by Himangi Jayasundere

The President is not agreeable to piecemeal amendments to the constitution, Presidential spokesman Harim Peiris said on Wednesday.

"Constitutional reforms should encompass the national needs, including devolution of power and the abolition of the executive presidency," he said.

Last week the UNF requested the president to use her executive power of dissolving parliament after one year of an election only if two thirds of the legislature were agreeable to it.

However, Peiris on Wednesday said that constitutional amendments should be made "according to the country’s needs" and not according to the "whims and fancies" of one party.

He said that the government had proposed that the constitutional council should enjoy immunity from the Supreme Court, but added that that was ‘hypocritical’ as the proposal was coming from the same people who were "attacking the president’s immunity".

Before the 18th amendment, the 17th amendment has to be implemented, he said adding that the UNF was agitating for its implementation while it was in the opposition.

The Presidential spokesman said that discussions on the agenda of the peace talks currently going on between Minister Milinda Moragoda and the LTTE were welcome, but added that talks should start immediately. "Talks were initially scheduled for May now it is the middle of August," he pointed out.

He added that the President and her party continued to believe that a wider agenda on all issues should be addressed, specifically human rights and the dignity of the people of the north and east. "We will facilitate any facilitation required."

He reiterated that the President would not dissolve parliament. "It’s difficult to give a futuristic guarantee because the situation in the country is dynamic," he however added.

Peiris said that discussions were continuing between Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Lakshman Kadirgamar "to iron out any constraints there may be for peaceful cohabitation."

"We don’t want to speculate where talks may lead to," he said adding that "discussions were based on a frame of mind of making it work".

Commenting on the document involving the alleged coup, he said that it indicated a shift in the party loyalties. "It’s the same thing that happened last year when members of the PA moved to the UNF". But he maintained that it was "for political reasons and certainly not for money."

Talking about the discussions between the PA and the JVP on Tuesday, he said that the President was always ready to talk with political parties and recognised the JVP as a third force.

He claimed that if the votes received by the PA and JVP had not been split they would have obtained more votes than the UNF.

The two parties together could work for the development of the country, Peiris said adding that there was a need to have the JVP’s position on the peace process clarified. "The JVP has not said that they are against talks or that they want to go back to war, but that the government should present a political solution to the problem before it goes for talks".

He said that "the parties would work together on matters of mutual interest."

Answering a question about different views expressed by the JVP and the PA he said "If we agree on everything we would not remain as two parties," adding that there was a divergence of views on some matters.