Sri Lanka urged to devolve power

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A panel of political parties has told the Sri Lankan president to devolve power to the provinces as a first step to resolving the decades-old civil war.

The All Party Representatives' Committee - mostly comprising parties within the governing coalition - has been mulling the options.

The government formally abandoned a ceasefire with Tamil rebels last week.

It says it is now pursuing a two-pronged strategy to try to end the island's long running civil war.

Discrimination

On the battlefield, the government is fighting to crush the Tamil Tiger rebels.

At the same time, President Mahinda Rajapaksa insists he wants to resolve the underlying causes of the conflict, the complaints of the Tamil people that they have suffered discrimination at the hands of the majority Sinhalese.

President Rajapaksa is pursuing a two-pronged strategy

The All Party Representatives' Committee was set up nearly two years ago to build a consensus on political reform.

In a preliminary report after nearly two years of research, it has urged the president to devolve power by setting up provincial councils.

The measure was made part of the constitution 20 years ago, but was never implemented.

Doubts still remain as to whether the scheme can work.

Many opposition parties stayed out of the All Party Representatives' Committee.

The biggest Tamil party in parliament, the Tamil National Alliance [TNA], was never invited to take part.

The Tigers still control a swathe of territory in the north of the island and are determined to fight on for an independent state.