Devolution beyond 13th Amendment:

Minister sets the record straight

by P. Krishnaswamy

Minister of Irrigation and Water Resource Management and Leader of the House Nimal Siripala de Silva refuted reports which appeared in some sections of the media saying that the Government which is now considering a devolution proposal beyond the 13th Amendment is trying to appease two of its main allies who are opposed to it.

The report said that Ministers Wimal Weerawansa and Patali Champika Ranawaka, the two main UPFA constituents, are opposed to proposals beyond the 13th amendment and some key Ministers are trying to bring them in line with the Government delegation that is holding talks with the TNA.

Minister de Silva, a member of the Government delegation told the Sunday Observer that the delegation would present its proposals to the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC)and thereafter any political party, including the two UPFA constituents, can express their views in a national spirit to ensure a lasting solution. It is untimely to say whether the proposals under consideration are beyond or within the purview of the 13th Amendment, he said.

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran who was among his party delegation that participated in last week's talks said that they were anticipating the talks to "make headway towards an acceptable solution" which, in turn, would get implemented through constitutional arrangements.

The TNA party stance is that the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to be appointed for broader discussions on the issue among all political parties represented in the Parliament should begin its deliberations only after an agreement is reached between the TNA and the Government on the basic issues, including land and police powers to the unit of devolution, Sumanthiran said.