Government package, a deceptive farce- UNP

* Accuses govt. of deceiving people
* APRC held 64 sessions but 13th Amendment was discussed only on last two occasions
* No credible power-sharing formula to end ethnic conflict, says UNP frontliner

By Kelum Bandara

Main opposition UNP in a hard-hitting statement yesterday, accused the government of deceiving the people of this country and the international community by using the 13th Amendment as the basis for resolving the longstanding ethnic conflict instead of a credible power sharing formula.

UNP front-liner Lakshman Kiriella told a news conference the government had pledged to resolve the crisis with a consensual political solution of all the southern political parties.

Mr. Kiriella said the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) set up for this purpose held 64 sessions but strangely enough it was only on the last two occasions that the 13th Amendment was discussed.

“It was only at the request of President Mahinda Rajapaksa that the APRC began discussing the 13th Amendment.

The proposals submitted by the APRC on an earlier occasion were dismissed by the government. Later APRC Chairman Tissa Vitarana presented a report which too was rejected. Eventually, the President opted for the 13th Amendment as a way out of this impasse,” he said.

Mr. Kiriella said this constitutional amendment was introduced in 1987 and therefore there was no need for the government to seek the support of other parties to fully implement it.

“The 13th Amendment is already enshrined in Sri Lanka’s Constitution. The government need not ask us about implementing it. All this goes to show that the APRC was acting out a farce. The proposals have been put forward to mislead the people and the international community,” he said.

He said the minutes of the 64 sessions of the APRC ran into more than 11,000 pages but nowhere is any reference to the 13th Amendment as a means of resolving the ethnic crisis.

“We do not know how the 13th Amendment can at this time be helpful in addressing the grievances of minority communities,” he said.

Mr. Kiriella it was ridiculous to think of the SLFP presenting a power sharing formula when it even committed a blunder by agitating for the withdrawal of the Indian Peace Keeping Forces (IPKF) in the 1980s. “When the former SLFP leader and Prime Minister the late Sirimavo Bandaranaike sat down for a protest fast near the Pettah Bo-Tree agitating for the withdrawal of the IPKF, Mr. Rajapaksa also sat beside her,” he said.
He said the IPKF was sent back at a time when it had cornered the LTTE.
“Had it continued to be here for a few more months, the problem could have been resolved,” Mr. Kiriella said.

Source: Dailymirror