19-01-2008

Sri Lanka to unveil devolution package for Tamils by Jan 23

PTI

Colombo, Jan 18 A much-awaited power devolution package to resolve the over two-decade-old Tamil ethnic conflict will be ready by January 23, the Sri Lankan government has said while rejecting allegations that its scrapping of ceasefire was responsible for the escalated fighting.

“In the wake of divergent views and theories in the political arena, we are determined to provide a devolution package by implementing the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) proposals,” senior government Minister, Mr Maithripala Sirisena told reporters.

Mr Sirisena, who is also the general secretary of the main ruling party—the Sri Lankan Freedom Party (SLFP), said on the directives of the President, Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa, the APRC was expected to present the devolution proposals on January 23.

The proposals would then be presented to the Cabinet and party leaders before being placed in Parliament.

The Minister refuted claims that the international community was extremely concerned about the abrogation of the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA).

“The escalation of violence by the LTTE could not be merely attributed to the abrogation of the CFA as these atrocities of the LTTE were prevalent even during the time the CFA was in operation,” he said.

The LTTE thought it could “belittle, intimidate and de-moralise the armed forces by barbaric acts such as targeting the civilians in Wednesday’s bus attack. They are sadly mistaken,” the Minister said yesterday.

The Sri Lankan government has said 250 rebels were killed since its decision to abrogate the ceasefire agreement late last month while the Tamil Tigers have carried out a string of terror attacks, including assassination of a minister and the bombing of a bus on Wednesday that left 26 people dead.

Source-Navhind Times