மிழினத்திற்கு அரசியல் ரீதியிலான தீர்வை வழங்கி வேண்டுமென்ற எண்ணம் இருந்தால் ஏன் பல இலட்சம் படையினர்? - ஸ்ரீகாந்தா எம்.பி

[ புதன்கிழமை, 21 ஒக்ரோபர் 2009, 05:30.48 AM GMT +05:30 ]

இராணுவத்தினரின் தொகையை உடனடியாக குறைத்து அதற்காக செலவிடும் பணத்தை வடக்கின் அபிவிருத்திக்கு செலவிட வேண்டும் என்று தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பு எம்.பி. என். ஸ்ரீகாந்தா தெரிவித்தார்.

ஜனாதிபதித் தேர்தலில் எதிர்க்கட்சிக் கூட்டமைப்பின>ன் பொது வேட்பாளராக ஜெனரல் சரத் பொன்சேகாவை முன்னிறுத்தும் முயற்சிகளை கடுமையாக எதிர்க்கின்றோம். பாதுகாப்பு செலவு தொடர்பான குறைநிறைப்பு பிரேரணை விவாதம் நேற்று செவ்வாய்க்கிழமை பாராளுமன்றத்தில் இடம்பெற்ற போது அதில் கலந்துகொண்டு உரையாற்றுகையிலேயே அவர் இவ்வாறு தெரிவித்தார். தொடர்ந்து அவர் உரையாற்றுகையில், யுத்தம் ·முடிந்துவிட்டது. இதனால் வெற்றிக்களிப்பில் இருப்பதாக அமைச்சர் சரத் அமுனுகம தெரிவித்தார். இது இரண்டு நாடுகளுக்கு இடையில் நடைபெற்ற யுத்தமல்ல. படையினர், போராளிகள் உட்பட இவர்களுக்கு இடையே சிக்கி மரணமாகிய அனைவரும் எமது நாட்டு மக்கள். எனவே, மகிழ்ச்சியடைய முடியாது. இந்த யுத்தத்தால் பல்லாயிரக்கணக்கான தமிழ் மக்கள் உயிரிழந்தனர். பெற்றோர்களை இழந்தனர். சிங்கள இராணுவ வீரர்களின் இறப்பாலும் அக் குடும்பங்கள் பாதிக்கப்பட்டன. இந்த முப்பது வருடகால யுத்தத்தில் வடபகுதி மக்கள் அபிவிருத்தியை காணவில்லை. அம்மக்களின் பொருளாதாரம் அபிவிருத்தி செய்யப்பட வேண்டும். யுத்தம் முடிவுற்ற நிலையில் பல இலட்சம் இராணுவத்தினரை ஏன் இன்னமும் வைத்துப் பராமரிக்க வேண்டும்? தமிழினத்திற்கு அரசியல் ரீதியிலான தீர்வை வழங்கி நீதியை வழங்க வேண்டுமென்ற எண்ணம் இருந்தால் ஏன் பல இலட்சம் படையினர்? அதைவிடுத்து இன்னுமொரு போராட்டம் வெடிக்குமென்ற எண்ணத்தில் வடபகுதி மக்களை கட்டுப்படுத்தும் நோக்கில் முகாம்களை அமைத்து வடக்கை இராணுவக் கட்டுப்பாட்டில் வைத்திருக்க அரசு முனைந்தால் அபிவிருத்தி உருவாகாது. எனவே, பல கோடி ரூபாய்களை படையினருக்கு செலவழிக்காது படையினரின் எண்ணிக்கையை படிப்படியாக குறைத்து அவர்களது சு·கமான வாழ்வுக்கு வழிவகுக்க வேண்டும். அதைவிடுத்து வடக்கில் நிரந்தர இராணுவ ·காம்களை நிலையாக அமைப்பது இதற்குத் தீர்வு கிடையாது. இராணுவமும் இன்று அரசியல் மயமாக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. கடந்த காலங்களில் இராணுவப்புரட்சிகள் முறியடிக்கப்பட்டன. இலங்கையில் இராணுவப் புரட்சி ஏற்படும் நிலையுண்டா என வெளிநாட்டு பிரதிநிதிகள் அண்மையில் என்னிடம் கேட்டார்கள். இதனை மறுத்தேன். ஏனெனில் ஜனாதிபதிக்கு சிங்களவர் மத்தியில் வரவேற்பு உள்ளது. இன்று ஜனாதிபதித் தேர்தலில் ஜெனரல் சரத்பொன்சேகா போட்டியிடுவதாக எதிர்க்கட்சிகள் தெரிவிக்கின்றன. எனவே, இராணுவத்தை அரசியலில் இணைப்பது தவறானதாகும். ஓய்வுபெற்ற பின்னர் போட்டியிட்டால் பரவாயில்லை. ஆனால், ஜெனரலாக பதவி வகிக்கும் சரத் பொன்சேகாவை அரசியலில் இணைக்கக்கூடாது. ரணில் விக்கிரமசிங்க சிறந்த தலைவர். ஆனால், இராணுவத்துறை சார்ந்தோரை அரசியலில் உள்ளீர்ப்பது பிழையான விடயமாகும். வடக்கின் வசந்தம் வருவதற்கு முன்பே மழைக்காலம் ஆரம்பமாகவுள்ளது. இரண்டு இலட்சத்திற்கும் மேற்பட்ட மக்கள் ஆபத்துக்களை எதிர்நோக்கியுள்ளனர். இது தொடர்பாக அரசாங்கம் நடவடிக்கைகளை மேற்கொள்ள வேண்டும். அமைச்சரவையை, இராணுவத்தினரின் தொகையை குறைத்து தேசிய ரீதியில் நிரந்தரமான தீர்வைக் காண வேண்டும்.

Sri Lanka's minority representatives disgruntled with the move to propose former Army Commander as opposition common candidate

Labels: Gen. Sarath Fonseka, presidential, Sri Lanka

(October 21, Colombo - Lanka Polity) Minority political parties and activists appear dejected with the rumor that former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka will contest the future Presidential election as a common candidate of the joint opposition. Fonseka is famous as an outspoken Sinhala nationalist despite holding a top position in the multi ethnic island nation.

Democratic Peoples Front, a Colombo based Tamil Party, said in a statement issued by its leader leader Mano Ganesan that he has told UNP leader Ranil Wickramasinghe that his party will not be a party to the proposed United National Alliance if General Sarath Fonseka is considered and proposed as the common candidate in the event of a presidential elections. "Tamil speaking people of this country do not have anything in common with General Fonseka for him to be our common candidate," says the media statement issued from the office of Ganesan says The statement further says that, "The name of General Sarath Fonseka is being considered by Marxist nationalist People's Liberation Front (JVP) as a common candidate for the presidential elections. Sarath Manemendra of Nava Sihala Urumaya too has invited Gen Sarath Fonseka to contest the presidential elections. He has spoken this from the office of Sri Lanka Freedom Party - People's Wing) (SLFP-M) leader Mangala Samaraweera. Therefore this has given all reasonable signals to the nation that the proposed alliance between UNP, SLFP(M), SLMC and DPF wants General Sarath Fonseka to contest the presidential elections as the common opposition candidate.

"This position is not shared by Democratic Peoples Front (DPF). DPF will not be a party to the proposed United National Alliance if General Sarath Fonseka is considered and proposed as the common candidate at the presidential elections. Tamil speaking people of this country do not have anything in common with General Fonseka for him to be our common candidate," says Ganeshan.

Meanwhile, the major Tamil constituent Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has also expressed its dissatisfaction with the move to propose the former Army Commander that crushed the Tamil rebellion for self-determination as the opposition common candidate for the Presidential.

TNA MP N. Sri Kantha in Parliament yesterday criticized the SLFP (M) Convener Mangala Samaraweera stating that he was trying to drag military officers into politics.Speaking during the debate on the Supplementary Estimate of the Defence Ministry in the House yesterday the TNA MP said Samaraweera was trying to draw a connection between the military and politics.

பொன்சேகாவை பொதுவேட்பாளராக நிறுத்தினால் கூட்டமைப்பு எதிர்க்கும் சபையில் நேற்று ஸ்ரீகாந்தா அறிவிப்பு

2009-10-21 05:17:48

முப்படைகளின் பிரதம அதிகாரியான ஜெனரல் சரத் பொன்சேகாவை, எதிர்க்கட்சி களின் பொதுக் கூட்டமைப்பின் ஜனாதிபதி வேட்பாளராக நிறுத்துவதற்கு எடுக்கப்படும் முயற்சியைக் கடுமையாக எதிர்ப்பதாக தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பு நேற்று நாடாளுமன்றில் கூறியது.

கொழும்பு, ஒக்÷ராபர் 21
முப்படைகளின் பிரதம அதிகாரியான ஜெனரல் சரத் பொன்சேகாவை, எதிர்க்கட்சி களின் பொதுக் கூட்டமைப்பின் ஜனாதிபதி வேட்பாளராக நிறுத்துவதற்கு எடுக்கப்படும் முயற்சியைக் கடுமையாக எதிர்ப்பதாக தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பு நேற்று நாடாளுமன்றில் கூறியது.
நாடாளுமன்றில் நேற்று இடம்பெற்ற பாதுகாப்பு அமைச்சுக்கான குறைநிரப்புப் பிரே ரணை மீதான விவாதத்தில் கலந்துகொண்டு உரையாற்றிய கூட்டமைப்பு உறுப்பினர் என்.ஸ்ரீகாந்தாவே இவ்வாறு கூறினார்.
அவர் மேலும் கூறியவை வருமாறு:
தற்போது யுத்தம் முடிந்துவிட்டது. நடந்து முடிந்தது இரு நாடுகளுக்கிடையிலான யுத்தம் அல்ல, உள்நாட்டு யுத்தம். இதில் மரணித்தவர்கள் எமது நாட்டு மக்கள். அவர்கள் படையினராக இருக்கட்டும், தமிழ் மக்களாக இருக்கட்டும், எல்லோரும் எம்நாட்டு மக்கள்தான்.
தொடர்ந்தும் யுத்த வெற்றிபற்றி தொடர்பாகப் பேசி மகிழ்ச்சியடைந்து கொண்டிருப்பது சரியல்ல. இந்த யுத்தத்திற்குக் காரணமான தேசிய பிரச்சினையைத் தீர்க்க அரசியல் தீர்வு உடன் முன்வைக்கப்படல் வேண்டும்.
யுத்தத்தால் பாதிக்கப்பட்ட வடக்கு கிழக்கு மக்கள் இப்போது பெரும் துன்பத்தை எதிர்கொண்டுள்ளனர். அவர்கள் உறவினர்களை, குடும்பங்களை இழந்து அநாதைகளாகியுள்ளனர்.
25 வருடங்களாக வடக்கு கிழக்கில் அர்த்தமுள்ள அபிவிருத்திகள் எவையும் இடம்பெறவில்லை. அப்பகுதிகள் இனியாவது அபிவிருத்தி செய்யப்பட வேண்டும்.
யுத்தம் முடிவுற்ற நிலையிலும் கூட இந்நாட்டுக்குப் பாரிய இராணுவக் கட்டமைப்புத் தேவையில்லை. அவர்களுக்காகச் செலவு செய்யும் கோடிக்கணக்கான ரூபா பணத்தை இந்நாட்டின் பொருளாதாரத்திற்குச் செலவிட முடியும்.
படையினர் சுயமாகப் படையில் இருந்து விலகும் திட்டம் ஒன்றை அரசு அறிமுகப்படுத்த வேண்டும். இதற்கு எதிர்க்கட்சிகளும் உதவவேண்டும். இதன் மூலம் நாம் எமது நாட்டைக் கட்டியெழுப்பமுடியும்.
இந்தப் பாரிய படைக்கட்டமைப்பை அரசு வைத்திருப்பதற்கான காரணம் என்ன? தமிழர் தரப்பில் இருந்தும் மீண்டும் இராணுவ ரீதியான எழுச்சி ஏற்படும் என்று அரசு நினைத்தா இந்தப் படைக் கட்டமைப்பை வைத்திருக்கின்றது? இவ்வாறு வைத்திருப்பின் அது ஆரோக்கியமானதொன்றாக இருக்கமுடியாது.
அத்தோடு ஜெனரல் சரத் பொன்சேகா ஜனாதிபதித் தேர்தலில் போட்டியிடுகின்றமை பற்றிப் பேசப்படுகிறது. ஜனாதிபதித் தேர்தல் அறிவிக்கப்பட்டதும் பொதுக் கூட்டமைப்பின் ஜனாதிபதி வேட்பாளர் சரத் பொன்சேகாவா அல்லது வேறு ஒருவரா என்று தெரிவிப்போம் என மங்கள சமரவீர தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.
தற்போது முப்படைகளின் பிரதம அதிகாரி படையில் உள்ள ஒருவரை அரசியலில் இணைத்துப் பேசுவதையும் அவரை அரசியலில் இணைக்க முற்படுவதையும் நாம் எதிர்க்கின்றோம். பொதுவாகப் படையினர் அரசியலில் ஈடுபடுவது நல்லதல்ல.
ஓய்வு பெற்றதன் பின்பு அரசியலில் ஈடுபடலாம். இலங்கை வரலாற்றில் அப்படி எத்தனையோ பேர் அரசியலில் ஈடுபட்டிருக்கின்றனர். ஆகவே, சரத் பொன்சேகாவை ஜனாதிபதி வேட்பாளராக நிறுத்துவதை தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பு எதிர்க்கின்றது என்றார்.

TNA MP slams SLFP (M) Convener

DAILY MIRROR 21st oct 2009

By Kelum Bandara and Yohan Perera TNA MP N. Sri Kantha in Parliament yesterday criticized the SLFP (M) Convener Mangala Samaraweera stating that he was trying to drag military officers into politics. Speaking during the debate on the Supplementary Estimate of the Defence Ministry in the House yesterday the TNA MP said Mr. Samaraweera was trying to draw a connection between the military and politics. “Military personnel can come into politics after resigning from the posts they are holding in the military establishments as done by Former Prime Minister John Kotelawala and others,” he also pointed out. The TNA MP also called on the government to reduce the number of soldiers in the army as the war was over. “It is no point in having an army of more than 100,000 men now and spending millions for it now, as the war was over,” he added. Mr. Sri Kantha pointed out that the government should not hold the view that the Tamils will launch another military struggle but should come up with a political solution to the national issue.

NATION -4th OCTOBER 200913th Amendment: For whose benefit? By Vindya Amaranayake
Even after 22 years, since its inclusion into the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, the 13th Amendment is still making news. Although part of the country’s supreme law, the Amendment has still not been fully implemented and political, legal and social authorities are yet to come to an agreement on the implications of implementation of this amendment.

At a recent panel discussion on the implementation of the 13th Amendment in the present context, organised by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, political and legal authorities dissected and analysed the provisions contained in the harrowed amendment.

Chairman- All Party Representative Committee (APRC), Science & Technology Minister Prof. Tissa Vitarana, addressing the gathering at the OPA auditorium, explained the motivation behind the Committee to recommend the full implementation of the 13th Amendment as a solution to the ethnic problem.

Although the mandate of the APRC was not to recommend the implementation of the 13th Amendment, given the political context of the country at the time, as an interim solution, this recommendation had to be made.
“I’m not a great defender of the 13th Amendment. However, the full implementation of the 13th Amendment was to be a good signal to the minorities, of the government’s intention of resolving the ethnic issue through a political solution,” he said.

This was recommended until the committee came up with a final solution, which would take a longer time to realise. For the moment, there are 13 parties representing the committee, and four parties present at the inception, later abstained from attending deliberations. “This is going to be a long process, and it can be strengthened by the inputs of all parties concerned,” the Minister said. However, he also opined that it should be implemented in a judicious manner.

It has been advocated by many experts, at numerous forums, that the 13th Amendment is fundamentally flawed. Prof. Vitarana too pointed out some of the areas where the Amendment has failed to effectively devolve power between the centre and the provinces.

“The powers were devolved within a unitary framework. Therefore, the centre can revoke any power at any time. What has happened in practice is that the Concurrent List has been usurped by the ministers of the central government,” he said.

It has been reiterated that adequate funds are not being allocated to carry out the development work in the provinces. The APRC Chairman pointed out that one other reason for provinces not receiving enough funds is that provincial development plans are not integrated to the national development strategies. Development work, throughout the country is conducted through the ministries in the central government and therefore, there’s very little room for the provinces to get involved in the process.

“There’s very little money given to the provinces apart from the recurrent expenditure. They don’t even have adequate funds to run the powers that are given to them. For example take education and health. The central government has enough funds. What they do is, declare certain institutions belonging to the provinces and declare them as ‘national.’ We have spent the large part of APRC deliberations on resolving this,” Prof. Vitarana said.
When it comes to the full implementation of the 13th Amendment, two highlighted are the police and land powers. Given the experience of dealing with terrorism and separatism, many question the wisdom of devolving police powers to the provinces at the DIG level.

“Devolving police powers is a controversial issue. Not only in the context of separatism in the North, but in the South as well, it could lead to many problems. What would happen if the post of Chief Minister (CM) falls into the hands of the wrong individual? We must take sufficient measures to avoid such problems from arising,” he added.

According to the Amendment, there should be two police commissions; one at national level and the other at provincial level. The three members of the provincial commission are appointed as follows: One member by the President, another by the CM of the province and the third by the IGP, on the recommendation of the CM. Therefore, the CM can have excessive powers over the police commission.

“The APRC recommendation is that, there is no need for two commissions. One is enough for the whole country. Then, there is uniformity throughout the country. There has to be sufficient checks and balances to ensure there’s no abuse of power,” Minister Vitarana said.

Concluding his remarks, he said that the country is confronted with a situation where a section of its community feels that, for them to be safe and have the freedom to establish their identity in the regions where they have lived for a long time, they need to have a certain amount of power, without having to beg everything from the centre.
“We have no future in a divided country. To remain united, we must give this section of the community the feeling that they are safe and have the right to live in any part of the country,” he added.

Chairman of the Law Commission, legal luminary Prof. Lakshman Marasinghe made a detailed analysis of the flaws within the 13th Amendment. However, he termed the Amendment a malleable document, which leaves room for interpretative explanation. Due to the many problematic provisions, he said it should be modified and improved, for it to be an effective piece of legislation.

Representing the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, its Deputy Secretary General Nizam Kariyappar said, when the 13th Amendment was drafted, the Muslims in the East were completely neglected. “When the Indo-Lanka Accord was hatched, we welcomed it. But, we felt, we need significant representation in the East as one of the three communities in that province. Muslims are a little over a third in the Eastern Province. But, when merged with the North, we were reduced to one sixth,” he pointed out.

Being the SLMC representative in the APRC, Kariyappar said the committee has held 128 meeting to date, and its mandate has never been to recommend the 13th Amendment. We want to come up with a home-grown solution. He said what is needed is the abolition of the Concurrent List and clear documented subjects for provinces.

“This has nothing to do with ethnicity. This is a power struggle between the centre and the provinces. Unchecked power is the problem. Our problem is 99% of the powers devolved to the provinces are under the executive. One of the fundamental principles of democracy, separation of powers is not respected within the Amendment,” he pointed out.

According to Article 154(h) of the Amendment, every statute presented by the provincial council must have the Governor’s assent. “What does the Governor have to do with provincial legislation? Eastern Province CM Pillaiyan is awaiting the Governor’s assent for the past one-and-a-half years to execute his financial act. It was killed at its birthplace. This goes against the very essence of separation of powers,” Kariyappar charged.
He also said that every section in the Amendment is used to cripple devolution of powers to the provinces.

Meanwhile, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Member of Parliament N. Srikantha said it is meaningless to ‘wrest out’ a political solution to the national issue from the Sinhalese, where they grudgingly agree to a ‘package.’ The Jaffna District MP also said there is no point in anybody thrusting a solution on the Tamil people either.

“We are not very much interested in the 13th Amendment. Much ‘blood’ has flowed under that bridge. The need is to frame a new Constitution. There is no need making cosmetic changes to the present Constitution. This is going to be a herculean task, and it should be based on the noble ideal of the separation of powers,” he said.

Srikantha also said that, within the present Constitution, any form of devolution is bound to fail because of the Executive Presidential system. He added, “There’s no point in us breaking our heads over it. At the most, the 13th Amendment was to be an interim solution. But it failed to deliver. Nobody benefited from it apart from the few politicians who were appointed to the Provincial Councils.”

In September 1989, then President Ranasinghe Premadasa summoned an All Party Conference and the agenda was to deliberate a lasting solution to the ethnic problem. Then the Mangala Moonesinghe Commission was appointed for the same purpose. Again in 2000, then President Chandrika Kumaratunga sought to bring in Constitutional reforms. MP Srikantha pointed out that all these attempts came after the introduction of the 13th Amendment, and therefore, it appears that past leaders of the country never considered the Amendment as the final solution.

He also commented that fears over the loss of territorial integrity and sovereignty, following power devolution, are imaginary fears within the minds of the majority community, and that, due to common value systems and traditions shared by all the communities living in Sri Lanka, it is possible to realise a lasting solution to the problem.
“There’s no need to fear devolution. We will do our part in evolving a national identity. There are Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims in this country. And then there are Buddhists, Hindus, Christians and believers of Islam. But, I find there are only a very few Sri Lankans here. We only get to see patriotism during a cricket match,” the MP added.

Firebrand Attorney-at-Law S.L. Gunasekera, representing one extreme of the ethnic continuum said that the country must put aside the preconceived notion that devolution is the key to national harmony, and that the Tamil and Muslim communities are discriminated upon.

He added that problems in this country are human problems and are not pertaining to a particular ethnic group. “We all suffer from maladministration. There’s nepotism and political patronage raging in the country. The limitation of power is pushed aside. How is the 13th Amendment going to solve these problems?” he questioned, adding that the Amendment is a piece of supreme idiocy and that the “ridiculous document should be torn and discarded.”

13th Amendment: For whose benefit?

By Vindya Amaranayake Even after 22 years, since its inclusion into the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, the 13th Amendment is still making news. Although part of the country’s supreme law, the Amendment has still not been fully implemented and political, legal and social authorities are yet to come to an agreement on the implications of implementation of this amendment. At a recent panel discussion on the implementation of the 13th Amendment in the present context, organised by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, political and legal authorities dissected and analysed the provisions contained in the harrowed amendment. Chairman- All Party Representative Committee (APRC), Science & Technology Minister Prof. Tissa Vitarana, addressing the gathering at the OPA auditorium, explained the motivation behind the Committee to recommend the full implementation of the 13th Amendment as a solution to the ethnic problem. Although the mandate of the APRC was not to recommend the implementation of the 13th Amendment, given the political context of the country at the time, as an interim solution, this recommendation had to be made. “I’m not a great defender of the 13th Amendment. However, the full implementation of the 13th Amendment was to be a good signal to the minorities, of the government’s intention of resolving the ethnic issue through a political solution,” he said. This was recommended until the committee came up with a final solution, which would take a longer time to realise. For the moment, there are 13 parties representing the committee, and four parties present at the inception, later abstained from attending deliberations. “This is going to be a long process, and it can be strengthened by the inputs of all parties concerned,” the Minister said. However, he also opined that it should be implemented in a judicious manner. It has been advocated by many experts, at numerous forums, that the 13th Amendment is fundamentally flawed. Prof. Vitarana too pointed out some of the areas where the Amendment has failed to effectively devolve power between the centre and the provinces. “The powers were devolved within a unitary framework. Therefore, the centre can revoke any power at any time. What has happened in practice is that the Concurrent List has been usurped by the ministers of the central government,” he said. It has been reiterated that adequate funds are not being allocated to carry out the development work in the provinces. The APRC Chairman pointed out that one other reason for provinces not receiving enough funds is that provincial development plans are not integrated to the national development strategies. Development work, throughout the country is conducted through the ministries in the central government and therefore, there’s very little room for the provinces to get involved in the process. “There’s very little money given to the provinces apart from the recurrent expenditure. They don’t even have adequate funds to run the powers that are given to them. For example take education and health. The central government has enough funds. What they do is, declare certain institutions belonging to the provinces and declare them as ‘national.’ We have spent the large part of APRC deliberations on resolving this,” Prof. Vitarana said. When it comes to the full implementation of the 13th Amendment, two highlighted are the police and land powers. Given the experience of dealing with terrorism and separatism, many question the wisdom of devolving police powers to the provinces at the DIG level. “Devolving police powers is a controversial issue. Not only in the context of separatism in the North, but in the South as well, it could lead to many problems. What would happen if the post of Chief Minister (CM) falls into the hands of the wrong individual? We must take sufficient measures to avoid such problems from arising,” he added. According to the Amendment, there should be two police commissions; one at national level and the other at provincial level. The three members of the provincial commission are appointed as follows: One member by the President, another by the CM of the province and the third by the IGP, on the recommendation of the CM. Therefore, the CM can have excessive powers over the police commission. “The APRC recommendation is that, there is no need for two commissions. One is enough for the whole country. Then, there is uniformity throughout the country. There has to be sufficient checks and balances to ensure there’s no abuse of power,” Minister Vitarana said. Concluding his remarks, he said that the country is confronted with a situation where a section of its community feels that, for them to be safe and have the freedom to establish their identity in the regions where they have lived for a long time, they need to have a certain amount of power, without having to beg everything from the centre. “We have no future in a divided country. To remain united, we must give this section of the community the feeling that they are safe and have the right to live in any part of the country,” he added. Chairman of the Law Commission, legal luminary Prof. Lakshman Marasinghe made a detailed analysis of the flaws within the 13th Amendment. However, he termed the Amendment a malleable document, which leaves room for interpretative explanation. Due to the many problematic provisions, he said it should be modified and improved, for it to be an effective piece of legislation. Representing the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, its Deputy Secretary General Nizam Kariyappar said, when the 13th Amendment was drafted, the Muslims in the East were completely neglected. “When the Indo-Lanka Accord was hatched, we welcomed it. But, we felt, we need significant representation in the East as one of the three communities in that province. Muslims are a little over a third in the Eastern Province. But, when merged with the North, we were reduced to one sixth,” he pointed out. Being the SLMC representative in the APRC, Kariyappar said the committee has held 128 meeting to date, and its mandate has never been to recommend the 13th Amendment. We want to come up with a home-grown solution. He said what is needed is the abolition of the Concurrent List and clear documented subjects for provinces. “This has nothing to do with ethnicity. This is a power struggle between the centre and the provinces. Unchecked power is the problem. Our problem is 99% of the powers devolved to the provinces are under the executive. One of the fundamental principles of democracy, separation of powers is not respected within the Amendment,” he pointed out. According to Article 154(h) of the Amendment, every statute presented by the provincial council must have the Governor’s assent. “What does the Governor have to do with provincial legislation? Eastern Province CM Pillaiyan is awaiting the Governor’s assent for the past one-and-a-half years to execute his financial act. It was killed at its birthplace. This goes against the very essence of separation of powers,” Kariyappar charged. He also said that every section in the Amendment is used to cripple devolution of powers to the provinces. Meanwhile, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Member of Parliament N. Srikantha said it is meaningless to ‘wrest out’ a political solution to the national issue from the Sinhalese, where they grudgingly agree to a ‘package.’ The Jaffna District MP also said there is no point in anybody thrusting a solution on the Tamil people either. “We are not very much interested in the 13th Amendment. Much ‘blood’ has flowed under that bridge. The need is to frame a new Constitution. There is no need making cosmetic changes to the present Constitution. This is going to be a herculean task, and it should be based on the noble ideal of the separation of powers,” he said. Srikantha also said that, within the present Constitution, any form of devolution is bound to fail because of the Executive Presidential system. He added, “There’s no point in us breaking our heads over it. At the most, the 13th Amendment was to be an interim solution. But it failed to deliver. Nobody benefited from it apart from the few politicians who were appointed to the Provincial Councils.” In September 1989, then President Ranasinghe Premadasa summoned an All Party Conference and the agenda was to deliberate a lasting solution to the ethnic problem. Then the Mangala Moonesinghe Commission was appointed for the same purpose. Again in 2000, then President Chandrika Kumaratunga sought to bring in Constitutional reforms. MP Srikantha pointed out that all these attempts came after the introduction of the 13th Amendment, and therefore, it appears that past leaders of the country never considered the Amendment as the final solution. He also commented that fears over the loss of territorial integrity and sovereignty, following power devolution, are imaginary fears within the minds of the majority community, and that, due to common value systems and traditions shared by all the communities living in Sri Lanka, it is possible to realise a lasting solution to the problem. “There’s no need to fear devolution. We will do our part in evolving a national identity. There are Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims in this country. And then there are Buddhists, Hindus, Christians and believers of Islam. But, I find there are only a very few Sri Lankans here. We only get to see patriotism during a cricket match,” the MP added. Firebrand Attorney-at-Law S.L. Gunasekera, representing one extreme of the ethnic continuum said that the country must put aside the preconceived notion that devolution is the key to national harmony, and that the Tamil and Muslim communities are discriminated upon. He added that problems in this country are human problems and are not pertaining to a particular ethnic group. “We all suffer from maladministration. There’s nepotism and political patronage raging in the country. The limitation of power is pushed aside. How is the 13th Amendment going to solve these problems?” he questioned, adding that the Amendment is a piece of supreme idiocy and that the “ridiculous document should be torn and discarded.”