Chandrika tries to avoid meeting Ranil

President Chandrika Kumaratunga was set to duck a crucial meeting with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to iron out differences in cohabitation government and was due to fly unannounced to London leaving behind outstanding issues to be worked out for a later date.

Kumaratunga had earlier promised to meet Wickremesinghe to allay fears in the ruling United National Front (UNF) coalition of a dissolution of the parliament after December 5 by the president who heads the opposition People's Alliance (PA).

The thorny issues have resulted in the prime minister threatening to call for another general elections before December 5 and seek a bigger mandate from the country's 12.4 million voters to "show who is boss" in the administration of the country's government.

The UNF has also threatened to clip the president's executive powers to dissolve the legislature by moving a constitutional amendment in parliament.

Under the 1978 republican constitution, the president cannot dissolve a newly elected parliament for the first year, but can do so any time after that.

Former foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, who was acting as a go-between on behalf of Kumaratunga, meanwhile, told a PA parliamentary group meeting on Thursday that the president will not accept a constitutional amendment (which requires a two-thirds majority in parliament, and therefore requires the support of her own MPs), but was willing to give a written guarantee to the speaker that she would not dissolve parliament.

He said that 'piece-meal' amendments to the constitution were not acceptable. In the 24 years since the passing of the new constitution, which introduced a French-style executive presidency, 18 amendments have been made to the original document.

Criticisms came from the PA's own ranks, saying that Kumaratunga cannot be trusted because last year she told her partymen that she would not dissolve parliament, but did so without warning them when faced with defeat in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence against her government.

The local media reported that one of her once trusted ministers, former aviation minister Jeyeraj Fernandopulle had asked Kadirgamar what assurances could be given that the president would keep to her word this time.

Fernandopulle, who resigned from Kumaratunga's cabinet last year along with other dissidents, but withdrew his resignation immediately thereafter, is being named as one of the likely PA parliamentarians who would cross-over to Wickermesinghe's UNF coalition, or at least vote for the constitutional amendment that would clip the president's powers.

Kumaratunga was expected to run into a further storm for preparing to leave the country without sorting out the increasing number of issues arising from the cohabitation government between herself and parliament which is controlled by Wickremesinghe's party.

During talks between the premier and Kadirgamar, the former had complained that Kumaratunga was "uncontactable and inaccessible".

Last weekend both Kumara-tunga and Wickremesinghe were in the hill capital of Kandy, but did not meet.