by Franklin R. Satyapalan-June 13, 2013
General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), Parliamentarian M. T. Hassen Ali, said that his party leader Rauff Hakeem had informed President Mahinda Rajapaksa by letter yesterday that in no way would the SLMC support the repealing of the 13th Amendment at the present juncture.
Hassen Ali said that in a 13-page letter addressed to the President, SLMC Leader and Minister of Justice Hakeem had clearly explained the reasons for his party’s decision.
The letter was forwarded in response to the President’s request to leaders of all UPFA constituent parties to make known their position on the Cabinet Paper submitted by the government last Thursday to repeal certain sections of the 13th Amendment within a week.
At the SLMC parliamentary group meeting presided over by Minister Hakeem on Monday a unanimous decision had been taken that the SLMC should not be a party to any changes to the 13th Amendment, Hassen Ali said.
"They are of the opinion that any amendments to the Constitution to prevent the merger of the two provinces in the future will lead to the dilution of the legitimate powers of the Provincial Councils at a time when attempts are being made to further strengthen the 13th Amendment."
The party had maintained that the two provinces should be merged since the days of the late Leader ‘Maamanither’ M. H. M. Ashraff, Hassen Ali said. A resolution to that effect had been passed unanimously by almost 1,200 delegates present at the 23rd Delegates conference in Colombo recently, he added.
