APRC fails to meet deadline but President to get 2-page outline on 13th Amendment today
By Munza MushtaqThe much awaited final report of the overly hyped All Party Representative Committee (APRC) has ended in a farce. APRC has failed to submit its main document in keeping with a deadline specified to the committee by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, which is today.
However, instead, the APRC will hand over a mere one and a half page long document outlining the committee’s recommendations on how to maximize devolution under the 13th Amendment to President Rajapaksa today at an auspicious time in keeping Sri Lankan traditions, The Bottom Line learns.The document recommends the conducting of elections in the Eastern Province and as a temporary measure to establish an interim set up for the Northern Province, which will be identified as the Interim Executive Council.
The committee’s chairman, Prof. Tissa Vitarana admitted to The Bottom Line that although the APRC was initially scheduled to hand over its main report, also today, along with the recommendations on how to implement the 13th amendment, last minute inputs by some of the APRC members had resulted in the delay in handing over the main document, which has been much awaited, even internationally.
“We have almost finalized the main proposal, aimed at finding a solution to the ethnic conflict,” he said while adding that they had a few more additions to make.
The main parties, who have been allegedly instrumental in delaying the final report, are government allies, Mahajana Eksath Peramuna and Jathika Hela Urumaya. They have demanded a reduction in the level of devolution offered to the provinces.
However, during a nearly three hour long meeting, held at Temple Trees yesterday, between the members of the APRC and President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the president is reported to have requested the members to ‘continue’ their deliberations on its original mandate.
Sri Lanka Muslim Congress representative Nizam Kariapper told The Bottom Line soon after the meeting that the president had requested the APRC to continue its deliberations although the committee had so far met a whopping 63 times.
The committee is now likely to meet again next week to continue its deliberations from where they left off, Monday night.
National Unity Alliance representative Abul Kalaam told The Bottom Line that it was now up to the government to put the recommendations in to action after the APRC hands over the document to the president today.
Sources meanwhile said that although the initial recommendations ran to around ten pages, following deliberations at Temple Trees yesterday night, the committee had finally minimized it to a mere one and a half pages.
At the time this edition went to press, a time for today’s meeting had not been set.
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