for the first time since the country descended into political turmoil last week, but failed to make a breakthrough in talks on resolving their bitter dispute, writes Rahul Bedi in Colombo
President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe did, however, decide to consult their parties and meet again next week.
Last week President Kumaratunga postponed parliament and sacked the defence, interior and information ministers, claiming the Prime Minister's government was making too many concessions to the Tamil Tiger rebels, who are fighting for an independent homeland in north-east Sri Lanka.
Yesterday's meeting was expected to ease domestic and international concerns that the standoff had endangered the Oslo-backed peace talks with the Liberation Tamil Tigers of Eelam (LTTE) following a ceasefire after nearly two decades of civil war that has claimed more than 65,000 lives.
The February 2002 truce led to six rounds of peace talks, after which the LTTE walked out in April demanding broader administrative powers in Tamil-majority areas of the island and accusing the government of not fulfilling its promise to provide relief and rehabilitation in the war-ravaged northern and eastern regions.
The peace talks were expected to restart after the rebels submitted a proposal for autonomy in their areas of control on October 31st. But their proposal to head an interim administration pending a final settlement of the ethnic crisis alarmed Ms Kumaratunga and triggered the ensuing political crisis that, in turn, endangered the peace negotiations.