Finding herself in a tight spot, Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga on Monday invited arch rival Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to discuss the current political crisis even as the latter said he was prepared to seek a fresh mandate for his peace process with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
Within hours of Wickremesinghe telling his cabinet colleagues to prepare for a snap poll, Kumaratunga wrote a letter inviting him for talks on the crisis she sparked on November 4 by sacking three ministers and suspending parliament for two weeks.
"In view of the current political situation in the country and my proposal last week to form a government of reconstruction and reconciliation, I would like to meet you in order to discuss your views on this matter," she said.
She gave Wickremesinghe three days from Tuesday to choose a time for the meeting, the Lankan president said in the letter released to mediapersons in Colombo.
The prime minister, however, is reportedly of the view that eventually only an election can resolve the issue as the government could not continue with the slender majority it now has.
Government spokesman Constitutional Affairs Minister G L Peiris said the government is confident of increasing its two-seat majority in parliament. His announcement came hours before the arrival of Norwegian peace brokers to discuss resumption of the peace process with the LTTE, stalled since April.
