Close on the heels of the killing of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and his top aides, the Sri Lankan government has assured India that it would implement the 13th Amendment introduced under the July 1987 Indo-Lanka Peace Accord.

Following consultations between the visiting Indian National Security Advisor M. K. Narayanan and Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon and Sri Lankan government representatives on May 20 and 21, the urgent necessity of arriving at a lasting political settlement in Sri Lanka was emphasised. In a press statement issued at the end of the visit, India said that towards this end the government of Sri Lanka indicated that it would proceed with the implementation of the 13th Amendment, the setting up of provincial councils.

Sri Lanka has also expressed confidence that the bulk of civilians accommodated at welfare centres could be resettled in six months.

The following is the full text of the Indian statement:

Mr. M.K. Narayanan, National Security Advisor and Mr. S. Menon, Foreign Secretary visited Sri Lanka on 20 and 21 May. They called on His Excellency President Mahinda Rajapaksa and met with senior officials, including Mr. Basil Rajapaksa, MP, Mr. Lalith Weeratunga, Secretary to President and Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. They also interacted with a number of political parties in Sri Lanka.

Both sides agreed that with the end of military operations in Sri Lanka, the time was opportune to focus attention on issues of relief, rehabilitation, resettlement and re-conciliation including a permanent political solution in Sri Lanka.

Following their agreement of 26 October 2008, both sides have been co-operating in providing humanitarian relief and assistance to IDPs in Sri Lanka. This includes medical assistance in the form of a field hospital, urgently needed medicines and medical supplies as well as food, clothing and shelter material.

Both sides emphasized the urgent need to resettle the IDPs in their villages and towns of habitation and to provide to them necessary basic and civic infrastructure as well means of livelihood to resume their normal lives at the earliest possible. To this end, the Government of Sri Lanka indicated that it was their intention to dismantle the relief camps at the earliest and outlined a 180 day plan to re-settle the bulk of IDPs to their original places of habitation. The Government of India committed to provide all possible assistance in the implementation of such a plan in areas such as de-mining, provision of civil infrastructure and re-construction of houses.

Both sides also emphasized the urgent necessity of arriving at a lasting political settlement in Sri Lanka. Towards this end, the Government of Sri Lanka indicated that it will proceed with implementation of the 13th Amendment.

Further, the Government of Sri Lanka also intends to begin a broader dialogue with all parties including, the Tamil parties in the new circumstances, for further enhancement of political arrangements to bring about lasting peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka.