Colombo: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa is committed to devolving powers to ethnic Tamils by pursuing the 13th amendment to the constitution, Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said on Tuesday.
"The president assured me that he stands by his commitment to pursuing the 13th amendment to the Sri Lankan constitution and building on it to achieve meaningful devolution of powers," Krishna said here.
The 13th Amendment of the 1987 Indo-Lanka accord seeks to devolve powers to the provincial councils, especially in the northern and eastern regions of the country where Tamil-speaking minorities are concentrated. When made into law, the 13th amendment will empower the ethnic Tamils to administer their lands and exercise police powers.
Krishna is on a four-day visit to the island nation since Monday.
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