COLOMBO – Sri Lanka is denying reports that a US$ 15mn grant announced by the Indian Prime Minister to Sri Lanka on Saturday (26) is linked to the complete implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
At a press conference on Monday (28), government spokesman, Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said the grant was to foster Buddhist links between the two countries and there was no link to the 13A. The 13A was an integral part of the 1987 Indo-Lanka Pact which created the Provincial Councils giving some autonomy to the North and East as a solution to the ethnic issue.
The statement released to the media after Saturday’s summit between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa said the Indian PM “called on the Government of Sri Lanka to address the aspirations of the Tamil people for equality, justice, peace and respect within a united Sri Lanka including by carrying forward the process of reconciliation with the implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka.”
In reply Lankan Premier Rajapaksa expressed “confidence that Sri Lanka will work towards realizing the expectations of all ethnic groups including Tamils, by achieving reconciliation nurtured as per the mandate of the people of Sri Lanka and implementation of the Constitutional provisions.”
At Monday’s media briefing, Rambukwella also expressed some hope that the perennial issue of Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen poaching in each others’ waters could be resolved.
He said fisheries minister Douglas Devananda who also spoke at the virtual summit had said the Indian government was “favourable” to a Sri Lankan proposal to jointly exploit the resources of the Mannar basin.
Minister Rambukwella said both governments had been trying to sort the fishermen’s issue out for decades, adding, “While we are talking to the central government, these subjects are handled by the states, so it is complicated, but we cannot use force as we are friendly countries.”
State Minister Nivard Cabraal who also joined the briefing said proposals forwarded by Sri Lanka for a debt moratorium was not discussed at the hour-long summit but an agreement has been reached between the Central Banks of the two countries for a swap of US$ 400 million.
Cabraal also said Sri Lanka had brought up the issue of the balance of payments gap between the two countries and urged India to help reduce it.
-economynext.com