ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, January 15, 1996 TAG: 9601150077
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: COLOMBO, SRI LANKA
On the heels of their biggest battlefield victory over Tamil insurgents, Sri Lankan leaders will unveil a formal power-sharing plan this month that would transform the country into a federal republic in all but name, the justice minister said Sunday.
The aim of the plan is to satisfy the demands of the Tamil minority and simultaneously undermine popular support for the Tamil guerrillas, who have been waging a war for a separate homeland on this Indian Ocean island since 1983.
But uncertainties in the proposed package of constitutional amendments still must be ironed out, G.L. Peiris, the justice and constitutional affairs minister, said in an interview.
He said President Chandrika Kumaratunga has not yet decided whether to merge two of the island's provinces with large Tamil populations into a single region, a key demand of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam guerrilla group.
``There's been no firm decision on the unit of devolution. It's an open question,'' Peiris said.
- Los Angeles Times
LENGTH: Short : 31 linesby CNB