August 4, 2002	Sunday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 24,1423

COLOMBO, Aug 3: The Tamil National Alliance (TNA), a coalition party in the government, said on Saturday that any move to dissolve the parliament would have a detrimental effect on the peace process.

The TNA parliamentary group leader R. Sampanthan, said that he was ‘not merely echoing the LTTE sentiments’, but was also speaking on behalf of all those who wished to see peace process succeed.

Sampanthan said that people will lose faith in democracy if parliamentary elections are held every year. The October 2000 general election was followed by December 2001 poll as a result of President Chandrika Kumaratunga dissolving parliament and seeking a fresh mandate after losing majority.

“It is just six months after the last elections. What is important now is not a hustling for political power but a concentration on the ethnic problem and the economic woes”, Sampanthan said, adding that the UNP-led government and the SLFP-led People’s Alliance have to concentrate on the peace process.

“They have to reach a consensus on the peace process,” Sampanthan opined pointing out that a fresh election would only heighten the existing animosity between them.