Sri Lanka left party not to topple government

Sri Lanka's main left party said Wednesday that its talks with the President Mahinda Rajapakse in order to re-enter his government had failed but they would not topple his administration.

Tilwin Silva, the JVP (People's Liberation Front) general secretary, told reporters that the party was having talks based on a 20-point demands, which, if fruitful, would have resulted in the JVP joining the Rajapakse cabinet.

Silva said that, despite the disagreement, the JVP would not topple the government, adding that it will continue to support Rajapakse from outside.

The 20-point demands mainly focused on the armed separatist conflict and the military campaign launched by the Tamil Tiger rebel two decades ago.

They called for the ouster of the Norwegian peace facilitators, abrogation of the Norwegian backed ceasefire between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels.

The Sri Lankan president was not willing to accede to such demands given the involvement of the international community in efforts to bring peace to the island.

The JVP, which played a prominent role in Rajapakse's narrow victory in the presidential election held in November last year, has 38 seats in parliament.

Its withdrawal would make the Rajapakse government untenable and would force a snap parliamentary election.

However, the JVP's electoral chances were mainly based on its anti-Tamil Tiger rebel stance and Rajapakse's recent military successes against the LTTE has weakened the JVP's political ground.

Source: Xinhua