Leader of the Opposition, Sajith Premadasa, reiterated his pledge to implement the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan constitution 'in full' during another recent visit to the North-East this week, despite outrage from across the Sinhala south.
During a meeting in Mannar, he made this announcement adding that he would not be deterred from carrying out a full implementation of the 13th Amendment to the constitution.
Premadasa emphasized that the 13th Amendment Act would find a place in Sri Lanka's legal framework, during a meeting with Member of Parliament Selvam Adaikalanathan. This amendment aims to devolve power to provincial councils.
Premadasa also said that he recognised the challenges faced by fishermen in the Mannar district and also pledged to provide a lasting solution. He also promised special programs for women-headed families across North-East. He added that microcredit initiatives would offer permanent solutions to support families.
This is not the first time that Premadasa made such an announcement. While in Jaffna, told Tamils that his party was for the implementation of the 13th Amendment “in full”, as he pledged to devolve powers to the North-East with elections on the horizon.
Sinhala politicians in the South have vented their fury, after the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) leader made the pledge, with Udaya Gammanpil, leader of the an ultra-nationalist Pivithuru Hela Urumaya, even claiming that with such a move “a terrorist movement more powerful than the LTTE can be born, with the blessings of the international community”.
The 13th Amendment was brought in after the Indo-Sri Lankan agreement of 1987, which calls for a merged North-East and the devolution of police and land powers to the province. However it has been consistently rejected by the Tamil people as not being an adequate solution, whilst the Sri Lankan state for decades has obfuscated its implementation.
Premadasa has rejected the claims of Tamil genocide while opposing an international inquiry into these crimes. His party recently welcomed another accused war criminal former Army Commander Mahesh Senanayake to the fold.
