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COLOMBO: A key nationalist ally in the Sri Lankan government on Wednesday slammed India for aiding separatist forces in the country and backed President Mahinda Rajapaksa's plan to go ahead with tinkering the 13th amendment.
"It was no secret that India aided the separatist forces in Sri Lanka," Wimal Weerawansa, the National Freedom Front (NFF) leader and minister of housing, told reporters.
The NFF was piqued by the New Delhi's invitation to the main Tamil party, Tamil National Alliance (TNA), to visit India and apprise Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi of Sri Lanka's plans to dilute the powers in the India-backed 13th amendment (13A) to the Sri Lankan Constitution.
The 13A and the provincial councils entered Sri Lanka's statutes in 1987 as part of the India-Sri Lanka Peace Accord which envisaged devolution of powers to the island's provinces in an effort to end the Sri Lankan Civil War involving the LTTE and government forces.
"The TNA has failed to demonstrate even after the LTTE was defeated that they disown their terrorist campaign.
Both Singh and Gandhi must know that they are meeting the political and parliamentary front of the LTTE," Weerawansa said.
Weerawansa said that India must recognise that TNA did not represent a larger majority of the Sri Lankan public.
"They only represent a fraction of the Tamil population," he said.
Weerawansa, a leading pro-Sinhala majority nationalist politician, said Sri Lanka must go ahead with tinkering the 13A notwithstanding opposition from India.
Sri Lanka is set to bring in an urgent piece of legislation this month to dilute the 13A mostly to strip the northern provincial council of police and land powers.
The NFF last night handed over a public petition with a million signatures to Rajapaksa expressing opposition to holding the northern election with unfettered powers.
Lankan minister says India aiding separatist forces - The Times of India
"It was no secret that India aided the separatist forces in Sri Lanka," Wimal Weerawansa, the National Freedom Front (NFF) leader and minister of housing, told reporters.
The NFF was piqued by the New Delhi's invitation to the main Tamil party, Tamil National Alliance (TNA), to visit India and apprise Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi of Sri Lanka's plans to dilute the powers in the India-backed 13th amendment (13A) to the Sri Lankan Constitution.
The 13A and the provincial councils entered Sri Lanka's statutes in 1987 as part of the India-Sri Lanka Peace Accord which envisaged devolution of powers to the island's provinces in an effort to end the Sri Lankan Civil War involving the LTTE and government forces.
"The TNA has failed to demonstrate even after the LTTE was defeated that they disown their terrorist campaign.
Both Singh and Gandhi must know that they are meeting the political and parliamentary front of the LTTE," Weerawansa said.
Weerawansa said that India must recognise that TNA did not represent a larger majority of the Sri Lankan public.
"They only represent a fraction of the Tamil population," he said.
Weerawansa, a leading pro-Sinhala majority nationalist politician, said Sri Lanka must go ahead with tinkering the 13A notwithstanding opposition from India.
Sri Lanka is set to bring in an urgent piece of legislation this month to dilute the 13A mostly to strip the northern provincial council of police and land powers.
The NFF last night handed over a public petition with a million signatures to Rajapaksa expressing opposition to holding the northern election with unfettered powers.
Lankan minister says India aiding separatist forces - The Times of India
