CHENNAI, March 26, 2011
Nirupama Subramanian
PTI After his 2008 visit to New Delhi, senior Sri Lankan presidential adviser Basil Rajapaksa, seen here with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, told the Americans that India had taken up the devolution issue with him, but that the focus was more about resolving fishermen’s problems.
New Delhi wanted Colombo to step up efforts for a political solution
Sri Lanka told India it would implement a devolution plan for Tamil areas going beyond the 13th Amendment to its Constitution, but Indian officials were privately sceptical of the assurance.
Several U.S. Embassy cables accessed by The Hindu through WikiLeaks reveal that India pushed Sri Lanka on its devolution plans for months before the conclusion of the military operation against the LTTE.
The cables also reveal that the U.S. sought a bigger role in pushing a political solution for Tamils but was kept at bay by India.
As the military operations were drawing to a close, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon told the U.S. Embassy Charge d'Affaires Peter Burleigh on May 15, 2009 that the Sri Lankan government had reassured India that “the government would focus on the implementation of the 13th Amendment Plus as soon as possible.” (207268: confidential, May 15, 2009)
But, the cable notes, “Menon was sceptical.
.” ‘13th Amendment Plus’: India sceptical of Sri Lankan promisee. FullStory>>>
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