If a north-east provincial council is created, the Sinhalese-majority Amparai District voters will decide, in another referendum, whether a separate Amparai provincial council should be created. Despite agreement on some issues, the PA and the UNP remain suspicious of each other and observers say that strategic decisions in the light of forthcoming general elections will determine the outcome of the deliberations.
Following reports that some senior government ministers want to extend the current Parliament by two years, the UNP leader declared in early May that his party would oppose any such move. An extension must be approved by a two-thirds majority in Parliament and accepted in a national referendum. The PA will not be able to obtain a two-thirds majority without UNP support.
Whether the LTTE will be invited to consider any agreed proposal is yet unclear. The Tigers said on 8 May that they would declare a ceasefire if the government agreed to withdraw the 40,000 troops from Jaffna peninsula, paving the way for peace talks. The government was unimpressed and rejected the offer. Media minister Mangala Samaraweera says the offer is part of LTTE’s psychological warfare and follows government’s intense campaign for international assistance.