COLOMBO: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse has sent a special envoy to New Delhi to explain his power-sharing proposals after moderate Tamil political parties rejected them.
Rajapakse's top aide, Lalith Weeratunga, flew to New Delhi at the weekend to brief Indian leaders on Sri Lanka's ruling party's proposals for a political solution to end the 35 years of ethnic bloodshed in the island, an official said.
A spokesman for Rajapakse's office said Weeratunga was expected to explain the May one plan of Rajapakse, which has already been rejected by even the moderate Tamils who support his government.
Rajapakse in December had said that he would in two months unveil a power-sharing plan, it was delayed and eventually unveiled on May one even as the Sri Lankan President was still away in Barbados for the Cricket World Cup. The ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) of Rajapakse has since tried to backtrack on the proposals.
"The devolution proposals submitted by the SLFP is not a final document of the party but is subject to discussion and amendments," the state-run 'Daily News' reported last week after severe criticism from within the government.
The SLFP proposal, which is by no means a government formula to re-write the Constitution but a discussion paper for an all party committee, offers the option of two districts joining together, but is still short of the 1987 pact.
Sri Lanka established limited autonomy under the 1987 Indo-Lanka accord which set up the provincial council system.
Diplomatic sources said any move by the government to offer less than what is already in operation will lead to the complete undoing of the Indo-Sri Lanka peace accord.
The new proposals were vague on what form of government they wanted, but officials said Rajapakse's envoy would be discussing in New Delhi the government's long-term strategy.
