COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s long road to peace came across several obstacles this week beginning with the nationalistic political party consisting of Buddhist monks dissociating themselves from the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) which is preparing proposals seeking a political solution to the Tamil ethnic question.

The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) on Monday opted out of the APRC followed by a tongue lashing aimed at the chairman of the committee, Prof Tissa Vitarana. The Buddhist clergy represented party which insinuated as to whether Vitarana was part of a conspiracy to ‘reverse’ the recent victories gained by the military, maintained that the only way of obtaining a proper ‘consensus’ on how the ethnic issue was to be solved was to call a referendum.

“There is a conspiracy to reverse the military victories gained over the LTTE. We wonder whether Prof Vitarana is playing a part in this conspiracy”, Patali Champika Ranawaka, the JHU policy compiler who is also a government minister told a media conference.

The JHU’s opposition to the current set of political proposals comes months after the Marxist party, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) pulled out of the All Party Representative Committee.

Meanwhile, in an unexpected move the main opposition party, the United National Party (UNP) on Tuesday decided to withdraw from the APRC until the parties in the ruling coalition come up with a common stand regarding the solution to the national question.

“We are not withdrawing support towards finding a political alternative. We will extend our support when the government reaches a consensus with its alliance partners such as the JHU”, senior UNP member, Jayalath Jayawardena who was instrumental in bringing about the peace deal with the LTTE in 2002 under the then UNP government told Dawn.

Both the JHU monk party which is part of the Mahinda Rajapakse led government and the JVP, one time staunch supporters of Rajapakse, stand for a total military crushing of the LTTE and bears the view that the LTTE represents terrorism and not the Tamil people.

“We have repeatedly stated that there should be no negotiations with terrorists. We are against moves to placate terrorists at a time when they are weakened in the battlefield”, a spokesman for the JVP said referring to the recent defeat suffered by the LTTE in the east of the country.

Despite the hurdles in obtaining a consensus towards a political solution acceptable by all political parties, chairman of the APRC Tissa Vitarana announced that the final report detailing a political alternative would be submitted to President Mahinda Rajapakse shortly.

Vitarana said the views of all parties will be considered in the final document including the concerns of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU).

Political sources say President Mahinda Rajapakse who is under pressure by the international community to forward a political alternative to end the war, has asked the panel of constitutional experts headed by Prof Tissa Vitarana overseeing the APRC to expedite the finalising of the power devolution proposals.