By Gagani Weerakoon
President Maithripala Sirisena who went to Gemunupura Buddhist Centre in Ampara on Friday (29) to present the Akthapathra to newly elected Mahanayake of the Udarata Amarapura Samagri Sangha Sabha,Most Ven.Girambe Mangala Nayaka Thera emphasized that the draft report for the new constitutional proposals in any way does not project a concept of a Federal State.
The President also emphasized that he will not allow anyone to draft a Constitution which will harm the unitary status of the country, and further said that he will not leave any room to change the foremost place given for Buddhism in the existing Constitution.
“The Government is paying its prime attention to provide solutions for the problems faced by the people in the North and the East, ensuring sustainable peace in the country, building reconciliation among all the communities in a way which will prevent the recurrence of war”, he added.
The President pointed out that if the people of the country entertain ideas of recurrence of the war, the country will again move forward to a dark era, and said that the government is committed to build reconciliation and trust among all the communities without leaving any room for such idea to prevail among the public. President Sirisena also said that he requests Mahanayaka Theras and all the religious leaders including Hindu, Islamic and Christian religious leaders to discuss in this regard sitting at the same table.
The Steering Committee, tasked with drafting a new Constitution has raised the hackles of some of its members by proposing that the term, ‘unitary state’ be done away with.
The Steering Committee interim report submitted by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to the Constitutional Assembly last week states that people in the South are scared of the term, ‘federal’ while the people in the North fear the word, ‘unitary.’
The report says: “The classical definition of the English term ‘unitary state’ has undergone change. In the United Kingdom, it is now possible for Northern Ireland and Scotland to move away from the union. Therefore, the English term ‘unitary state’ will not be appropriate for Sri Lanka. The Sinhala term ‘aekeiya rajyaya’ best describes an undivided and indivisible country. The Tamil language equivalent of this is ‘orumiththanadu.’ In these circumstances, the following formulation may be considered: Sri Lanka [Ceylon] is a free, sovereign and independent republic which is an aekeiya rajyaya/orumiththanadu, means a State which is undivided and indivisible, and in which the power to amend the Constitution, or to repeal and replace the Constitution, shall remain in the Parliament and people of Sri Lanka as provided in this Constitution.”
The Joint Opposition, however, has objected to the proposal to abolish the unitary status of Sri Lanka and demanded that the Article 2 of the 1978 Constitution which states ‘the Republic of Sri Lanka is a Unitary state’ should be kept as it is.
“We object to the proposed English and Tamil terms. The meaning of ‘Orumiththanadu’ in Tamil is entirely different from the Sinhala term for ‘unitary state’. The meaning of ‘Orumiththanadu’ carries the meaning ‘the country that is formed by amalgamation.’This is ample proof that this interim report has been drafted according to a separatist agenda, aimed at doing away with the unitary character of the state,” says the JO proposal signed by its parliamentary group and MEP leader Dinesh Gunawardena and MP Prasanna Ranatunga.
The SLFP proposal signed by Ministers Nimal Siripala de Silva, Susil Premajayantha and Dilan Perera, too, has opposed the proposal to abolish the unitary state. It says, “Articles I and II of the Constitution shall be maintained unchanged in their present form, i.e. 1. Sri Lanka is a free, sovereign, independent and democratic socialist republic and shall be known as the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, 2. The Republic of Sri Lanka is a unitary state. In the Tamil language and the English language the word ‘unitary’ shall be used and shall carry the interpretation of the word of the Sinhala language.”
The JVP’s proposal signed by its leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake and MP Bimal Ratnayake has not included any suggestion pertaining to the unitary status of the country.
The TNA proposal signed by MPs R. Sampanthan and M.A. Sumanthiran demands that Sri Lanka should be a union of provinces/states.
It says: “Sri Lanka shall be a federal state within the framework of a united/undivided and indivisible country. The Centre and Provinces/States shall exercise exclusive power in their areas of competence in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. Sri Lanka shall be a secular state…. The northern and eastern provinces shall constitute one province/state.”
The Jathika Hela Urumaya proposal, signed by its general secretary Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka, too, has demanded that Articles 1 and 2 of the present Constitution guaranteeing the unitary status of the country remain unchanged.
The proposal submitted by the All Ceylon Makkal Congress leader Minister Rishad Bathiudeen has objected to the merging of provinces. The Constitution shall not recognize the North and the East as a single province. The ACMC demands that unitary status should remain unchanged.
A joint proposal signed by the SLMC leader Minister Rauff Hakim, Tamil Progressive Alliance leader Minister Mano Ganesan, EPDP leader Douglas Devananda demands that Sri Lanka should be known as United Republic of Sri Lanka. It shall be Sri Lanka Eksath Janarajaya in Sinhala language and AikkiyaIlangi Kudiyarasau in Tamil.
Meanwhile, political party leaders are also at present discussing the possibility of keeping President Sirisena in office, with changes to some of the executive powers, till 2025 without holding a Presidential Election in 2020.
This, might be feasible in the event the proposals made with regard to the Executive in the Steering Committee report gets the approval of the Parliament.
There was general consensus that the Executive Presidency as it exists today, be abolished. The President should be conferred with powers, including those in relation to Provincial Councils in specified situations.The President should be elected by Parliament for a fixed term of office, the report recommends.
The President may, on the advice of the Prime Minister, declare a state of emergency where there are reasonable grounds to apprehend the existence of a clear and present danger to public security, preservation of public order (including preservation of public order consequent to natural disasters and epidemics) or maintenance of supplies and services essential to the life of the community. The declaration of emergency shall state the basis on which such a state of emergency was declared.
A Governor of a Province, on the advice of the Chief Minister, may advise the Prime Minister that a situation warranting a declaration of a state of emergency has arisen within such Province.
The Declaration of Emergency shall be subject to Parliamentary approval and be subject to judicial review.
India still hopeful
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj meeting President Sirisena to discuss bilateral matters, including the perceived delay in implementing India backed projects in the island earlier this month assured President Sirisena that New Delhi appreciated the domestic political challenges facing his government, urged Colombo to expedite decision-making on Indian projects.
In addition to jointly developing a World War-era oil tank in the strategically located eastern port town of Trincomalee, India has more recently expressed interest to operate Sri Lanka’s second international airport in Mattala which is 40 km away from Hambantota Port, where majority stake is in the hands of China.
Though it was not publicized much about the Indian company eying Mattala Airport, an indication was given to a group of journalists who undertook a guided tour in India recently. CEO of GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd. (GHIAL) S.G.K. Kishore said making Mattala viable is not impossible. All Sri Lanka has to do is learn some lessons from Hyderabad.
GMR is one of the top five private airport developers in the world. Its operating assets include Delhi International Airport Limited, GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited and GMR Mactan Cebu International Airport in the Philippines. It is currently developing GMR Goa International Airport.
GHIAL, which operates the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Hyderabad, is a joint venture comprising the GMR Group (63%) in partnership with Government of India (13%), Government of Telangana (13%) and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (11%). The Company was incorporated to build, design, finance, operate and maintain RGIA at Shamshabad, Hyderabad. The project is based on the Public Private Partnership model (PPP).
“GHIAL is the first PPP model in India. Although GMR Group has a 63% stake in the company, this model gives enough flexibility to the government. Areas such as air traffic control, security and immigration are all handled by the government. The design, operation and maintenance are under the GMR purview,” GHIAL CEO said.
Focus on Sri Lanka by foreign countries, in a bid to secure their position in the Indian Ocean, was quite evident in recent times.
When the US Under Secretary for Political Affairs, Thomas A. Shannon called on the President for bilateral talks in New York last week, he did not miss a chance to say how happy America is on the current ‘friendly’ foreign policy adopted by the government while commending Sri Lanka for the political, social and economic rebuilding process of Sri Lanka in the post-conflict era.
Shannon who is planning to visit Sri Lanka in November this year, also appreciated the cooperative approach carried out by Sri Lanka with the countries in the region, as a country which is positioned in a strategic location in the Indian region, and said that President Sirisena is an exemplary leader who is working closely with all the States.
President Sirisena, responded stating that the challenges Sri Lanka has to face due to its strategic positioning in the Indian Ocean region is much more than its positive outcomes.
It was obvious that President Sirisena was referring to immense pressure the country is under due to poitical and economic interests of powerful neighbouring nations like India, China and the USA.
Courtesy:Ceylon Today