Government must amend unitary constitution

A senior Tiger leader called for the amendment of Sri Lanka's unitary constitution to make room for Tamil aspirations in a more flexible federal structure.

Asked to clarify their insistence on bringing the issue of an Interim Self Governing Authority to the peace table, S.P. Tamilselvan said the first impression that must be corrected is that the Oslo Declaration is an "agreement".

"It is a declaration that says the LTTE is willing to explore the possibility of a federal structure within a united Sri Lanka as a matter of agreement."

"It is one alternative to the unitary form of government we are willing to look at," he said. With "Sinhala nationalism, centralised in Colombo being the root cause of conflict, any move to explore a federal structure within that polity must lead to adjustments to the way of thinking in the south and result in a change to the constitution."

"Had the government laid the groundwork, proposed amendments to the body politic in the last three years, then the Interim Self-Governing Authority would be considered an instrument of federation. The government has refrained from making any amendments. The ISGA remains just that, an interim arrangement."

The Tiger leader, who wears civvies and uses a walking stick as an aid, said the ceasefire agreement does not bar either side from re-arming but warned international funds, meant for relief should not be diverted by the government to buy arms and ammunition, amid reports the army was working on undermining Tiger supremo Vellupillai Prabhakaran's fragmented eastern wing.