A Sri Lankan government minister criticised a letter that Tamil parliamentarians addressed to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week, denouncing their call to New Delhi for assistance.
“They should have conveyed their concerns to our President instead of the Indian Prime Minister because we are a sovereign country and not a part of the Indian Union,” said Sri Lanka’s energy minister Udaya Gammanpila.
Gammanpila, himself a staunch Sinhala nationalist and leader of the extremist Pivithuru Hela Urumaya party, went on to add that “if our Tamil brothers have any issues with regard to implementation of the 13th Amendment they should have talked to our elected government, instead of outsiders".
The nationalist leader has repeatedly rejected the 13th Amendment, which calls for limited devolution of powers to the Tamil North-East, and call for it to be abolished.
See more of his remarks below:
New amendment considered for 'meaningful' devolution
More calls to repeal the 13th Amendment
JHU: 'India is trying to exploit Sri Lanka's vulnerable position’
India 'incorrect' on Sri Lanka's intentions - JHU legal advisor
The letter was handed over by politicians from the Tamil National Alliance to the Indian High Commission earlier this week.
It calls on India to ensure that Sri Lanka abides by its commitments under the 13th Amendment and devolve power to the Tamil provinces as a starting point "towards a federal structure".
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