Govt. to devolve power through 13th Amendment

Nadira Gunatilleke

The Government strongly believes that the implementation of the 13th Amendment will provide a complete devolution of power which will bring lasting peace.

Since the Government does not wish to bring a federal solution, a complete devolution of power within a unitary state is expected, said Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva.

Addressing a ceremony in Badulla recently Minister de Silva said the 13th Amendment will be a very good approach for a complete devolution of power.

The Government will definitely defeat the LTTE militarily and provide a political solution for the Tamil community but the Government will not offer this political solution to the LTTE, he stated.

The Government has given priority to the national security and allocated Rs. 125 billion from the budget.

The Government has given second and third places for education and health sectors. It has allocated Rs. 115 million for education and Rs. 85 billion for health.

Since the LTTE is purely a terrorist organisation and it does not want to solve the problem through devolution of power, the Government will definitely defeat the LTTE militarily before implementing the political solution, the Minister said.