Jan 30, Colombo: Sri Lanka's All Party Representative Committee (APRC) has finalized its report recommending a power devolution formula to solve the burning issue of ethnic conflict in the country, the government announced.

The Committee concluded its delibeartions last night after its 104th meeting. APRC chairman and Minister Prof. Tissa Vitharana said all 13 parties in the APRC attended the final meeting.

An interim report based on the consensus reached so far between the parties has been handed over to the party representatives for observations and suggestions. Once the report is finalized by the 13 parties it will be handed over to the President, sources said.

According to the sources, not all the parties reached consensus on all the issues.

Despite failing to reach an agreement over the character of the state in the proposed devolution package, the parties however agreed to abolish the concurrent list, and introduce two lists outlining powers to be vested in the provincial councils and the central government.

The SLFP, the main party of the ruling Freedom Alliance, the JHU and the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna had insisted that the unitary character of the state should not be compromised.

In the final report, the APRC has reportedly specified the particular stand taken by each party on each issue where they have failed to reach agreement.

The APRC is expected to meet again on February 16 and 17 to take a final decision on the plan.

There are currently 13 political parties represented in the APRC. The main opposition UNP, Marxist party JVP and the Tamil National Alliance are not represented in the APRC currently. There are only two parties from the opposition - the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and the Western People's Front led by parliamentarian Mano Ganeshan.

The APRC was mandated by the President in 2006 to prepare a set of proposals that would be the basis for a solution to the national question.