President, Tamil people backing 13th A - Karuna

* PSC to discuss power sharing mechanism

* Best time to solve ethnic issue

Nadira GUNATILLEKE

Minister Muralitharan

This is the best time to solve the ethnic issue through a Parliamentary Select Committee. Both President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Tamil community wish to have the 13th Amendment implemented. There is no strong opposition from the Sinhala people to this now, because the Sinhala people like to bestow rights on the Tamil people, Resettlement Deputy Minister Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna told the Daily News yesterday.

Deputy Minister Muralitharan said that the Parliamentary Select Committee is to be appointed soon and everything related to the implementation of the 13th Amendment, constitutional changes, economic development, etc are to be discussed only through this committee. “We met in Parliament under the leadership of Prime Minister D M Jayaratne on August 9 to discuss the proposed Parliamentary Select Committee,” he said. “The consent of the majority community is required to bestow the rights of the Tamil community. Nothing can be done without the consent of the majority. Unlike in the past, the Sinhala people travel freely to the North and closely associate with Tamil people,” he said. “Tamil people always lived with the Sinhala people in peace and harmony all over the country, especially in Colombo.”

“They are friendly and understand each other. Therefore there is not much opposition from either Sinhala politicians or the Sinhala people to the implementation of the 13th Amendment,” the deputy minister pointed out.

“The 13th Amendment is all about the existing Provincial Council system. It is already in operation all over the country, including the East. The Provincial Council election can be conducted in the North by next year. Only ‘power sharing’ has to be discussed at the Parliamentary Select Committee. Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and all politicians are in the Parliamentary Select Committee,” he said. The Parliamentary Select Committee will discuss the mechanism of power sharing, Muralitharan added.