Mr. Jaishankar, who is here on a two-day visit, met President Wickremesinghe on Friday morning.
Colombo:
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday said India considers the full implementation of the 13th Amendment in Sri Lanka “crucial” for achieving reconciliation with the minority Tamil community, underscoring that New Delhi has always sought political and economic stability in the island nation. Both are supported.
India has been pressing Sri Lanka to implement the 13th amendment, which was brought in after the 1987 India-Sri Lanka accord. 13A provides for transfer of power to the Tamil community.
The full implementation of the 13th amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka will facilitate unity among all communities in the island nation so that they can live as one.
“India has always supported both political and economic stability of Sri Lanka,” Mr Jaishankar said in a press statement after talks with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Foreign Minister Ali Sabri.
He further stated that he shared with Lankan President Wickremesinghe, “Our considered view is that the full implementation of the 13th Amendment and the early conduct of provincial elections are vital to both the political and economic stability of the debt-ridden island nation”.
“Durable efforts towards reconciliation are in the interest of all sections in Sri Lanka. I also called for special attention to the needs of the Indian-origin Tamil community,” he said.
Mr. Jaishankar, who is here on a two-day visit, met President Wickremesinghe on Friday morning.
Sri Lankan President Wickremesinghe on Thursday called for reconciliation and coexistence in the island nation, saying his government has started the process by talking to Sri Lankan Tamils and understanding their problems.
He said the government has already started discussions with the Tamil community and would also hold talks with Tamil sections in the “hill country” to integrate them into society.
Sri Lanka has a long history of failed negotiations to end Tamil claims of discrimination by allowing some form of political autonomy.
An Indian effort in 1987 to create a joint provincial council for the Tamil-majority north and east faltered as Tamils claimed it fell short of full autonomy.
Tamils say that the provincial councils were not given enough power to make them meaningful.
President Wickremesinghe himself attempted a repeal constitutional attempt between 2015-19, which was also thwarted by hardline majority politicians. Tamils have put forward their demand for autonomy since gaining independence from Britain in 1948, which has turned into a bloody armed struggle since the mid-70s.
The Sri Lankan government has been on the offensive against Tamil groups for years following its war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
The LTTE waged a military campaign for a separate Tamil homeland in the northern and eastern provinces of the island nation for nearly 30 years before its collapse in 2009 following the assassination of its supreme leader Velupillai Prabhakaran by the Sri Lankan military.
According to Sri Lankan government statistics, more than 20,000 people are missing due to various conflicts, including a brutal three-decade war with Lankan Tamils in the north and east, which claimed at least 100,000 lives.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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