Indian delegation urges Sri Lankan government and Tamil party to formulate a political settlement

The visiting Indian parliamentary delegation today called on the Sri Lankan government and the major Tamil political party, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to resume a dialogue on reaching a political settlement.

Following a meeting with the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa today at the Temple Trees, the leader of the 12-member delegation and Opposition leader of the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj told a press conference that fostering a process of lasting peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka should be pursued with a sense of urgency.

She said that the end of the armed conflict has provided a historic opportunity for moving towards national reconciliation and political settlement.
"Above all, it is our sincere hope that the Government of Sri Lanka will seize this window of opportunity and follow an enlightened approach to reach a genuine political reconciliation, based on a meaningful devolution of powers, which takes into account the legitimate needs of the Tamil people for equality, dignity, justice and self-respect," Swaraj said.
She urged the government and other stakeholders, including the TNA to resume dialogue and move towards an early political settlement within the framework of "Thirteenth Amendment - Plus" and to create conditions for launching of the Parliamentary Select Committee.
According to Sawaraj, she had asked President Mahinda Rajapaksa to persuade the TNA and the UNP to join the proposed parliamentary select committee.
The Opposition Leader added that the report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) has made a number of constructive recommendations for addressing issues related to healing the wounds of the conflict and fostering a process of lasting peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka.
She also focused on the issues of missing persons, detainees, investigation of cases of disappearances and abductions.
,Our discussions over the last four days have brought out clearly the need for expeditious implementation of the measures proposed by the LLRC with regard to information on missing persons and detainees, investigation of cases of disappearances and abductions, promotion of a trilingual policy, reduction of high security zones, return of private lands by the military and demilitarization, including phasing out of the involvement of the security forces in civilian activities and restoration of civilian administration in the Northern Province,, she said.
Commenting on the resettlement process in the North, Swaraj said the delegation witnessed an improved situation in the resettlement process of Internally Displaced Persons in the north, but said that there are significant numbers of IDPs in transit camps of host families.
,Our task will not be complete till they return to their original homes,, she said adding that India is prepared to assist in whatever way possible.
Swaraj speaking of India-assisted projects in the county including railway projects in the North and the South, the housing project, Kankasanthurei Harbor, and some of the schools, hospitals and vocational training centers, expressed satisfaction that the delegation was able to witness the handover some of the completed projects.
The head of the delegation assured India's commitment to continue the strong relationship the two countries have based on deep civilizational and cultural bonds and shared interests.
"As a close and friendly neighbour, we have strong stakes in the unity and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka and in the preservation of peace, harmony and prosperity of this country," she stressed.
Addressing the fisherman issue, the Opposition Leader said it is an "emotive issue which must be handled with care on both sides," and both sides must ensure that there is no use of force against the fishermen and that they are treated in a humane manner.
She expressed hope that the fishermen on both sides can meet again as they did when the Joint Working Group on Fisheries met in January this year, and talk directly to each other.
On a reconciliation note, the Opposition Leader said as democracies "we may occasionally have differences but these will be dealt with through dialogue and on the basis of mutual respect.
The delegation had extensive discussions with several ministers, the Leader of the Opposition, key leaders of major political parties, parliamentarians and representatives of civil society. They travelled to different parts of the country focusing on the North and the East.