Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has slammed draft proposals made for Sri Lanka’s new Constitution, departing from assurances given during his Presidency to the country’s minority Tamils.
In a 10-point document opposing various proposals, including the ones to strip provincial governors of powers, to devolve land and police powers and to recognise Tamil and Sinhala as official languages, Mr. Rajapaksa cited the Indian model to make a case for limited sharing of powers between the centre and the provinces.
“Our system of devolution is modelled on that of India and the Governors of the Indian States have exactly the same powers as the provincial Governors in Sri Lanka. It’s through the role of the Governor that the provinces and the States are bound to the Centre.
“If the powers of the Governors are taken away, both India and Sri Lanka will cease to be unified nations,” said Mr. Rajapaksa.
On earlier occasions, he had assured India that he would “go beyond” the 13th Amendment — an outcome of the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord of 1987 — that envisaged devolution of powers to the provinces.
Call for consensus
Mr. Rajapaksa’s attack on the proposals, submitted by six sub-committees in Parliament, comes days after President Maithripala Sirisena made a call for consensus in the ongoing constitutional reform process.
In a politically-charged speech he delivered in Parliament, Mr. Sirisena accused his predecessor and his supporters of trying to sabotage efforts to draft a new Constitution that would include a political solution to the north and east.
Terming them “pseudo patriots who misled the people for narrow political gains”, he said: “Those that are opposing this process to resolve a national issue are those agitating for more bloodletting in this island.”
The apparent retaliation from Mr. Rajapaksa, who accused the President of speaking about devolution “leaving aside” strikes and demonstrations against the government’s recent budget, also comes at a time when the rift between the pro-Sirisena and pro-Rajapaksa factions of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, part of which is in government with the United National Party, appears to be deepening.
