Sri Lanka opposition parties ask government to first present proposals to resolve ethnic issue

Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party (UNP) today said the party would not participate in the proposed Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to find a solution to the ethnic issue.

UNP parliamentarian Mangala Samaraweera told a press conference the government first needed to present its proposals to solve the ethnic issue.

The UNP would then decide on participating in the process, he said.

According to Samaraweera, the UNP did not want to participate in a committee that has been set up to overcome pressure from foreign countries.

"The government is trying to put the responsibility on opposition parties to find a solution to the conflict. We are not agreeable," Samaraweera said.

Meanwhile, the Marxist party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has also announced that the party would not participate in the PSC, which it claims is a waste of time.

JVP parliamentarian Anura Kumara Dissanayake said the government is trying to appoint a parliamentary committee to delay providing a solution to the conflict.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa proposed the setting up of a PSC to discuss and bring a political solution to the ethnic issue. He has said that a solution should not be confined to discussions with one party.