June 4, 2003	Wednesday	Rabi-us-Sani 3, 1424

COLOMBO, June 3: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has asked his Norwegian counterpart, Jan Petersen, requesting his government to make an arrangement to meet LTTE leaders to discuss the proposed interim administration for Northeast.

He has also written a letter to Anton Balasingham (the spokesman for LTTE) replying to his earlier letter regarding the rejections to the proposed interim administration structure by the government of Sri Lanka.

In his letter addressed to Mr Petersen, the Lankan PM said he was requesting the Norwegian government to arrange a dialogue which will enable the government to explain and clarify its proposals for an administrative mechanism for the Northeast development.

Responding to LTTE concerns outlined in chief negotiator Anton Balasingham’s letter on May 30 which rejected the government’s proposals for an apex body for the Northeast rehabilitation, Mr Wicremesinghe said the structure proposed by the government live up to the expectations of both parties.

He said, the composition and the size of the apex body would be the subject of discussion between the parties. But undoubtedly the LTTE would participate in the apex body and have a majority voice in its deliberations, subject to effective safeguards which were mutually agreed upon for Muslim and Sinhala interests.

The prime minister had stated that the proposed administrative structure for the Northeast reconstruction and rehabilitation would be efficient and accountable, would safeguard the interests of all communities in the Northeast, enable the LTTE to play a significant role and would not be in conflict with the laws of Sri Lanka.

The Lankan PM had stated in his letter addressed to Anton Balasingham: “We are convinced that the structure proposed by us taken as a whole, will fully enable the accomplishment of the objectives which you have stipulated in respect of development, rehabilitation and humanitarian activities in the Northeast. We are also confident that this fact can be made clear to you if the opportunity for a comprehensive discussion about the content of the proposals could be arranged at this juncture.”