Christy Mahesh Silva
India will appoint a special representative who would work with the Mahinda Rajapaksa administration directly regarding a political solution to the North and East. This representative who is expected to be appointed soon is to visit Sri Lanka and may be based here on a long term basis.
“The Indian government is not pleased with the discussions that seem to drag on pointlessly between the government and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) which has yielded no results.
That is why they have decided to work directly with the Sri Lankan government through a special representative,” the source said.
Meanwhile, several key governments including those of USA, India, Japan, and then the EU — have proposed that the Sri Lankan government presents its proposals for a political solution to the North and East to the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) which is to be shortly appointed, before expecting the same from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). They believe that it’s the government’s responsibility to state its solution to the problem first — which will also demonstrate the limits of devolution it is willing to go upto.
“The government has always asked the others to present their proposal on the north east issue first. But the USA, India, Japan and the EU believe that this is a ploy to buy time. It is the obligation of a responsible government to present its ideas on an important issue first,” said diplomatic sources.
In response, Minister Nimal Siripala said that the government will provide a political solution to this vexed issue after holding discussions with all parties — and reach a solution that the whole country can support.
Lakbima News