Sri Lanka reports controversial constitutional clause redundant

The Sri Lankan government on Wednesday said a controversial clause in the constitution was redundant and needed to be changed. President's Secretary Lalith Weeratunga said that the 13th Amendment must be viewed from the angle of the citizen. He said that administratively the 13th Amendment to the constitution is a "white elephant" and past experiences have proven this. "It's no secret that administratively it's a white elephant. President Rajapaksa will always honor the Constitution. The 13th Amendment has to be viewed from people's standpoint," he said in a live Twitter interview. India has been calling for the full implementation of the 13th Amendment to the constitution which came about following a deal signed between India and Sri Lanka in 1987. The amendment allowed power to be devolved from the central government to the provinces. The Indian government had raised concerns over moves by the Sri Lankan government to change clauses in the 13th Amendment following pressure by some government allies. Weeratunga rejected the assertion that the actions of the government contravene the recommendations of the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), a commission appointed by the Sri Lankan government following the war. Speaking on the progress on implementing the recommendations of the LLRC, Weeratunga said that progress has been satisfactory but there are certain activities that take a long time to complete. "One cannot expect steady progress all the time," he said. He also said that a website will be launched next week with updates on the National Plan of Action on the LLRC recommendations.