Prominent Tamil legislators from Sri Lanka’s North and the East have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking India’s help in ensuring that Colombo addresses the island’s long-pending Tamil question with a lasting political solution.
A delegation of MPs, led by senior Tamil politician and Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader R. Sampanthan, met the Indian High Commissioner in Colombo on Tuesday, and handed over the letter.
The seven-page letter foregrounds the many unkept promises, made by different governments in Colombo, to implement the 13th Amendment and go beyond it to ensure meaningful power devolution. Signed by TNA’s constituent party leaders - Mavai Senathiraja (ITAK), Dharmalingam Sithadthan (PLOTE), Selvam Adaikalanathan (TELO) - with others including former Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran and former MP Suresh Premachandran (EPRLF), the letter traces past attempts, from the time of the Indo-Lanka Accord of 1987, to bring about a constitutional settlement, based on proposals developed by various expert committees.
It also mentions the interventions made by the Indian political leadership at different points, including PM Modi’s address to the Sri Lankan Parliament in 2015, when he spoke of his firm belief in “cooperative federalism”. (The Hindu)
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