A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Back to 500BC.
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Saturday, November 3, 2018
UN takes up political crisis with Prez, TNA
AG responds to Speaker’s query
The UN yesterday raised current political crisis with President
Maithripala Sirisena as the UNP vowed to continue with its struggle
against what former Deputy Minister of National Policies and Economic
Affairs Dr. Harsha de Silva called a blatant violation of the
Constitution by the President.
Colombo-based UN Resident Coordinator Hanaa Singer yesterday discussed
the political developments with President Sirisena at the Presidential
Secretariat.
A spokesperson for the Presidential Secretariat told The Island that
President Sirisena assured Singer that nothing had been done contrary to
the Constitution.
The UN sought a special meeting with President Sirisena in the wake of
the latter briefing the Colombo-based diplomatic community of
developments following last Friday’s swearing in of Mahinda Rajapaksa as
the Prime Minister.
Subsequently, Singer met Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader R.
Sampanthan and party spokesman and Jaffna District MP M.A. Sumanthiran
to examine the situation. The TNA parliamentary group comprises 16
lawmakers.
Addressing the media at the Government Information department (GID),
Government spokesman Ports and Shipping Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe
quoted President Sirisena as having told the diplomatic community that
post-war national reconciliation process would be further strengthened.
President Sirisena has also promised to protect and develop human
rights.
Dr. de Silva of the UNP, too, briefed the international community as
regards the alleged unconstitutionality of President Sirisena’s action.
Referring to the circumstances leading to the enactment of the
19thAmendment to the Constitution meant to weaken the executive
presidency, Dr. Silva explained that the Prime Minister could have been
removed only through a vote in parliament. Responding to a query, the
UNPer said that a simple majority vote would suffice to remove the PM.
The UNPer insisted Wickremesinghe remained the Prime Minister.
By Tuesday night, the UNP lost five of its members who had contested on
the party ticket at the last parliamentary polls in August 2015.
Responding to another query, De Silva insisted that President Sirisena
had violated the very basis of the 19th Amendment. The UNPer recalled
how President Sirisena repeatedly claimed credit both here and abroad
for giving up executive powers on his own.
Meanwhile, close on the heels of Speaker Karu Jayasuriya denying that he
ever received a response from the Attorney General’s Department to his
query as regards the current situation.
The Island learns that in addition to the Acting Attorney General
Dappula de Livera, who responded to the Speaker, the Attorney General,
too, subsequently answered.
Sources said that while Dappula de Livera had responded to Speaker
Jayasuriya’s e-mail via e-mail, Attorney General Jayasuriya, in a letter
dated Oct 30 pointed out that it was inappropriate for the AG to
express an opinion on legal status of action taken by President
Sirisena.
AG Jayantha Jayasuriya has received Speaker Jayasuriya’s letter dated Oct 28 on the following day and responded a day later.
Ministerial sources told The Island that Karu Jayasuriya had responded
to the situation as a UNP MP elected from the Gampaha District instead
of the Speaker of the parliament. Acknowledging that Speaker had been
under pressure from the UNP to intervene on Wickremesinghe’s behalf,
sources said that top government delegation on Tuesday told Speaker
Jayasuriya that the President had the power to prorogue parliament and
it wasn’t subject to any other authority. The government delegation
comprised Nimal Siripala de Silva, Dinesh Gunawardena, Wijeyadasa
Rajapakse, Douglas Devananda, Dr. Sarath Amunugama and Mahinda
Samarasinghe.
Sources said that Speaker Jayasuriya acknowledged that Tuesday’s meeting had been called to discuss matters informally.