13 Responses to “People who care about the Sri Lankan Public must demand removal of Provincial Council system”

1. Ananda-USA Says:
   June 18th, 2013 at 2:06 pm

   PM frowns on land and police powers to pcs

   DailyNews.lk
   June 18, 2013

   The 13th Amendment to the Constitution has opened up a dialogue in the media and the public space. It is a characteristic of democracy. Some say the 13th Amendment is needed; some say it is not required. However, Police powers and Land powers referenced in the Amendment are not required at this juncture, Prime Minister and Buddhasasana and Religious Affairs Minister D.M. Jayaratne said.

   The Prime Minister made these comments at a meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office yesterday. He said giving Police and Land powers will create needless issues in a small country like Sri Lanka. “This would lead to many problems in the future. The 30-year war in Sri Lanka was brought to an end under the leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

   Efforts are being made by certain groups to create political uncertainty in the country with the backing of with international forces whose objective is to paralyze the country’s development pace,” Prime Minister Jayaratne said. “Equity is the main feature of a society. When creating an equal society, the differences among nationalities, races, castes and religions should be eliminated,” he said.

   The Prime Minister said all religions are the same and this concept was misunderstood by some religious groups.

   He said the basic concept of any religion is to develop people spiritually.

   “However, there are many differences in the practice and use of religions. All religious leaders have preached on the virtues of social justice,” the Prime Minister said.

   He said the media exists not to create problems, but to solve them. “As a government we believe in media freedom. However, there are instances where the media act in an irresponsible manner. The media render a great service to society.

   However, a small section of the media are trying to create problems for the country. Media freedom should be utilised wisely and it is the responsibility of the media to reveal corruption and fraud of politicians,” the Prime Minister said.

   President Rajapaksa responds positively to media revelations. In some instances, the President demands immediate action in response to media reports. Media is the bridge that links Sri Lanka with the outside world, he said.

   Additional Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office Dr. I.H.K. Mahanama, Additional Secretary of the Buddhasasana and Religious Affairs Minister J.A.A.N. Kannangara, Commissioner General of Buddhist Affairs Chandraprema Gamage and officials also participated.

2. Ananda-USA Says:
   June 18th, 2013 at 2:18 pm

   Sri Lanka nationalist party introduces bill to abolish PC system

   Tue, Jun 18, 2013, 08:46 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

   June 18, Colombo: An ally of Sri Lanka’s governing party, the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) today introduced a bill to abolish the provincial council system enacted by the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1987.

   JHU leader and Gampaha district parliamentarian, Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thero was granted leave to introduce the Bill, entitled “Bill to amend the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka”

   The JHU motion aims primarily to repeal the 13th Amendment to the Constitution which paved way for the power devolving Provincial Council system in the island.

3. Ananda-USA Says:
   June 18th, 2013 at 3:42 pm

   Shenali,

   Thank you for researching and identifying the abuses and crimes committed by individual Provincial Council officials in recent years.

   That is the TIP OF THE VAST ICEBERG of waste, abuse, corruption and criminality that extends deep below the surface. They are INDICATIVE of the CULTURE OF IMPUNITY that has taken hold of the Provincial Councils and the CONTEMPT that they have for their CAPTIVE PEOPLE they are supposed to CARE FOR and PROTECT.

   The MOST IMPORTANT reasons for DISSOLVING the Provincials Councils are:

   1. They represent an UNNECESSARY LAYER OF GOVERNMENT BUREAUCRACY that burdens the people with BUREAUCRATIC red tape and ECONOMIC costs. They create ADDITIONAL bureaucratic barriers to common people trying to get the simplest things done, and increase costs by levying nuisance fees that are used to sustain the bureaucracy. The unending GREED of the PC staff requires ever increasing taxes to be imposed, and ever increasing bribes to be paid. They SIPHON-OFF funds from the National Government allocated to providing services and improving infrastructure to maintain that bloated staff. IN EFFECT, the Provincial Councils now represent a pack of WOLVES legally sanctioned to live off the hapless citizen SHEEP. We need LESS of this type of government; not MORE.

   2. The Provincial Councils create centers of power supported by communities who can be manipulated into supporting anti-national activities. It DILUTES the power of the National Government and creates BARRIERS to ACTION by the National Government to DEFEND and PROTECT the Nation and its People.

   An EXAMPLE of this is the FAILURE of State governments in India to protect the people from Naxalite terrorist attacks. Partly it happens because they lack the RESOURCES, partly it is because the terrorists come from safe haven in adjoining states over which the targeted states have NO JURISDICTION, and in part because the State Government Officials are in the pay of the Naxalites and COLLABORATE with the terrorists instead of protecting the innocent citizens.

   IN yet another recent EXAMPLE, the governments of the Indian States adjoining BanglaDesh scuttled a new National Agreement between India and BanglaDesh to repatriate up to 20 million illegal Bangladeshi immigrants living in India … on purely communal considerations. If Sri Lanka wanted to repatriate illegal immigrants from Tamil Nadu, it will have to seek permission and cooperation of the Northern Provincial Council, dominated, presumably, by the TNA! Without Police Powers in the Northern Province, how will the National Government investigate, arrest and deport these illegal immigrants, or halt new terrorist activity fomented by the Tiger Nominated Agents of the TNA?

   3. The Provincial Councils create sub-national centers of power that create barriers to the IMPLEMENTATION of National Infrastructure Projects, such as Roads, and Irrigation Systems, and even Education facilities and programs, that cut across Provincial Boundaries. For EXAMPLE, the Mahaveli river cuts across several Provinces, each of whom has a valid claim to its waters. Currently, the National Government of Sri Lanka is empowered to make the decision after evaluating the environmental and economic impacts, but when PCs are fully empowered it will lack the power to do so. Provincial councils can then veto ANY project depending on the narrow interests of its residents, and more dangerously, the prejudices of its own councilors. Mavil Aru was a precursor of this kind of resources sharing problem that could arise in the future. This has also become a HUGE PROBLEM in India, especially with regard to sharing river waters between states, holding up not only water projects but also the construction of power plants.

   4. Finally, of course, there is the 13A requirement of National Bills having to be approved unanimously by all Provincial Councils for passage in Parliament. This has security, economic, legal and political ramifications on every level that SUBJUGATES the Will of the Majority of the Citizens of Sri Lanka to the Will of the much Smaller Minorities living in the Provinces, and their Provincial Councillors. That is not “Democracy” reflecting the will of the many, but “Anarchy” imposing the will of the few! It will only require the capture of just ONE Provincial Council by Anti-National Elements to NEGATE the NATIONAL WILL!

   These are among the DANGERS of not REPEALING the 13th Amendment and DISSOLVING the Provincial Council System … especially when CONFRONTED by UNREPENTANT SEPARATISTS and Foreign Powers plying their own agendas to undermine and destabilize Sri Lanka. JUST SCRAP the 13th Amendment COMPLETELY!

   Creating and Devolving POWER to POLITICAL ENTITIES dominated by UNREPENTANT SEPARATISTS who were PROXIES of the MURDEROUS SEPARATISTS DEFEATED ONLY 4 YEARS AGO is an IRRESPONSIBLE FOLLY of MONUMENTAL PROPORTIONS! It BOGGLES my mind that such STUPIDITIES are even being SERIOUSLY CONTEMPLATED!

4. Ananda-USA Says:
   June 18th, 2013 at 5:48 pm

   Lanka can’t toe India line on 13th Amendment: Gotabaya

   By P K Balachandran, COLOMBO
   NewIndianExpress.com
   27th May 2013 08:08 AM

   The influential Sri Lankan Defence Secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has said Sri Lanka should jettison the system of devolution contained in the India-inspired 13th Amendment of the country’s constitution, irrespective of India’s reaction.

   “Just because India or some other country will get angry, we cannot stop doing what is good for our country,” Gotabaya told the Tamil daily Sudar Oli on Sunday.

   He was asked if his statements against the devolution of power to the provinces would not irk India, which was responsible for the promulgation of the existing devolution system through the India-Sri Lanka Accord of 1987 and the 13th constitutional amendment which followed it. Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid had recently expressed displeasure over Lanka’s attempts to prune the 13th amendment to deny the provinces powers over land and police.

   Gotabaya expressed the fear that if the Tamil majority Northern Province went into the hands of the pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance (TNA) following the September 2013 elections to the Northern Provincial Council (NPC), that province would demand power over land and police and jeopardize national integrity and security.

   He recalled that the 13th amendment did not have the people’s support when it was enacted in 1987. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna had “set fire to the whole country,” and the LTTE leader Prabhakaran had rejected it, he pointed out.

   “Why should we implement it merely because it meets India’s needs?” Gotabaya asked.

   According to him some forces were trying to weaken Lanka’s Central Executive by divesting it of powers of land and the police; demanding independent commissions to make official appointments; and promoting an independent judiciary. Gotabaya, who is President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s sibling, suggested that Tamils, Sinhalese and Muslims, should all “forget” about the 13th amendment and think about a “reasonable” solution to the ethnic question.

   However, according to “The Sunday Times” President Rajapaksa had told the cabinet that the NPC elections should be held as scheduled in September, and under the existing constitutional arrangement. Perhaps, Rajapaksa does not want to ruffle feathers in India and the West ahead of the Commonwealth summit scheduled to be held in Colombo in November.

5. Susantha Wijesinghe Says:
   June 18th, 2013 at 5:58 pm

   ANANDA !! Gota is very inspiring to the Sri Lankans. All Patriotic Sri Lankans, bank on Gota. He is a symbol of confidence.

6. Sunil Vijayapala Says:
   June 18th, 2013 at 6:42 pm

   every sri Lankan both local and abroad observe abuse of power everywhere except the leader. anyway prompt action has been taken on the teachers issue and he should be forced to kneel in front of the teacher, salute and apologise to her. this will be a lesson to all corrupt power abusing politicians.
   the leader thrive on corrupt politicians and their cohorts. his thugs rule the country. funny thing is that when a person of prominence is taken into custody, suddenly the person falls sick and moved to a hospital! all the time the culprit is okay and healthy except after arrest. abuse of power comes from right at the top. if the leader has his whip in his hand police need not. power comes from the corrupt base. criminals of the regime have been released on bail while others languish in remand and jail. can this go on forever?

7. Ananda-USA Says:
   June 19th, 2013 at 2:50 am

   Gotabhaya is echoing OUR PLEAS! He is in effect saying that ETHNIC INTEGRATION of the North and East is central to achieving National Integration, and Permanent Communal Harmony! BRAVO, Mr. Defence Secretary!

   RISE UP ….. O Patriots of Mother Lanka …. RISE UP, in your TENS of MILLIONS, and REPEAL the 13th Amendment and DISSOLVE the Provincial Council System NOW. Raise your VOICE NOW to make PERMANENT the PEACE & HARMONY in our Resplendent Motherland!

   ………………………….
   Gotabhaya abhors exclusivity for any race anywhere

   by Shamindra Ferdinando
   Island.lk
   June 18, 2013, 10:00 pm

   Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said the Northern Province should be opened up for all communities to live in without further delay. That would be of pivotal importance to promote bonding among the people in the post-war era.

   The Defence Secretary emphasised that the Sinhalese shouldn’t be deprived of their right to buy land in any part of the country, including the Northern Province comprising the administrative districts of Jaffna, Mannar, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and Vavuniya.

   The outspoken official said that the Sinhalese and the Muslim public servants too, should be allowed to serve in the Northern Province as well as in the predominantly Tamil areas of the Eastern Province.

   Asked whether he would take up the issue with the government, the Defence Secretary said that he had explained the situation to President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

   Those who had been propagating post-war national reconciliation should promote bonding among people, he said, alleging that as long as the Northern Province remained ‘closed’ to other communities it would continue to be a breeding ground for separatist sentiments.

   Responding to a query, the Defence Secretary said that many Tamil speaking people from the Northern and Eastern provinces had moved to Colombo and its suburbs as well as other areas over the years. In spite of the conclusion of the conflict in May, four years ago, they hadn’t been asked to return to their original places of living, he said. Likewise, others should be able to live in any part of the country, he added.

   The Defence Secretary said that recently he had had an opportunity to meet a Tamil engineer attached to the RDA and his deputy, also a Tamil speaking official responsible for an ongoing project at a Colombo suburb coming under his purview. If they could work here without any hindrance why couldn’t the people of other ethnicities be given appointments in the Northern region, the Defence Secretary queried.

   He recollected the circumstances under which the LTTE had driven the Sinhalese and the Muslims out of the Northern Province. A Norwegian found guilty of slaughtering about 80 men, women and children in 2011 was on record as having said that he was inspired by LTTE project to drive out the Muslims, he noted.

   The official emphasised the importance of taking tangible measures to address contentious issues. Although, the LTTE could no longer pose a military challenge, the post-war national reconciliation process was at risk due to the Northern Province having special status, he said. The Defence Secretary insisted that Northern Province shouldn’t be exclusively Tamil and similarly there should not be any exclusively Sinhala or Muslim areas in the country.

8. Ananda-USA Says:
   June 19th, 2013 at 3:19 am

   Tiger Nominated Agents of the TNA whisper lies in the ears of the President of India, making him believe that Sri Lankan Tamils are denied equal rights, and provoking him to jump to conclusions that Tamils are being discriminated against in Sri Lanka.

   NOTHING is further from the TRUTH, Dr. Singh! … Tamils are a PRIVILEGED GROUP in Sri Lanka EVEN TODAY enjoying exclusive Land Rights in Jaffna under Thesavalamai Laws that prohibits sale of LAND to other communities, and enjoying FAR MORE social equity in Srii Lanka than Indian citizens do in Tamil Nadu in India.

   FURTHERMORE, Eelamist Tamils of the TNA, Political PROXIES representing the SEPARATIST LTTE TERRORISTS DEFEATED only 4 years ago, are demanding SPECIAL RIGHTS in the Northern Province unavailable to other communities of Sri Lanka. No Can Do, Dr. Singh, in Sri Lanka citizens have ONLY EQUAL RIGHTS, NOTHING MORE!

   The COMPLETE & TOTAL SOLUTION to ALL of these MACHIAVELLIAN STRATEGIES, and TREASONOUS ACTIVITIES, of these Tiger Nominated Agents seeking to WIN IN PEACE what they FAILED TO WIN IN WAR, is to REPEAL the 13th Amendment and DISSOLVE ALL PROVINCIAL COUNCILS in one fell swoop!

   RISE UP ….. O Patriotic Sons and Daughters of Mother Lanka …. RISE UP to DEFEND & PROTECT your Motherland and your PEOPLE from those internal and external enemies plotting to create a Patchwork Quilt of Walled-off Racist Apartheid Bantustans in Sri Lanka, FOREVER at WAR with ONE ANOTHER!

   RISE UP … Patriots … EELAM WAR V is HERE! Your Motherland needs your VOICE and your SWORD arm NOW!

   ………………………
   Indian PM dismayed over Sri Lanka’s plans to dilute 13th Amendment

   ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

   June 19, Colombo: The Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is “dismayed” over the Sri Lankan government’s plans to dilute certain key provisions of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, India’s External Affairs Ministry said Tuesday.

   The Indian External Affairs Ministry said a six-member delegation of Sri Lanka’s major Tamil party, Tamil Alliance, is visiting India from June 16-19 and they have met the Indian PM Tuesday to hold discussions on a political solution and especially the 13th Amendment.

   The Ministry spokesman said that the Prime Minister conveyed to the TNA delegation that he was dismayed by reports suggesting that the Sri Lankan government is planning to dilute certain key provisions of the 13th Amendment ahead of the Northern Provincial Council elections.

   “The proposed changes raised doubts about the commitments made by the Sri Lankan government to India and the international community, including the United Nations, on a political settlement in Sri Lanka that would go beyond the 13th Amendment,” the Prime Minister has said.

   The changes would also be incompatible with the recommendation of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), set up by the Sri Lankan government, calling for a political settlement based on the devolution of power to the provinces, the PM has noted.

   The Prime Minister has also said that he was deeply concerned about the welfare and wellbeing of the Tamil community in Sri Lanka.

   “He stressed on the expectation that the Sri Lankan Tamil community would lead a life of dignity, as equal citizens, and reiterated that India would make every effort to ensure the achievement of a future for the community marked by equality, justice and self-respect,” the Ministry spokesperson said.

   The delegation led by TNA leader R. Sampanthan, consists of parliamentarians Mavai Senathirajah, Suresh Premachandran, P. Selvarajah, Selvam Adaikalanathan and M.A. Sumanthiran. They had earlier called on the External Affairs Minister and the National Security Adviser. A TNA delegation had also visited India in October 2012.

9. Ananda-USA Says:
   June 19th, 2013 at 3:28 am

   Tamils to vote in Provincial Council polls

   By P K Balachandran – COLOMBO
   NewIndianExpress.com
   June 19, 2013

   The Sri Lankan Parliament on Tuesday passed a Bill enabling people who were displaced from the Tamil-speaking Northern Province by the war to register for voting in the forthcoming elections to the Northern Provincial Council (NPC).

   With a certificate from the Grama Sevaka, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) can now cast their votes in the area in which they had lived prior to displacement. However, no person who is already registered as a voter in another place, can go back and vote in his original constituency in the North. The facility does not cover people who had left the country.

   Though the measure is seen as a just and democratic one, Tamil leaders say the revision of the electoral rolls, which will be necessitated by the Act, can be used to stall polls to the NPC to be held in September this year.

   “Anyone can go to court and stall the Northern elections,” said V Anandasangaree, President of the Tamil United Liberation Front. The National Freedom Front (NFF) and other Sinhalese political parties are campai-

   gning against the NPC elections, as they fear that power may go into the hands of the “pro-LTTE” Tamil National Alliance (TNA).

   Envoy Arrives in SL

   Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha, the new High Commissioner of India to SL, arrived in Colombo on Tuesday.

   Better known as Y K Sinha, the envoy had previously handled several important assignments at the Ministry of External Affairs, and in Indian missions in the Middle East, Europe, South America and the Permanent Mission of India at the UN.

10. Susantha Wijesinghe Says:
    June 19th, 2013 at 5:07 am

    SHENALI !! The atrocities committed by the Provincial Councillars and Members of the Pradeshiya sabhas, reflected in your write up, is stunningly depressing, and it shows the new low, in Character and Discipline, amongst an uneducated class of people given administrative powers, without any qualifications whatsoever. MONKEYS GIVEN RAZORS.

    Their basic qualification, is being a politician, with no academic exposure, and ever ready to provide gangsterism services to those who helped them to where they are. Hence we see extortion, thuggery, rape, murder, child abuse, you name it, in this new breed of GOONS. They enjoy unlimited perks from the State, at Taxpayers expense. This is a new rich class, exhibiting arrogance and self arrogated power. The Government has no control on them, because they were the lot that did all the foot work for them to be in Parliament. So the goons were amply reciprocated with Hosannas, for their foot work. NOW THEY SAY, A BIRD IN THE HAND IS WORTH TWO IN THE BUSH. So hang on to the Provincial Councils.

    Coming to the subject of Sinhalese and Muslim ethnic cleansing from the North, the Government made the initial mistake of not rehabilitating them along with the Tamil IDPs in the North. It was appeasing, appeasing, the Tamils and the Indians all the way. The Poor Sinhalese and the Muslims were not even thought of. IT IS NEVER TOO LATE. The Government must forthwith rehabilitate these Sinhalese and Muslims who were subject to ethnic cleansing, immediately in the North, with all the infrastructure, Housing, Dry Rations and Seed Money, as given the Tamil IDPs. The Governmet should be fair by the Sinhalese and Muslims too. Then, it is reconciliation ready to bloom. The ever burning “National question” of the Tamils will be put to rest once and for all.

11. Fran Diaz Says:
    June 19th, 2013 at 6:11 am

    Currently the 13-A which carries among other inimical items, the Provincial Councils, appears only to be building THUGS & THEIR FIEFDOMS. No good appears done for the People of those areas by the PCs.

    PCs cost the taxpayers of Sri Lanka Rs 130 BILLION/year and they also receive Rs 38 BILLION IN TAXES from those areas. Looking at the LONG list of CRIMES committed by the PC holders, we are dismayed, nay, feel devastated & depressed by what is happening to the country. Sri Lanka, thanks to the 13-A, s growing THUGS at taxpayer cost to run (ruin) the country.

    Bring back the SLAS (Sri Lanka Administrative Service) and grass roots strong organisations to run the country. Administratively speaking, this is how India holds together, through their Indian Administrative Service (IAS).

12. Senevirath Says:
    June 20th, 2013 at 8:48 am

    P.C ADMINISTRATION MEANS ADMIN . BY THUGS
    S.L.A.S ADMIN .. MEANS ADMIN .. BY EDUCATED PEOPLE…(may be not wise) —— but better than thugs>>>>>

    MR. CHANDADASA
    WHAT DO U PREFER?

13. Ananda-USA Says:
    June 20th, 2013 at 1:21 pm

    The Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa says:

    1. During the height of Eelam War IV, the three-member delegation to India comprising the Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga, then Senior Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa, and the Defence Secretary told India, represented by National Security Advisor M. K. Narayanan, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and Defence Secretary Vijay Singh, that POLICE POWERS WILL NOT BE DEVOLVED under the 13th Amendment and Narayanan had FULLY AGREED with it.

    2. When President Rajapaksa had assured India as well as other countries that his government would offer 13th Amendment plus, the President had meant was that he would give a better solution acceptable to all communities. It was misinterpreting the President’s assurance to propagate the falsehood that the government was ready to implement the 13th Amendment, which was forced on the then President JR Jayawardenene.

    THERE YOU HAVE IT …. Straight talk from the Defence Secretary, that India was made aware that the 13th Amendment would be modified to EXCLUDE Police Powers even during the Eelam War, and that the 13th Amendment Plus would not be the same as what was forced down Sri Lanka’s THROAT by India, but was one that would serve ALL of Sri Lanka’s citizens better.

    Agreements made UNDER DURESS are ILLEGAL under ANY LAW. They can be, should be, and will be ABROGATED as soon as the VICTIM OF CRIMINAL COMPULSION regains its free will. IN FACT, it is the DUTY of the VICTIM to DO SO!

    It is PREPOSTEROUS to claim that Sri Lanka is DUTY-BOUND in any way to retain the 13th Amendment forced down its throat by India to satisfy her need for regional hegemony and to placate Indian Racists pursuing a Greater Tamil Nadu agenda!

    Sri Lanka must be governed to serve Sri Lanka’s National Interest, not to serve India’s interests!

    RISE UP …. O Patriots of Mother Lanka …. RISE UP, in your TENS of MILLIONS, to REPEAL this Indian BALL & CHAIN shackling Mother Lanka’s limbs, NOW!
    ……………………..
    PCs won’t have police powers, Govt. has told India

    By Shamindra Ferdinando
    Island.lk
    June 19, 2013, 10:06 pm

    India had been informed of Sri Lanka’s decision not to devolve police powers to provinces at the height of the conflict, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said yesterday.

    The Defence Secretary said that both, President Mahinda Rajapaksa and he, had emphasised during deliberations with senior Indian officials that devolution of police powers would be inimical to the national interest as well as political stability. “We made our position clear during talks involving top level delegations from Sri Lanka and India”, he told The Island.

    The three-member delegation comprised Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga, then Senior Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa and the Defence Secretary. The troika functioned as an informal group on behalf of President Mahinda Rajapaksa to inform and interact with all those who matter, within and outside the country, in general and on events unfolding in Sri Lanka from time to time and visited New Delhi several times during the war.

    India was represented by National Security Advisor M. K. Narayanan, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and Defence Secretary Vijay Singh.

    The Defence Secretary was responding to Indian media reports of Indian Premier Manmohan Singh expressing concern over President Rajapaksa’s decision to amend the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.

    The Defence Secretary said vesting provinces with police powers would be inimical to the interests of minorities. Recollecting a discussion they had in New Delhi, Rajapaksa said that when Narayanan queried from Singh what he thought of Rajapaksa’s opposition to police powers being devolved to provinces, the Indian Defence Secretary had agreed fully with him.

    When it was pointed out that President Rajapaksa had assured India as well as other countries that his government would offer 13th Amendment plus, the Defence Secretary said that what the President had meant was that he would give a better solution acceptable to all communities. It would be nothing but foolish to misinterpret the President’s assurance to propagate the falsehood that the government was ready to implement the 13th Amendment, which was forced on the then President JRJ.

    Responding to allegations that Sri Lanka had gone back on its promise to implement the 13th Amendment after the conclusion of the conflict, the Defence Secretary alleged that it was the government of India that voted for the US-led resolution against Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) after having promised to throw its weight behind Sri Lanka. “India let us down in Geneva, very badly,” the Defence Secretary said.

    Commenting on the proposed Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to study the national issue and make recommendations, the Defence Secretary said that the tangible actions would have to be taken to ensure the 13th Amendment wouldn’t be the cause for further chaos. If implemented fully as it is it could create a volatile situation not only in the Northern Province but other regions as well, the Defence Secretary said.

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