SLDF Called on APRC Delegation to Release an Interim Report on Consensus Arrived at Within the APRC

The Sri Lanka Democracy Forum (SLDF) held a discussion with the visiting delegation of the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) including APRC Chairman Professor Tissa Vitarana and eight other delegates on 6 April 2008, which followed a meeting of SLDF’s international Steering Committee and an SLDF sponsored day long conference the previous day.

The meetings took place in the shadow of escalating violence in Sri Lanka, surrounding the Madhu Church in Mannar and the brutal assassination of Minister Fernandopulle and fourteen others by an LTTE suicide bomber in Weliweriya. SLDF unreservedly condemns these and other acts of violence which target civilians.
The conference on 5 April 2008, attended by SLDF activists and other activists from Europe, addressed issues relating to a political solution, democratization, concerns of minorities, the politics of human rights, diaspora activism and the impact of the upcoming Provincial Council elections. The conference was followed the next day, by a meeting of SLDF’s international Steering Committee to arrive at decisions relating to SLDF’s work over the next six months.
On the evening of 6 April 2008, SLDF Steering Committee members and a few other observers held a three hour long discussion with the visiting delegation of the APRC.
SLDF reiterated that there was no military solution, and that the only way forward was through a just political process that addressed the grievances and aspirations of the minority communities leading to State reform within a united Sri Lanka. SLDF expressed concern that recent developments and the delays and deflection of the APRC process have shattered the confidence of the minority communities.
SLDF called on the APRC Chairman Prof. Vitarana and the APRC representatives to immediately release at least an interim report of the ninety percent consensus that had been arrived at within the APRC process. Given the divided and polarized positions within Parliament, further progress with respect to a national consensus will be difficult to achieve unless all communities participate in a national debate on State reform.
SLDF appreciates the participation of the APRC delegation in constructive engagement with the critical concerns raised at the meeting. The meeting also provided the opportunity for Mr. Devadas of the Europe based Sri Lankan Dalit Social Development Front to make submissions to the APRC on a political solution that addresses the concerns of Dalits, who face caste oppression within the Tamil community.