Defence spokesman Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, yesterday said the government’s first priority would be the resettlement of the displaced now accommodated in welfare centres in the north. He said that the implementation of the 13th Amendment or any other political solution would have to be after resettlement.

Addressing the press at the Media Centre for National Security, Rambukwella said some political parties had attacked the government over the proposed implementation of the 13th Amendment. They should realize that the government’s main task at the moment was to resettle the displaced.

"There are over 300,000 people living at welfare centres. Of them, almost 68,000 are children. There are also 3,000 teachers, which was a very sensitive issue," he said.

He dismissed Opposition claims that as the war had ended, the defence expenditure could be brought down overnight.