By Michael Heath
Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa said a 1987 constitutional amendment that envisaged devolving power to the South Asian island nation's regions is the basis for ending the 24-year conflict with Tamil rebels.
The amendment, which came out of a peace accord signed with India, established provincial councils to assume some of the central government's role, Rajapaksa told local television, the Defense Ministry said on its Web site yesterday. The council didn't function in the Tamil-speaking northeastern province because of the conflict there and was suspended in 1990, he said.
Peace isn't possible with Velupillai Prabhakaran, the leader of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, because ``he will not agree to anything,'' Rajapaksa said.
The Tamil Tigers, designated a terrorist group by the U.S., the European Union and India, have been fighting for a separate homeland in a conflict that has left more than 70,000 people dead. The government this month withdrew from a 2002 cease-fire accord and is targeting LTTE leaders, including killing the group's military intelligence chief on Jan. 6.
Fighter jets attacked an LTTE artillery position in the northern region of Mannar yesterday, the ministry said on its Web site. A rebel artillery commander, identified only as Mangalesh, was among the casualties, it said, citing intercepted LTTE communications.
Soldiers Killed
Tamil Tigers killed 30 Sri Lankan soldiers and wounded 100 more during eight hours of fighting in Mannar as rebels repulsed an army attack, TamilNet reported on its Web site, citing the LTTE. The army was backed by war planes and artillery, the group said. The LTTE lost three fighters in the clashes, while seizing guns and anti-tank weapons, it said.
Sri Lanka will implement the 13th constitutional amendment as it provides the most practical solution to the Tamil minority's demand for autonomy, Rajapaksa said.
The amendment also provides for the establishment of a high court in each province and makes Tamil an official language and English the second language.
Sri Lanka's government will release a proposal to devolve power to the nation's regions on Jan. 23, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama told Japanese envoy Yasushi Akashi at a meeting yesterday in the capital, Colombo, according to a statement on the Defense Ministry's Web site.
Bogollagama warned against international actions that may boost the position of the rebels and result in increased fighting, the statement said. He didn't elaborate.
Japan, along with the U.S. and European Union, is a member of the so-called co-chairs of international donors for Sri Lanka group, which has pushed for peace in the country. Akashi visited Colombo after a surge in violence following the government's withdrawal from the cease-fire accord.
At least 330 people, 310 rebels, 15 soldiers and five civilians, have been killed in fighting since the end of the truce, the Associated press reported, citing military data.
Sri Lanka's government rejects any settlement that would divide the country of 20 million people. Tamils make up 11.9 percent of the population and Sinhalese almost 74 percent, according to the 2001 census.
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