Meaningfully implement 13th Amendment: Devananda

EPDP Leader and Minister of Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development, Douglas Devananda stressed the need to meaningfully implement the 13th Amendment sans police and land powers for the time being as the initial step for the resolution of the national question.  

In an interview with the Daily Mirror on Wednesday, Minister Devananda said that there was political unrest among people in the south over any attempt to devolve land and police powers, and as a result, the devolution of such powers to the provinces could be shelved for the moment.

“Once the understanding is built between the north and the south, we can consider the devolution of land and police powers. First, we have to implement the 13th Amendment. Then, we can go for the next step,” he said.

Asked about the ongoing talks between the government and the TNA, he said that talking to the TNA alone would not suffice in this exercise. He charged that the TNA was not genuinely interested in resolving this problem once and for all.

“They want to complicate the problem. As far as it is a prolonged problem, they can survive politically,” he said. (Kelum Bandara)