New constitution will not create a secular state
Jul 06, 2016
The chairman of the constitutional reform commission established to inquire public opinion Advocate Lal Wijenaike said it is baseless that few people alleged that there will be a secular state created following the constitutional amendment.
The chairman said it is his committee’s responsibility to acquire public opinion needed to submit the report necessary for the constitutional reforms and said it would be unreasonable to allege that Sri Lanka would be a secular country. The chairman further stressed at the same time that the government in power should not be biased to one religion.
He said he has not made any personal recommendations to the report and his task is to only acquire and disclose the public opinion gathered.
There were few opinions about religion, when inquiring public opinion based on the information submitted we present our recommendations. 18 people participated when inquiring opinions. Ten out of them said that according to the 9th statement in the constitution Buddhism should be prioritized and protected.
Five people who gave their opinion said that Sri Lanka should be a secular state. There were many opinions given. We gave our recommendations accordingly. Majority of the people’s opinion is to prioritize Buddhism.
The chairman of the commission established to inquire public opinion about constitutional reform Advocate Lal Wijenaaike said therefore according to the report of his committee, he cannot recommend Sri Lanka to be a secular state.
He said he has not made any personal recommendations to the report and his task is to only acquire and disclose the public opinion gathered.
There were few opinions about religion, when inquiring public opinion based on the information submitted we present our recommendations. 18 people participated when inquiring opinions. Ten out of them said that according to the 9th statement in the constitution Buddhism should be prioritized and protected.
Five people who gave their opinion said that Sri Lanka should be a secular state. There were many opinions given. We gave our recommendations accordingly. Majority of the people’s opinion is to prioritize Buddhism.
The chairman of the commission established to inquire public opinion about constitutional reform Advocate Lal Wijenaaike said therefore according to the report of his committee, he cannot recommend Sri Lanka to be a secular state.
