Lanka main parties vow to extend unity govt

Sri Lanka's two major political parties today said they would extend their unity government beyond the initially agreed period of two years for a full five-year term.
The United National Party (UNP) led by President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) had entered into an agreement last August to form a unity government limited to a period of two years.
"Both the President and the PM have said that this government cannot be toppled which means that the government will continue for five years," Duminda Dissanayake, minister of agriculture and SLFP general secretary said in a joint press conference with UNP leader and minister of state enterprises Kabir Hashim.

The announcement came at a time when the joint opposition group and backers of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa have mounted a challenge to the government.
The joint opposition is to start a protest walk from the central town of Kandy next week to reach the capital Colombo covering a distance of 72 miles.
"If they think the government can be toppled through rallies and walks they are mistaken," Dissanayake said.
"The current government formed by the two major parties a year ago was based on a solid foundation to restore democracy, law and order and economic stability," Hashim said.