Remarking that the Army had destroyed a large number of temples and churches in the north-east, Mr Thamilchelvan pointed out that there has been no government response to LTTE leader V Prabhakaran s November call for peace talks. Convener of NPA and Colombo University Professor Tissa Vitharana says that it is unfortunate that last year s priority was war and now it is the forthcoming elections. Thousands of people marched in Colombo on 26 February demanding political parties to unite in ending the war. This means conditions that the Tigers must lay down arms and abandon the struggle for a separate state remain. Only 14 MPs were present in the 225-member Parliament for a debate on the issue.
Observers are convinced that currently the political parties have little interest in peace.
Shipping minister MHM Ashraff says that the clamour for power takes precedence and the present Sri Lankan politicians will never solve the ethnic conflict. All the important leaders of the Sri Lankan political parties, including opposition leader Ranil Wickremasinghe, came together on 25 February to discuss the forthcoming provincial elections, following an invitation from President Chandrika Kumaratunge. The parties decided to appoint a Monitoring Committee headed by the President. Following the Supreme Court order in December to hold provincial elections within three months, Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake announced 1 April as the day of elections for five Provincial Councils. After religious leaders protested because important religious days fell during the week, including Good Friday on 2 April, the Commissioner fixed elections for 6 April, after Supreme Court approval.