Gotabhaya statement reconfirms emptiness in PC model

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 May 2013, 11:31 GMT]
While New Delhi and Washington harp on either the 13th Amendment or holding Northern Provincial Elections (NPC) as solutions to the national question in the island of Sri Lanka, a statement coming from SL presidential sibling Gotabhaya Rajapaksa reconfirms the unworkable nature of the Provincial Council (PC) model in a unitary constitution of the Sinhala state, Tamil political observers in the island said. Mr Gotabhaya Rajapaksa was warning the government of his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa that giving police and land powers to the provinces meant that the Northern Province comprising the districts of Jaffna, Mullaiththeevu, Vavuniyaa, Mannaar and Ki'linochchi could pose a ‘major security challenge’, reported the Island on Thursday.

If even the police and land powers to the provincial councils that are already there in the 13th Amendment cannot be implemented, how could ‘lasting solutions’ could be arrived at through the unitary constitution of the Sri Lankan state, the observers further commented.

"I cannot impose my will on the political establishment. But, I intend to tell those who still consider the 13th Amendment as panacea for all our ills, it’ll be the primary cause for another conflict," Mr Gotabhaya Rajapakasa, was quoted by the The Island as saying.

Gotabhaya was responding on Thursday to a statement attributed to SL minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa on Wednesday, when the SL minister ruled out the possibility of ‘diluting the 13th Amendment’ before the elections to the NPC.

Already, 6 months ago, the Colombo-based newspaper said, “Gotabhaya Rajapaksa likened the 13th Amendment to the Norway arranged Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) finalized in Feb 2002.”

Paraphrasing Gotabhaya as saying that the 13th Amendment was nothing but an impediment to the post-war development process, the paper on 13 October, 2012, quoted him as saying that "[t]he 13th Amendment and the CFA didn’t serve the people of Sri Lanka. Instead, they facilitated interests of various other parties, including the LTTE. Interestingly both supported the separatist cause,” The Island quoted the SL presidential sibling as saying.

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External Links:

The Island:		Repeal 13A without delay says Gotabhaya
The Island:		Gota opposes NPC polls