Lanka looking at devolution of power to Tamils, says Ranil
Updated by admin on
Tuesday, September 15, 2015 09:10 PM IST
New Delhi:
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said his government was looking at the issue of devolution of power to the island’s Tamils under the provisions of the Constitution. This is something that India has been urging the Lankan Government to pursue for nearly three decades.
Wickremesinghe held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on September 15. Wickremesinghe is looking at a deeper economic engagement with India and hoped that both countries will be able to finalise the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement by next year.
On devolution of power to Tamils in Northern and Eastern provinces, he said “We are looking at how power sharing takes place within the Constitution.”
India has been urging Sri Lanka to implement the 13th amendment on devolution of powers to fulfil the aspirations of the ethnic Tamils.
The 13th amendment brought under the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord of July 1987 signed by then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President J R Jayewardene envisaged devolution of powers to the provinces in a bid to end the island’s ethnic conflict.
Ranil said various issues, including those relating to ethnic Tamil population, and the UNHRC resolution referring to alleged human rights violation in Sri Lanka figured in the talks with Modi.
The UN Human Rights Council had last year adopted a resolution requesting the High Commissioner for Human Rights to undertake a comprehensive investigation into alleged serious violations and abuses of human rights and related crimes by both parties during the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka.
Ranil said fishermen on both sides should continue discussions and resolve the issue in a time-bound manner. Wickremesinghe, who was sworn in Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister for the fourth time last month, said all the parties in Sri Lanka wanted good relations with India.
He said growth in bilateral trade with India would help Sri Lanka generate one million jobs in the island nation over the next five years.
“We think by end of the year, the two sides should at least come to an agreement in principle and by next year we should have an agreement,” he said at a joint press briefing with Modi.
