New Delhi: Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe asserted on Wednesday, July 26, that he wants to discuss the 13th Amendment to the country’s constitution – a key aspect of the 1987 Indo-Lanka accord – with all parties as it is a matter that “affects the entire country”.
The 13th Amendment called for the creation of provinces and decentralisation of powers, especially of police and land. While provinces have been created with their own administrations, the powers of the police and land continued to remain in the hands of Colombo. This has created resentment among the Sri Lankan Tamil community.
Wickremesinghe held an All-Party Conference at the Presidential Secretariat on Wednesday. He highlighted that a decision on the amendment should involve inputs from all relevant parties.
The conference was organized to update the Parliament’s party leaders on the National Reconciliation Program and the North-East Development Plan, according to a statement issued by the government.
The president said that he does not have the authority to pass new laws to address existing problems and that power rests solely with parliament. He was bringing forth “relevant proposals” for the betterment of the country, but the “responsibility of implementing them lay with all the representatives in the Parliament, as he alone couldn’t achieve it with his single vote”.
India has repeatedly called for the full implementation of the 13th Amendment. However, Wickremesinghe is the sole MP of his party and his presidency is supported by the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), which has traditionally opposed the decentralisation of powers. There is not much hope in New Delhi that the current exercise would yield any results.
President Wickremesinghe suggested that the central government should formulate policies for the country, while provincial councils should provide the necessary facilities for the successful implementation of development activities in all fields. “Collaboration between all parties and levels of government was crucial for progress and development,” he said.
He also called for “collective discussions” among all parties to decide on granting police powers to the provincial councils, as outlined in the amendment.
Furthermore, President Wickremesinghe proposed arrangements that would allow members of the Provincial Councils to concurrently hold positions and be appointed as Members of Parliament, while members of Parliament could also serve as members of the Provincial Councils.
Apart from Wickremesinghe, Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and former president Maithripala Sirisena were among those who participated and expressed their views during the event. Numerous party leaders and representatives from various parties were also present at the occasion, the statement said.
