By Neena Gopal, Special to Gulf News
Bangalore: A senior minister in Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse's cabinet said yesterday his government would "take the grievances of all democratically minded Tamil people on board" in evolving a political solution to the country's war between separatist Tamil Tigers and government forces.
Keheliya Rambukwella, Sri Lanka's Minister for Foreign Employment, promotion and welfare, in the UAE on a visit, was commenting on proposals submitted by the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) to the president which recommended the full implementation of the 13th amendment - the setting up of provincial councils and a greater devolution of powers to the provinces.
It has been criticised by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in the past as discriminatory.
The 13th amendment was the brainchild of prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President Junius Jaywardene and never implemented, he said.
"Although any amendments to the constitution require a two-thirds majority, I am confident it will go ahead," he added referring to the support needed from the opposition United National Party and Sinhala nationalist Jathika Hela Urumaya to get the amendment passed.
The APRC proposals are "in the same spirit" as the peace proposals by previous governments headed by President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, he said.
The Rajapakse government has worked closely with the international community and particularly India on working out power sharing between the centre and the states. "India has a very strong devolution model," he said, adding that "one way or the other we will decide what political and administrative powers must be granted to each. After years of conflict, it is time to join hands, to give and take."
In a nod to addressing the alienation since the fifties of educated Tamils who resented Sinhala becoming the national language he said his government was even willing to re-examine the feasibility of making English the national language alongside Sinhala and Tamil.
The minister's comments come on the back of a sustained war of attrition to reduce the separatist Tamil Tigers' military capability and the controversial cancellation of a five year long ceasefire agreement (CFA) that has seen a spike in violence.
Rambukwella says "the CFA was never what it should have been". He said: "Prabhakaran (the Tiger supremo) used the piece of paper to advantage at various international forums, never intending to adhere to the deal.
"The Rajapakse government decided it would give the CFA a chance. We went in for two rounds of talks at Geneva but when the Tigers made an attempt on the army chief we felt we should get out of the CFA and liberate the Tamils, terrorised by the LTTE as we have done in the east where Tamils, Muslims and Sinhalese live in harmony."
- Neena Gopal is an analyst on Asia.
Secretive: Brain trust targeted
"First there were five. Now there are three. I assure you we will get all three, - Prabhakaran, Soosai (head of the Tiger navy) and Pottu Amman," said Keheliya Rambukwella, Sri Lanka's Minister for Foreign Employment of his government's targeting of the Liberation Tigers for Tamil Eelam's secretive brain trust.
His famed "there are no good terrorists or bad terrorists, a terrorist is a terrorist" quote when the country's air force killed the head of the Tigers' political wing S.P. Tamilchelvam whom many mistakenly described as a "peace dove", made headlines.
"Why should we spare him [Prabhakaran], has he spared anyone? Not the leaders, nor people of this country, other countries, not respected Tamils, not his colleagues. He must be eradicated."
"If Prabhakaran is caught alive, yes, we will hand him over to India to face charges in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. That is a promise we have made to India, it is a promise we will keep."
Source: gulfnews.com
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