Secretary to President at Ranbima title presentation:13A was forced on country
Posted on June 10th, 2013
Chaminda Perera -Courtesy The Daily News
* Causing disruption to admin process
* PCs a stumbling block to progress
The then government was so much under pressure that it accepted the 13th Amendment to the Constitution without calling for a referendum in the face of a threat of invasion, Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga said yesterday. 
Weeratunga added that public discussion is brewing on the 13th Amendment and many secrets with regard to the introduction of the Provincial Council system are coming to light. He said the President does not show hesitation in shutting down establishments and institutions if they do not provide the expected services to the public.
ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-President Rajapaksa always gives clear directives to us to close down establishments which do not provide the expected services to the people,ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ Weeratunga said.
The countryƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s administrative process was completely changed with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which was implemented without the peopleƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s consent, the Secretary said.
Weeratunga was speaking at the presentation of land deeds to persons who do not own land, under the 12th stage of Ranbima title presentation programme launched by the Lands Reforms Commission (LRC) at Temple Trees yesterday. It was held under the patronage of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…- The time has come for the people to evaluate the pros and cons of the Provincial Council system which was set up under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution without calling for a referendum,ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ he said.
The Secretary said it is left to the people to evaluate the benefits received from the Provincial Councils which were established in 1989.
He said public views were not sought prior to the enactment of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution on which Provincial Councils were set up.
The Secretary to the President said the provision of a plot of land to a person who does not inherit an inch of land in the country has become a cumbersome process today as there is a clash between the Provincial councils and District Secretaries over land powers.
ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-The people seeking land have to go to various places to get approval due to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution,ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ he said.
The Secretary said the distribution of lands among the landless was a simple process before the 13th Amendment was in force.
ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-An Assistant Government Agent was able to provide a land to a family who did not have legal ownership of their own land earlier,ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ he said.
Weeratunga said the LRC which comes under the direct supervision of the President has carried out tremendous work in all parts of the country including the North and East.
The Secretary to the President said the country went through an era in where the peopleƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s lives were in danger due to terrorist atrocities.
Parents were left with no other option than hanging around the gates of schools fearing terrorist attacks.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa who was determined in eliminating terrorism from the country faced many obstacles, he said.
He said many countries including the UK, United States, France and neighbouring India exerted pressure to stop the humanitarian operation launched by the government to free the country from terrorism.
Weeratunga said President Rajapaksa replying to these forces said the majority of the people in the country had given him a clear mandate to free the country from terrorism and he remained committed to achieve this objective.
June 10th, 2013 at 2:04 pm
Very promising.
Just SCRAP 13 amendment.
June 10th, 2013 at 2:51 pm
This white elephant must have been scrapped soon after the war. Scrap it now before it is too late!!!!!
June 10th, 2013 at 3:04 pm
“He said the President does not show hesitation in shutting down establishments and institutions if they do not provide the expected services to the public.”
He has woken up finally after eight long years to realise that, even after taking advantage of the same provisions.
I wonder if he would apply the same principles on his own Cabinet and Ministers.
How exactly is he going to dismantle the Provincial Council system in place?
A “statesman” or a “politician”?
June 10th, 2013 at 5:18 pm
We’ve had enough with useless PCs.
ENOUGH TALK, WE NEED RESULTS!!!
SCRAP 13A NOW!
(Sorry for the Caps-Lock – any patriot will understand)
June 10th, 2013 at 5:57 pm
yea – just bs talk no action! get rid of rampant corruption now. restrictions on land acquisition in anu, our capital city, is mindboggling. the sudda nagaraya boasts of the worst drinkers in the island with 10 or more wine stores! one advantage people had with pcs is that they needed not go to Colombo to gat a pp or a drivers license. however u don’t need pcs for that. if our administrators had brains they could have had these licensing issuing bodies in every big city in sri lanka. lrc is the worst institution in sri lanka which should be scrapped! sinharaajer is a case in point where lrc was a miserable failure. these guys who are engaged in lip service to the leader can make all kinds of statements. peoples movement is the answer to scrap 13a. nothing else would do with a corrupt regime.
June 10th, 2013 at 5:59 pm
by the way heard of the scrapping of duty on custom(CID) and vat on solar panels. the government is slowly waking up from the slumber.
June 10th, 2013 at 6:22 pm
JAYA WEVA. Only good news after 4 years of sleeping ! ( even by words this the frist time President’s way is explained by another mouth)
SCRAP ENDIAN NONSENCE NOW !
June 10th, 2013 at 8:25 pm
කොච්චර හොඳද මේ පාර වත් රටට වැඩක් නැති මේ සුදු අලියා ගැන රටේ ජනතා අදහස් referendum එකක් මගින් ලබාගන්නට රජය පෙළඹෙනවා නම්. මට නම් විස්වාසයි පළාත් සබා කෙසේ වෙතත් පත්වෙන උදවිය නම් රටටම එපාවෙලා කියලා. ජයවේවා.
June 10th, 2013 at 8:30 pm
Birds of a Feather …. Flock Together: TNA, SLMC, Communist Party (CP), and Catholic Bishops.
Without a DOUBT, the UNP, under Ranil Wickremasinghe’s treacherous “Leadership” will join them too.
But, not to worry: Despite these PARASITES, The VAST MAJORITY of the People of Sri Lanka are PATRIOTS!
Rise Up …. O Patriots of Mother Lanka …. in your TENS of MILLIONS to SECURE PEACE & SECURITY for yourselves and UNTOLD FUTURE GENERATIONS!
REPEAL the 13th Amendment and DEMOLISH the Provincial Councils! DEMAND a NATIONWIDE REFERENDUM to REPEAL these FOREIGN SHACKLES that will BIND and YOKE Mother Lanka to Communal Discord in Perpetuity!
Your NOBLE PURPOSE is to DEMOLISH FOREVER all SPECIAL PRIVILEGES given to Communal Groups …. assigned on the basis of Race, Religion, Language, Caste and Sex.
Rise Up … O Patriots of Mother Lanka …. Your Country Needs you NOW!
………………………
Sri Lanka Muslim party decides to oppose any changes to 13th Amendment
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
June 11, Colombo: The Parliamentary Group of Sri Lanka’s major Muslim party, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) unanimously resolved yesterday to express opposition to any moves to make changes to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
The SLMC parliamentary group met at the Colombo residence of party leader and Justice Minister Rauf Hakeem on Monday June 10th 2013 and all eight MPs of the party came to the decision unanimously to oppose any moves that curtail the powers allocated to the Provincial councils.
SLMC General Secretary Hasan Ali said the party will officially write to the President Mahinda Rajapaksa informing the SLMC decision before the next cabinet meeting scheduled for Thursday June 13th.
The decision will be conveyed to the Cabinet of Ministers by party leader Rauf Hakeem on that day.
In addition to the SLMC leader Chairman of the party Minister of Productivity Promotion Basheer Segu Dawood, Trincomalee district MP M.S. Thowfeek, Ampara district MPs H.M.M. Harees and Faizal Cassim, Wanni district MP M.B. Farook and National list MPs M.T. Hasan Ali and Mohamed Aslam participated in the SLMC meeting.
June 10th, 2013 at 11:37 pm
Pusillanimous Politicians FIDDLE while SEPARATISTS and Anti_National Forces PREPARE to DIVIDE UP Sri Lanka!
INDECISIVE, INEFFECTIVE, UNCARING, DISGUSTING!
The VAST MAJORITY of the People of Sri Lanka ELECTED you and PLACED their lives in your hands … to ACT in the NATIONAL INTEREST! DO SO NOW!
………………………….
13A: President tells EPDP, JHU to speak their minds
by Shamindra Ferdinando
Island.lk
June 10, 2013
President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday assured EPDP leader and Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Minister Douglas Devananda that the Government would not interfere in his ongoing protest campaigns against proposed changes to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
President Rajapaksa told Minister Devananda that he could freely voice his position as regards the issue in Parliament.
The EPDP and SLMC have strongly opposed far-reaching proposals to do away with the rights of two provinces or more to merge in accordance with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. And, the second contentious issue has been the government proposal to repeal the Constitutional requirement that the consent of all provincial councils was necessary for the enactment of legislation in parliament that infringe on their powers.
Senior Government sources told The Island last night that President Rajapaksa had held a separate meeting with and JHU General Secretary and Technology, Research and Atomic Energy Minister Patali Chamipka Ranawaka to discuss the ongoing JHU campaign calling for the abolition of the 13th amendment.
Sources said that President Rajapaksa also told the JHU delegation led by Minister Ranawaka that the party could continue with its campaign and the government would not interfere with it.
The JHU was also told that it could freely voice its position in Parliament.
Asked whether the President had called National Freedom Front leader Minister Construction, Engineering Services, Housing and Common Amenities Minister Wimal Weerawansa for a meeting, the sources said that the NFF leader was not among those invited for talks at Temple Trees yesterday.
Sources said that the President decided to meet the EPDP and JHU in the wake of a sharp division in the SLFP-led ruling coalition over the first Northern Provincial council election to be held under the current constitution.
There could be further meetings among UPFA partners within the next few days to iron out differences, government sources added.
June 11th, 2013 at 1:41 am
The very fact that the authors of 13A amendment were the same people that trained and funded, LTTE and other groups of terrorists to destabilise Sri Lanka and sabotage its unitary status, should reveal to anyone with common sense, that the goal of both these approaches were the same. Why on earth are we hesitating to reject it or amend it?
Though Indians are our friends, the Indian Government has been our enemy for quite some time.
The left parties and minority parties representing Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims should realise this fact and support the Rajapakse regime to reject or modify this amendment to serve the interests of a unitary multiethnic Sri Lanka and bring permanent peace to the nation.
June 11th, 2013 at 8:37 am
Re friendship with India : It is Tamil Nadu separatist type politics/foreign affiliations & caste/poverty issues that seem to stand in the way of any friendship with India. The Cold War & present day East/west politics have always stood in the way of a real friendship with India. India’s over population and poverty issues also stand in the way. What may be possible is a ‘sort of friendship’, depending on the geopolitics.
It is best that Sri Lanka identifies her own needs for peace & prosperity and be as independent as possible.
Good news indeed that the President’s secretary has spoken up with the Truth of Matters – 13-A is a hindrance to the People of Lanka.
June 11th, 2013 at 12:44 pm
Mr. Lalith Weeratunga : After I read your speech in which you have said “13th Amendment was forced on us”, I met Jamis Mama who runs a bakery at Madihe, Matara, incidentally your birth place. I related this “revelations” by you to him. His reply was very “educational” and at the same time “worthy” of to be placed in an inscription on a sotne in the village of Madihe. This is what he said:
“Oya mahathyata kiyanna, nikan boru part dane nathuwa rassawa karagena inna kiyala. Oya kale ape kolla oakata viruddawa pela pali gihilla, policien hondatoma guti kala, uge amma Sumanawathie maasa gananak thel gala thami honda une” (Tell this gentleman, not to hoodwink us, but to be happy and do his job. My son who at that time went against this and participated in a protest rally and got severly assualted by the Police was treated by his mother Sumanawathie by applying medecinal oil)
Where were you, when your BOSS declared that he would not only give the 13th, but another “PLUS”? Did you tell of your “Findings” to Mr. Manmohan Sing, the Prime Minister of Inida – the “Viceroy” of USA to Sri Lanka, when you met him along with our Minister of Economic Affairs and the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence?
Anyway leave aside these questions. I quote from a magazine that was available to me recently:
“We are all human beings. We don’t know everything, and we all make mistakes. It’s what we “DO” after we make the mistake THAT MATTERS” . So please telll us what you are going to do.
June 11th, 2013 at 1:04 pm
In politics all over the world, there is right time to say and do things. Now is the right time to remove the 13-A.
Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain said almost an year ago that most of the problems of the world at present are due to Britain. I presume he means past actions of Britain as an Empire. In Sri Lanka we have compounded problems of others thrust on us.
douglas, we totally agree with this thought : “We are all human beings. We don’t know everything, and we all make mistakes. It’s what we “DO” after we make the mistake THAT MATTERS” .
June 11th, 2013 at 1:25 pm
my sentiments exactly, why make promises and undertakings that you cannot keep.
Its a different ball game making promises to the local electorate and not fulfilling it as opposed to the IC when the spotlight is firmly on you.
This is a real test of President MR, whether he is a “statesman” or a “politician”
How will he “bite” the bullet in dismantling the Provincial Councils
June 11th, 2013 at 1:33 pm
13A MUST GO, and Sri Lanka must be set free from this ‘noose’…this TRAP.
The time is here…and there will never be another opportunity to set things right.
So, Mr. Weearatunga…tell the President to GO FOR IT! SET SRI LANKA FREE!!
June 11th, 2013 at 2:22 pm
Douglas,
Have you lost it? Why talk IRRELEVENT personal things.
13 amendment is a NATIONAL CURSE. It must be REMOVED.
If we are all human beings we don’t need 13 amendment!!
13 amendment was needed when TIGERS were living among humans. Not anymore.
WELL SAID LALITH. TELL MR TO HAVE A BACKBONE AND SCRAP 13 AMENDMENT.
June 11th, 2013 at 5:26 pm
Lorenzo: I apologize for transgressing into your “DOMAIN”.
June 11th, 2013 at 7:12 pm
Thank you Mr. Weeratunga, and it is encouraging to note that you do care for a united Sri Lanka. Please get the President to liberate the country from this Indian imposed menace.
June 11th, 2013 at 9:50 pm
Douglas,
SL is both yours and my domain. But if you try to ENDIANIZE SL with 13 amendment I’m afraid we have to send you to Endia.
“How exactly is he going to dismantle the Provincial Council system in place?”
You will see Micro. How did he win the UNWINNABLE WAR? Your reply – “war crimes”.
So how will we win the 13 amendment constitutional dirt? Your reply will be – “constitutional crime”.
June 12th, 2013 at 3:50 am
Lorenzo: Your attempt to put “Your Dirty Hat” on my head is disgusting. I send it back to you, because: (1) It does not fit into my head (2) You have been wearing it for so long and now try to hand it over to someone and put on a new cap and join the “new breed”. Good Luck. (period)
June 12th, 2013 at 6:09 am
Douglas,
Wearing that hat is your only protection.
Remember VP? Forgot to wear his hard hat and a shrapnel hit his head and DIED!
But on the other hand why wear a $5 hat to cover a head worth 50c! So better not wear it. Agree with your choice.
Good luck.
June 12th, 2013 at 11:50 am
I believe the “irony” has been lost and gone over ones head!
June 12th, 2013 at 1:17 pm
No Micro. Like VP’s case it will hit the heads of Tamil nationalists yet again (as it always happen).
June 15th, 2013 at 11:28 am
Indeed, as Neville Laduahetty says, “Thus the interests of the People are at variance with the interests of the Councillors. ”
But, we must ALSO ask “Which People”? ALL of the citizens of the whole of Sri Lanka, or ONLY the residents of ONE OR MORE Provinces?
Therein lies the DANGER. If for example, “the People” of a particular Province, for whatever reason, want to secede from union with Sri Lanka, then will they have, or can they acquire, the Legal Power to do it using the powers devolved under the 13th Amendment? Even if there is no difference in opinion between “the People” of that province and “the Provincial Councillors” of that province, it could very well happen that the People of the Other Provinces, and/or their Provincial Councillors, may disagree with the steps contemplated by the Province in question.
That is why Sri Lanka should NEVER RECOGNIZE of ANY SUB-NATIONAL GROUP of Sri Lankans, defined on ANY BASIS such as regional, ethnic, religious, or whatever, as having Sovereignty, or the Power to decide on whether to remain a part of Sri Lanka, or to act independently of the Sri Lankan Nation State.
ONLY the ENTIRE PEOPLE of Sri Lanka, expressing their views through NATIONWIDE ELECTIONS and REFERENDA, should be recognized as being SOVEREIGN, and be RECOGNIZED as having the Legal Power to decide on such matters.
That is why Land and Police Powers are so critica to maintaining the Sovereignty of ALL PEOPLE of Sri Lankal. Without Land Powers the Nation State has no control over its territory, and without Police Powers it will have no authority or the means to enforce the Land Powers, which more generally can be taken to include immigration/emigration as well.
Recall that during the period from March 15, 1815 to February 4, 1948, MILLIONS of Indian laborers were imported into Sri Lanka by the British, ignoring the protests of the native people of Sri Lanka, PERMANENTLY AFFECTING their RIGHTS and DISPOSSESSING them. That is the PRICE Sri Lankans paid for having lost our Sovereignty and Control over our country for 150 years. We should LEARN well that LESSON of the CONSEQUENCES of losing Land and Police Powers to foreign powers or internal groups, who have agendas inimical to the continued existence and sovereignty of our nation.
FORTUNATELY, there is an Internationally Recognized LEGAL PRINCIPLE and a CLEAR LEGAL PRECEDENT for a National Government to claim the Sovereignty of ALL PEOPLE of a country over ALL of its territory, and enforce its authority even over sub-groups of states and people residing in those territories: The United States of America in the US Civil War:
The Southern (Confederate) States of the USA argued that since they had joined the American Union voluntarily, and since they had reserved States Rights to themselves under the US Constitution at that time, they had every right to SECEDE from the Union if they so decided, WITHOUT REGARD to wishes of THE PEOPLE OF THE NATION AS A WHOLE.
Not so, argued President Abraham Lincoln and the Union (Federal) States. They maintained that ONLY the ALL of PEOPLE of the Nation were Sovereign, not the States, not the People of a SUB-GROUP of those States.
The argument was that ALL OF THE PEOPLE of THE United States had ACQUIRED A RIGHT TO ENJOY THE BOUNTY of the ENTIRE TERRITORY OF THE UNITED STATES ACCUMULATED during the Previous 100 Years of Union as ONE NATION STATE. ALL of the People of the US had invested their efforts, their treasure, and their hopes in building that Union of States, argued the Unionists, and no SUB-GROUP of States had the right ANYMORE to DENY them those ACCUMULATED EARNED RIGHTS, which are now INALIENABLE.
Well, Sri Lanka has certainly existed as a well-recognized Sovereign Nation-State for several thousand years, with brief interruptions due to invasions, and ALL OF ITS PEOPLE, from then until now, have invested their efforts, their treasure, and their hopes in an Undivided Sovereign Sri Lanka. That is a RIGHT EARNED and PASSED ONTO to subsequent generations of Sri Lankan Citizens over several millenia, which TRUMPS the RIGHT EARNED by ALL of the citizens of the United States, over a mere 100 years of existence as one nation from the American Revolution to the American Civil War, to CONTINUED EXISTENCE as a ONE undivided Nation.
This EXAMPLE of ONLY ALL OFF THE PEOPLE of a Nation State being Sovereign, and that this Sovereignty is EARNED RIGHT BY ALL OF THE PEOPLE to ALL OF THE TERRITORY OF A NATION, is IMPORTANT to Sri Lanka for TWO reasons:
1. It FORMS a BASIS for asserting that the WILL OF ALL CITIZENS OF Sri Lanka has PRIORITY/PRECEDENCE over the WILL OF ANY SEPARATIST SUB-GROUP of People in Sri Lanka. Therefore, any National Question, such as REPEALING the 13th Amendment and the DISSOLUTION of the Provincial Councils, must be decided in a NATIONWIDE REFERENDUM that queries the wishes of ALL PEOPLE of Sri Lanka. Furthermore, the WILL of ALL of Sri Lanka, thus expressed, is PARAMOUNT, and has precedence over the WILL of its Representatives elected to ANY and ALL branches (the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary) of Government.
2. This Legal Principle is well established in the United States, forming as it did the very legal basis on which the Civil War against the Separatist Confederates, was fought and won, and the writ of the Union Government was consolidated over the ENTIRE United States, and subsequently extended to new territories that joined, or were annexed, into the United States. Yet, the United States is one of the foremost critics of Sri Lanka that demands Devolution of Power to ACTIVE separatists, who threaten its very existence as a Sovereign Nation, and refuse to abide by its unitary status. That is CLEARLY CONTRARY to the Principles the United States used in the past, and uses today, to assure its own existence as a United Sovereign Nation.
Therefore, this Principle can be USED to FEND off ALL of the Foreign Critics of Sri Lanka who demand that autonomous power be devolved to former and continuing separatists by pointing out the HYPOCRISY, DOUBLE STANDARDS, ILLEGALITY under their own laws, of their positions on this issue. We can INVOKE the same principle they used to defend and protect thier own countries, to defend and protect Sri Lanka’s Sovereignty over ALL of its territory, and ALL of its people.
What is GOOD for the American GOOSE, we must INSIST, is GOOD for the Sri Lankan GANDER as well!