PCs won’t have police powers-Govt. has told India
Posted on June 20th, 2013
By Shamindra Ferdinando Courtesy Island
India had been informed of Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢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 toldƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 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 RajapaksaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s decision to amend the 13thƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 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 RajapaksaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢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 13thƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 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 PresidentƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢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 13thƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 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 13thƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Amendment wouldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢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.
June 20th, 2013 at 3:35 pm
What about the land powers. By no stretch of imagination can the land in the Eastern and Northern provinces can be categorised as Tamil land. 20 million people in a 65000 sq km land, the hunger for land remains the highest human need. It cannot be doled out willy nilly to Racist Tamils whose ambition is to have the land for themselves from where they can milk the rest of the land for jobs, resources and even more land. This fiasco must end. Sri Lanka has suffered for over 30 years from Racist Tamils. Sri Lanka has no appetite for more wars along an artificial border that never existed ever in its long history.
The government is doing its best to address any in perceived inequalities that Tamils suffer while the majority of the Sinhalese who suffered under the jackboots of the LTTE are yet to be found solace. Recent interview with a woman who lost her entire family at Kebithigollawa shows the extent to which they still remain “unattended”. This family still lives in a ramshackle hovel while brand new houses are constructed in the North and East for what is left of the terrorists and their families.
There is no way that Land powers can be handed over to the provinces. The best is that the entirety of the 13th Amendment must go. Provinces should not be basis for power devolution for the masses. Sri Lanka can be traversed from top to bottom and from one side to the next in a few hours and while having to cross several provinces in doing so. The mayhem it can create is already seen in the North Western province and North Central province.
June 20th, 2013 at 4:39 pm
I’m not repeating DJ (Don Juan aka Dayan Jeyatilakan).
But Endia will INVADE SL soon not like in 1987 may be in a different way.
2014 is an election year. Tamil Madu support is ESSENTIAL for Congress to RETAIN power and BJP to get power. For sometime Tamilians will be kingmakers (among others) until next year. To keep the barbarians happy Endia will invade SL to force 13 amendment.
We should be ready. We should get a Chinese nuke submarine always docked in our ports to DETER Endia.
This is what we didn’t do in 1987. We can’t afford the same mistake this time.
We should also have a plan to DISTRIBUTE millions of guns, claymore mines, grenades, landmines to willing patriots to “take care of” “existing Endian invaders” in SL. The army cannot do these things officially.
During the Vietnam war pro-US south Vietnamese were killed in millions by north Vietnamese more than the Americunts. This is the strategy to RID ALL Endian “invaders” from the country. Afterwards SL will get a bad name which we can overcome with time. But Endians in SL poses a CONTINUING economic, political, defence, cultural, etc. threat which is worse. That will automatically resolve the “ethnic problem” and all other REAL problems affecting MOST SLs!
Thereafter Endia will NEVER INVADE SL.
e.g. IF Ravanan got rid of Seetha Devi when the monkey army invaded SL, Endia would have wept and wept their mistake and never had invaded SL ever again! But he didn’t expect the monkey attack and that was his mistake.
This is a NASTY strategy but the other option is far WORSE. Sinhalese, pro-SL Tamils and pro-SL Muslims in SL must get into the SURVIVAL GEAR now. Anything is kosher in survival mode.
If anyone else has a better strategy I like to hear it.
June 20th, 2013 at 5:52 pm
My Comment on the Article below:
As a Patriotic Sri Lankan, I second garawi’s comment.
The average Sri Lankan enjoys a much higher standard of living and social equity than the average Indian citizen, despite a 30 year war against Tamil separatists, initiated, funded, and orchestrated by India. With similar cultures & economies at independence, one would have expected no difference today between the two countries; so why is there such a vast difference?
The answer is SIMPLE: The Buddhist mindset of the Majority Community of Sri Lanka has supported and enabled progress in every area leading to the higher economic and social equity. Caste and sex discrimination has vanished, people have attained 95% literacy comparable to advanced Western nations, and enjoy good universal healthcare. Despite what the Eelamist Tamil separatists egged on by Tamil Nadu racists would have you believe, ethnic and religious discrimination has also largely vanished.
An UNDYING DEDICATION to PRESERVING our Sovereignty remains undiminished!
……….
Garawi’s Comment:
While the India’s poor is starving the govenrment is meddling in Sri Lankan politics and trying to impose their power on her. It will be better to spent time and money to improve the condition at home before preaching to the others.
……………………………………..
Poorest of poor survive on Rs 17 a day in villages: NSSO
By PTI – NEW DELHI
20th June 2013 05:05 PM
Poorest of poor in the country survive on barely Rs 17 per day in villages and Rs 23 a day in cities, as per the latest data released by the National Sample Survey Office today.
According to the data, which relates to 2011-12 (July-June), five per cent population on the bottom rung had an average monthly per capita expenditure (MCPE) of Rs 521.44 in rural areas and Rs 700.50 in urban areas.
On the other end of the spectrum, top five per cent of the population had an MPCE of Rs 4,481 in rural areas and Rs 10,282 in urban areas.
The National Sample Survey Office’s (NSSO) 68th round of survey is based on samples consisting of 7,496 villages in rural India and 5,263 urban blocks except some remote areas, during July 2011June 2012, the release said.
On an average on the all-India basis, MPCE was around Rs 1,430 for rural India and about Rs 2,630 for urban India.
“Thus average urban MPCE was about 84 per cent higher than average rural MPCE for the country as a whole, though there were wide variations in this differential across states,” it said.
For the average rural Indian, food accounted for 52.9 per cent of the value of consumption during 2011-12. This included 10.8 per cent for cereals and cereal substitutes, 8 per cent for milk and milk products, 7.9 per cent on beverages, refreshments and processed food, and 6.6 per cent on vegetables, the release said.
Among non-food item categories, fuel and light for household purposes (excluding transportation) accounted for 8 per cent, clothing and footwear 7 per cent, medical expenses 6.7 per cent, education 3.5 per cent, conveyance 4.2 per cent, other consumer services (excluding conveyance) 4 per cent, and consumer durables 4.5 per cent.
June 21st, 2013 at 1:34 am
We do not need plasters to this problem. Call referendam to choose yes or no to 13 ammendment. JR & Gamini Dissanayaka created this problem to Sri Lankans and aftre a decade people are facing past leaders (morons) bad decisions.
June 22nd, 2013 at 1:17 pm
The main purpose of formulating the 13th amendment during the civil war where India was supporting the Tamil Tigers including doing plane trips over Sri Lankan air space to drop food and essentials to the Tamil Tigers was to end the the war through the devolution of power. That purpose failed and the war was concluded by a military action. Since the 13th amendment failed in it’s main purpose of ending the war it is null and void and cannot be used after the war. Any amendment that fails in its main objective becomes worthless and should be replaced by another amendment. As the article pointed to devolve power now when India has allowed the resurrection of TESO (Tamil Eelam Supporters Organization), the new funding of LITE by the Tamil diaspora and demands made by Tamil Nadu’s chief Minister Jayalalithaa for New Delhi to form a referendum to create Eelam are sufficient reasons to abolish amendment 13 and replace one that:
-States that Sri Lanka is officially a Buddhist nation that gives the freedom of other faiths to practice but no proselytize.
– That the Buddhist Sanga is recognized as an integral power of the nation.
– No conversions to other faiths can be done but conversions to Buddhism is allowed
– no party can seek the help of any foreign entity on matters of domestic issue without facing treason and disbanding
– That the 13th amendment is abolished and powers are centralized.
– That all political and cultural parties and affiliations place the integrity of the nation above all else.