Rajapakse sends special message for Indian PM

Colombo, May 6: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse has sent a ''special message'' for the Indian Prime Minister, a top Presidential aide said.

Mr Rajapakse's Secretary Lalith Weeratunga arrived in New Delhi last week to deliver the message to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The official, however, refused to divulge the exact contents of the special message to the Indian Prime Minister, but hinted that it was related to the resolution of the ethnic conflict.

Visit by the Presidential Secretary to India has come a couple of days after President Mahinda Rajapakse's ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) unveiled its much-awaited devolution proposal to end the lenghty civil war.

The key feature of the SLFP proposals was to replace the existing Provincial Council system with District as a unit of devolution.

Leaving aside the Tamil Tiger rebels, all other Tamil political parties, including those who support and being part of the Rajapaksa government have rejected the SLFP proposals outright describing it as '' too little too late''.

Meanwhile, an independent English weekly, The Sunday Times reported that the special message sent to the Indian Prime Minister includes steps taken by President Rajapaksa to introduce his Sri Lankan Freedom Party's devolution proposals to solve the ethnic conflict.

'' Mr Weeratunga had also taken a copy of the (SLFP) proposals to New Delhi'', the media report said, adding that he was also to brief India on the fresh threat by the LTTE aircraft, which have carried out three air strikes within a month.

The second air raid by the LTTE light wing aircraft in the wee hours on April 28 led to panic with several people getting injured due to anti-aircraft fire by the government forces.

Moved by the air-strike capabilities of the Tigers as Srilanka is,a team of Indian experts have arrived in Colombo on Friday allegedly to assist the Sri Lankan authorities in matters relating to the effective functioning of the 2 D radar system provided free by the government of India a couple of years ago.

'' New Delhi has also heeded a Government call for a third 2 D radar,'' the media report said in its lead story on the front page.

It was only yesterday that the leader of Sri Lanka's main Opposition United National Party (UNP) and former Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe accused the Rajapakse regime of ignoring both the local and the international community with regard to the ethnic issue.

Speaking to reporters at the Chennai airport, Mr Wickremesinghe said it was inevitable for the Rajapakse government to seek the assistance of India, the EU and other international players to find a lasting political settlement to the long drawn out conflict in the island nation.

UNI