Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse asked his advisors to study the Indian devolution model to share power with Tamils of the North and North East and promised a USD 1.25 billion tranche as means to bring the bloody ethnic feud to an end. Aiming to provide a tranche that is 2 times the size of the defense budget, Rajapakse is trying to create confidence among the Tamils of his intent.

Addressing a 15-member panel he has created to invent a formula leading to a new Constitution, Rajapakse said solution models should focus on devolution of power to the Tamils “so that they can take charge of their own destiny.” The panel has also been asked to explore the grant of extensive devolution of power to minority Tamils. The Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran had visited Sri Lanka and is reported to have encouraged the island nation to take a look at the Indian model.

Over the last several weeks, suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) attacks have take out senior military brass.