JVP-UNP marriage now on the rocks

• RANIL ADAMANT ON ELEPHANT
• FONSEKA WANTS SWAN

A split is imminent between the main parties constituting the common opposition over a symbol issue. The JVP is not seeing eye-to-eye with UNP over the elephant being used as the symbol for the forthcoming general election as urged by the UNP.
LAKBIMAnEWS learns that in the event the JVP fails to get the UNP to agree to contesting the election on the swan symbol, the JVP would try to form an alliance with the support of general Sarath Fonseka and many other minor parties.
However, the UNP has invited general Fonseka to contest on the UNP ticket but he has not given a word. Meanwhile, general Sarath Fonseka is in the process of trying to persuade the UNP to contest on the swan symbol.
However, the JVP has had many meetings with UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and many others regarding the elephant symbol, but Wickremesinghe is of the view that a majority in the party want the elephant symbol to be used.
JVP group leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake and a few other JVP members met Wickremesinghe in Parliament last Friday but could not reach any satisfactory resolution over the issue.
The JVP has also spoken to general Sarath Fonseka to convince Wickremesinghe but to no avail, political sources said.
When we contacted a senior UNP member over why the UNP was now trying to defect from the opposition common alliance, he said that after having ten months of negotiations the JVP and SLFP formed the UPFA in January 2004 and vied for the April 2nd, 2004 general election.
Unexpectedly the JVP won 39 seats thanks to SLFP votes and many senior SLFP stalwarts failed to get elected as a result. “We don’t want to face such a situation”, he observed.