COLOMBO, June 21: Thailand’s ambassador to Sri Lanka, Jerm Tivayanond, said on Wednesday that all is set for peace talks in his country between the Colombo government and the LTTE.
Speaking at a press conference here, Tivayanond said that his country is closely monitoring the peace process underway in Sri Lanka.
Referring to the timeframe of talks, he said that it was likely to be in the month of July or early in August.
“There might be a probable delay of a few weeks. The opinion of Thailand is that it is unwise to delay that long”, Ambassador Tivayanond said, adding that it was not ‘where’ but ‘what’ was being discussed that was important.
Meanwhile, Dr Kollupitiye Mahinda Sangharakkhita, the chief incumbent of the Kelaniya Buddhist Temple, maintained the other day that the final approval for the solution to Sri Lanka’s long drawn ethnic conflict should come from the people and not from the Buddhist clergy.
A majority of the Buddhist clergy has over the years opposed several previous government initiatives to get the LTTE in for talks, the most notable opposition being against the draft constitution of the PA government in the year 2000 targeted at a devolution of power.