Opposition to support IMF loan: Hakeem

(May 26, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) SLMC Leader MP Rauff Hakeem today said in Parliament collective appeal should be made by the government and the joint opposition to the IMF to release a standby loan the government requested for. It is important for the government to take the opposition into confidence and make a joint appeal to the IMF”, Mr. Hakeem said.

The SLMC also welcomed the defeat of the LTTE saying the achievements of the government and military are ‘remarkable’ and unprecedented.

He said the Muslims of the country have all the more reasons to rejoice the end of the LTTE as they had suffered immensely due to terrorism and recalled how in 1990 the LTTE had ethnically, cleansed Jaffna by driving out the Muslims who lived there.

While welcoming the decision to hold elections for the Jaffna Municipal Council and the Vavuniya Urban Council, Mr. Hakeem said he had appealed to the President to enact emergency legislation to enable the displaced Muslims from Jaffna to vote at these polls.

He said he would be meeting with the Elections Commissioner today to discuss the possibility of enabling the displaced Muslims to vote from the places where they are now domiciled in.

-Sri Lanka Guardian