Wed, 2012-10-24 01:39 — editor | From R.
Vasudevan—Reporting from New Delhi
New Delhi, 24 October (Asiantribune.com):
The 13th amendment to the Sri Lanka Constitution, a
product of the Rajiv Gandhi-Jayewardene 1987 accord, is once again a matter of
discord.
The ongoing one-upmanship between the Sri Lankan
government and TNA, which represents a vast majority of Tamil population in the
island nation, has taken a dangerous turn with many within the government,
including President Mahinda Rajapaksa's brother and Defence Secretary Gotabhaya
Rajapaksa, demanding that the 13th amendment be repealed altogether.
Though the 13th amendment, which guarantees devolution
of power to the provinces and comprises several other major concession to the
Tamils, has often been pejoratively referred to as an "imported
solution", rarely has it been subjected to such attack by parties within
the ruling coalition.
Indian officials say they were "surprised"
by the development, but added they would respond at the right moment.
Sources confirmed that Gotabhaya will be visiting
India this week, and that the issue will be taken up with him. Gotabhaya's call
for abolition of the 13th amendment is said to be in response to the
"post-war strategy" of the TNA. India has repeatedly, and
successfully, sought a reiteration from Lanka of its commitment to the 13th
amendment, saying it was imperative for reconciliation after the war ended in
2009.
Despite raising doubts about the agenda of TNA,
described by India as a credible body, President Rajapaksa had stated earlier
this year that his government remained committed to 13th amendment. A joint
statement issued by the two countries last year had said that "a
devolution package, building upon the 13th amendment, would create conditions
for genuine reconciliation".
Indian officials underlined how Lanka made the same
commitment in the 2008 Universal Periodic Review (UPR), which looks at the
human rights record of all UN member states every four years. Interestingly,
Lanka's record will be reviewed again by the UPR in early next month with India
being one of the three countries that will carry it out. "This is not just
a commitment made to India but to international agencies," said an
official.
The reconciliation talks, which started after the war,
collapsed in January with President Rajapaksa insisting that the process could
be taken forward only through a Parliament Select Committee (PSC). The TNA has
refused to join the PSC.
While ties have suffered because of India's vote at
the UN Human Rights Council against Sri Lanka, PM Manmohan Singh did try to
save the situation when he met Rajapaksa last month and assured him of New
Delhi's support at international fora in future. In the talks, though, India
also conveyed to Lanka that it looked upon TNA as a credible entity with which
talks must be resumed. The relations now threaten to hit an all-time low with
the talk about scrapping the 13th amendment altogether. - Asian Tribune -
