Waiting for the next demon…

SUNDAY, 22 MARCH 2015

Speaking to a weekend newspaper the Member of the committee to draft the 19th amendment to the Constitution President’s Counsel Jayampathy Wickremeratna has said abolishing powers of executive presidency and making changes to the electoral system are not bound to each other. He said carrying out both moves together would be ideal but would not be possible, it was not necessary to wait for both to be implemented at once and postponing one until the other is ready would bring in a disastrous situation to the country.

He further states, ‘Already, many have forgotten how monstrous executive presidency was, how the CID was behind many of them, the ‘white van’ culture was pursuing the masses, how the telephones were tapped and the media was suppressed. Certain quarters are obstructing the move to adopt the 19th amendment as nothing of such vile moves is being carried out at present.

Mr. Wickremeratna emphasized that Sri Lanka would never receive a conducive opportunity that she has got at present to move her along the democratic path and warned evading such a golden opportunity would bring another demon.

Mr. Wickremeratna says the election manifesto put out by President Maithripala Sirisena as the Common Candidate states abolishing executive powers of the President and changes to the electoral system as two different items and added that they need not be changed at once though it would be ideal if it could be done so.

He states postponing reducing powers of the executive on the pretext of taking time to get views of political parties would be disastrous to the country. For, it would never happen if this golden opportunity is evaded warned the President’s Counsel.