Sri Lanka govt wins majority as opposition MPs defect
28 Jan 2007 11:10:09 GMT Source: Reuters
(Updates with additional defection, fresh quote) COLOMBO, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's government on Sunday secured a long-elusive parliamentary majority after 25 opposition MPs defected to its ranks, some securing posts as ministers as President Mahinda Rajapakse shuffled his cabinet, officials said. The government now has 113 seats in the 225 seat parliament, a simple majority that will help it to pass legislation. But the cross-overs have deepened a rift with the main opposition United National Party (UNP), and jeopardised a pact aimed at finding a consensus approach to end a two-decade civil war. "Nineteen members of the UNP have now crossed over to the government, so with six from the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress we now have a majority," said Lucien Rajakarunanayake, head of the president's research and information unit. He said one member of the UNP had joined the government later than the rest, tipping the balance from minority to majority. Analysts warned that the UNP cross-overs had effectively ruptured the opposition party at a time when it was working with the government to build consensus on how to end a war that many fear is set to escalate. The UNP held a new conference after the defection at which members tore up a copy of a pact agreed with the government last year to work together to help end a conflict that has killed more than 67,000 civilians, troops and rebel fighters since 1983 -- and around 4,000 people in the last year alone. They accused the government of violating the agreement, but stopped short of declaring it dead. "The (pact) between the government and the UNP is effectively defunct with the crossing over," said Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu of independent think-tank the Centre for Policy Alternatives. "The tragedy of this whole thing is that apart from the promise of (the pact) being lost, we also don't have a strong opposition in the country ... That's not healthy in parliamentary democracy." Five high profile UNP MPs had already defected to the government since Rajapakse took power in late 2005, further distancing the bickering parties. Clinching a simple majority means Rajapakse will not be hostage to volatile, hardline Marxist and Buddhist monk allies who have repeatedly conditioned support for the government and are against a political deal with the Tigers. However to the consternation of observers, the government -- apparently emboldened by the capture of a key eastern rebel stronghold -- has vowed to wipe out the Tigers' military machine altogether, paving the way for more bloody war. Analysts say the government is underestimating the rebels, and see no clear winner.
