The Indian government on Friday urged the Mahinda Rajapakse government to speedily submit a viable devolution package within a united Sri Lanka to resolve the ethnic crisis and reiterated New Delhi’s position that there was no military solution to the conflict.

The message of the Indian government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was conveyed to the Sri Lankan administration by a top level three member delegation that flew into Colombo Friday morning even as fighting in the north intensified. The delegation left Sri Lanka yesterday after a meeting with Presdient Mahinda Rajapakse.

The high powered Indian delegation comprised National Security Advisor, M.K. Narayanan, Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon and Defence Secretary Sri Vijay Singh.

The Sunday Leader further learns the Indian delegation had also expressed India’s security concerns on the government’s tilt towards China and Pakistan on military matters.

They had also, it is learned, shown growing impatience on the slow progress made with regard to a political solution,

The official Indian and Sri Lankan position on the visit was that it was to discuss the up coming SAARC Summit in addition to being a reciprocal visit for a similar visit to New Delhi by a high powered Sri Lankan delegation early this year comprising President’s Secretary Lalith Weeratunga, Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse and Senior Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapakse.

However informed sources pointed out that the visit was much more significant than the officially stated position since it was only 72 hours earlier that the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama  was in New Delhi where a meeting was had with Prime Minister Singh on the SAARC summit.

Therefore there was no need for such a high level delegation to arrive in Colombo soon after to discuss the same issue,” the sources said. 

It is learned Prime Minister Singh too had expressed Indian concerns to Foreign Minister Bogollagama, when the duo met in New Delhi last week, on the slow pace of the political process to resolve the ethnic crisis and the security concerns of New Delhi over the Government’s shift towards Pakistan on military matters. 

Informed sources said Bogollagama’s statement to the Indian media which he later denied making calling on India not to meddle in Sri Lankan affairs was probably due to the strong message conveyed by Prime Minister Singh.

The visit also comes just days after UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe met Narayanan and Menon in New Delhi where the situation in Sri Lanka and the failure of the political process to resolve the ethnic conflict was discussed at length.

The Indian delegation during the visit met amongst others President Mahinda Rajapakse, Lalith Weeratunga, Basil Rajapakse, Gotabaya Rajapakse, Ministers Arumugam Thondaman, Douglas Devananda and TNA Leader R. Sambandan where the ethnic issue was discussed at length.

Significantly no meeting was had with Wickremesinghe.

Contacted by The Sunday Leader, Wickremesinghe confirmed there was no meeting scheduled with him but said there was no need for such a meeting since he had met two members of the delegation days earlier in New Delhi and discussed issues at length. He however declined to divulge details of the discussions.

It is learned the Indian delegation was to also meet Muslim Congress leader Rauf Hakeem but that meeting had to be called off since Hakeem had to leave for India on urgent family business Friday afternoon. 

One top Government source said one could draw their own conclusions on the purpose of the visit considering the fact that the Indian delegation also met with the TNA leader Sambandan, Thondaman and sought a meeting with Hakeem. 

“ If it is a routing meeting to discuss SAARC, all those meetings would not have taken place separately,”  the source added

Informed sources said the Indian side at the meeting with Government leaders called on the APRC process to be fast tracked and a political solution placed on the table at the earliest. They had also stressed the importance of developing an all party consensus.

It is learned the plight of the civilians in the north due to the escalating military conflict was also discussed and the impact it would have on India if there was a refugee outflow to the southern Indian state.

Highly placed sources also adverted to the presence of Narayanan in the delegation who is tasked with handling all issues concerning the south of India especially on security and related political developments.

 The Government it is learned had reiterated its commitment to a political solution and agreed there was no military solution to the conflict and that its objective was to weaken the LTTE and force it to a political solution.

Nimal rejects APRC proposals

A senior government minister has said the proposals of the All Party Representatives Committee (APRC) could not be accepted and that it should be changed to conform to the Mahinda Chinthana policies.

Leader of the House and Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva in an interview with the Sri Lanka Guardian has said the APRC was fictitious and its proposals could not be accepted.

Responding to a question on the APRC being chaired by a government minister appointed by the President, de Silva has said that although the appointment itself was not bad, the result was not a suitable match for the country’s problems.

"The appointment itself was not bad but the result was not a suitable match for the country’s problems. We want to indefinitely stop this war; we won’t be making slighting answers or short-term solutions to our problems," de Silva has said.

According to the minister, the government first needed to eliminate the LTTE before looking at a solution.

"First thing we wanted to do was to finish off LTTE terrorism from the country. After that, we want to find a good solution to the North like the East. Now we have introduced Pillaiyan as a Symbol of Democracy in the East. It will be a model for our next step," he has said.

De Silva has also said the government needs a plan to create another Pillayan to the North to control the LTTE like in the East.

"Q: You want to build up another Pillaiyan for the North when you eliminate V. Prabhkaran and his colleagues? A: Yes."

De Silva in the interview had reiterated the government’s stance of the unitary state being the basis for finding a permanent solution.

President wants quick fix to check price hikes

President Mahinda Rajapakse has called for speedy measures to maintain prices of essential items and to look for precautions and measures that could be taken to face a possible food and fuel crisis in the future.

Rajapakse had made this statement addressing the cabinet sub committee appointed to look into food security and measures to address the cost of living issues that met at Temple Trees last Thursday (19).

The President had said that given the fact that prices of essential commodities have increased to unaffordable levels, speedy measures had to be taken immediately to maintain the prices of essential items at affordable rates.

The committee had also discussed precautions and measures to be taken to face possible a food and fuel crisis in the future.

A long-term plan to avoid food stocks being used as animal feed was also taken up for discussion.

The committee had also decided to look at the possibility of introducing an intermediate cultivation season between the traditional Yala and Maha seasons and to look at the most appropriate crops to be grown during the intermediate season.

The President had also instructed officials to explore the possibilities of utilising solar energy as an alternative source of power.

Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, Ministers D.M. Jayaratne, Karu Jayasuriya, Anura Priyadharshana Yapa, Janaka Bandara Tennakoon and other officials had attended the meeting.