Leading monks condemn rush for new constitution
Posted on October 24th, 2017

By Maheesha Mudugamuwa Courtesy The Island


A group of leading Buddhist monks yesterday vowed to take to the streets to defeat the government’s move to bring in a new constitution or to amend the existing one – a move which they alleged would pave the way for the division of the country.

Ven. Prof. Bellanwila Wimalaratana Nayaka Thera, addressing a press conference, at All Ceylon Buddhist Congress auditorium in Colombo said: “We do not think the government will be able to get a two-thirds majority in parliament to bring in a new constitution or to amend the existing one. Even if it is passed by Parliament it will have to be placed before people at a referendum. Then we will bring out all members of Maha Sangha to the streets to defeat it.”

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Supporting the views of the Karaka Sangha Sabha, of the Malwatu and Asgiriya Chapters, Ven. Wimalaratana Thera said the Maha Sangha was firmly of the view that a new constitution was not the need of the hour.

“We stress that even amendments to the constitution at this point should be restricted the electoral system,” he said.

Referring to President’s and Prime Minister’s claim attempts were being made to mislead the public as regards the new constitution, Ven. Wimalaratana Thera asked the President and PM to clarify those allegations and prove if they were wrong.

He said a close examination of the proposals for a new constitution clearly revealed that there were some proposals that would not only jeopardise peaceful co-existence of the citizens of Sri Lanka but also help promote separatism.

Stressing that the alternative proposals in the main document camouflaged the real intention of the government and some terms had different and conflicting meanings Sinhala, Tamil and English, Ven. Wimalaratana Thera said that even though the proposals did not use the term federal directly, it had been subtly introduced by use of words that had different meanings in the three languages.

In Sinhala version the word “Ekiya” (unitary) is there but the English version had the term, ‘United’,” he noted.

Similarly, the special priority position accorded to Buddhism had been diluted by the introduction of alternative amendments to Article 9 of the Constitution, the thera stressed.

 

“We are not influenced by any political party and we don’t want to topple the government. What we want is to defeat the proposed Constitution and if people think that they want to amend the executive presidency and electoral process it can be done later. But, for now, the country does not need a new constitution or amendments for the existing constitution.”

According to Maha Sangha, the contentious proposals aim at diluting the powers of Parliament, taking away the powers vested in the President to monitor the Provincial Councils through the Governors appointed him, establishing a Constitutional Court that will usurp the existing powers of the Supreme Court to make rulings on constitutionality of legislation pertaining to key areas such as land matters, recognising the Northern and Eastern Provinces, abolishing the Concurrent List in the 13th Amendment so as to eliminate the powers of government to intervene in any provincial issues with national implications and doing away with the prevailing provisions for the Government or the parliament to formulate national policies in any subject area.

One Response to “Leading monks condemn rush for new constitution”

  1. Ananda-USA Says:

    A POWERLESS TOOTHLESS National Parliament that CANNOT DEFEND & PROTECT the Nation against SEPARATISM & DISINTEGRATION is NOT WORTH HAVING! The New TRAITORS CONSTITUTION makes it WORTHLESS, a MERE FIG LEAF to permit SEPARATISTS to HIDE UNDER …. MIGHT as well RAZE IT and SAVE the MONEY! THAT is the SIGNIFICANCE of what Wimal WEERAWANSA said!

    Under the Proposed NEW TRAITORS CONSTITUTION of Sri Lanka, the National Government of Sri Lanka would not have the power to DISMISS a MERGED Northern and Eastern Provincial Government from DECLARING INDEPENDENCE UNILATERALLY, as the Central Government of Spain INTENDS TO DO under Spain’s Constitution to stop Catalonia from EXERCISING the independence it DECLARED UNILATERALY …. today!

    Sri Lanka will not have the POWER to PROTECT ITSELF from DISINTEGRATION as Spain DOES under its Constitution! Are we PATRIOTS going to ALLOW the Yamapalanaya to ENACT this TREASON??

    …………………………..
    Catalonia declares independence from Spain, direct Madrid rule looms

    By Sam Edwards and Angus MacSwan

    Reuters•October 27, 2017

    BARCELONA/MADRID (Reuters) – The Spanish government moved to impose direct rule over Catalonia on Friday, stripping the region of its autonomy less than an hour after its parliament declared independence in a stunning show of defiance to Madrid.
    Related Searches
    Catalunya SpainSpain Catalonia IndependenceSpain Catalonia ReferendumMap Of Spain CataloniaCatalan Spain

    Although the Catalan declaration appears to be a doomed gesture, both sides’ moves take Spain’s worst political crisis in four decades to a new and possibly dangerous level.

    Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy called for calm and said the rule of law would be restored in Catalonia, where secessionists have long cherished the dream of a separate nation.

    A crowd of more than 2,000 independence supporters gathered in the Ciutadella Park outside the regional parliament in Barcelona, shouting “Liberty” in Catalan and singing traditional songs as the independence vote went through.

    The motion passed in the parliament after a passionate debate from advocates and opponents of independence said Catalonia constituted an independent, sovereign and social democratic state.

    Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont left the chamber to shouts of “President!” and mayors who had come from outlying areas brandished their ceremonial batons and sang the Catalan anthem “Els Segadors” (The Reapers).

    “Catalonia is and will be a land of freedom. In times of difficulty and in times of celebration. Now more than ever”, Puigdemont said on Twitter.

    But immediately after news of the vote, which three opposition parties boycotted, Spanish shares and bonds were sold off, reflecting business concern over the turmoil in the wealthy region.

    Within an hour, the upper house of Spain’s parliament in Madrid authorized Rajoy’s government to rule Catalonia directly — an unprecedented move in Spain since the return of democracy in the late 1970s.

    In Brussels, the president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, said the independence vote changed nothing and the EU would only deal with the central government.

    The United States, Britain, France and Germany also swiftly dismissed the declaration and expressed support for Rajoy’s efforts to keep Spain united.

    FIRING THE GOVERNMENT?

    Rajoy’s cabinet was meeting on Friday evening to adopt the first measures to govern Catalonia. This could include firing the Barcelona government and assuming direct supervision of Catalan police forces.

    “Exceptional measures should only be adopted when no other remedy is possible,” Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said in an address to the Senate on Friday morning.

    “In my opinion there is no alternative. The only thing that can be done and should be done is to accept and comply with the law,” said Rajoy, who has staked out an uncompromising position.

    How direct rule would work on the ground – including the reaction of civil servants and the police – is uncertain. Some independence supporters have promised to mount a campaign of civil disobedience.

    The main secessionist group, the Catalan National Assembly, called on civil servants not to follow orders from the Spanish government and urged them to follow “peaceful resistance”.

    “Tensions are likely to rise significantly over the coming days,” Antonio Barroso of Teneo Intelligence said in a note.

    “Demonstrators might try to prevent the police from removing Catalan ministers from their offices if the central government decides to do so. This increases the risk of violent clashes with the police.”

    The crisis unfolded after Catalonia held an independence referendum on Oct. 1 which was declared illegal by Madrid. Although it endorsed independence, it drew only a 43 percent turnout as Catalans who oppose independence largely boycotted it.

    The crisis has split Catalonia and caused deep resentment around Spain. National flags now hang from many balconies in the capital in an expression of unity.

    Catalonia is one of Spain’s most prosperous regions and already has a high degree of autonomy. But it has a litany of historic grievances, exacerbated during the 1939-1975 Franco dictatorship, when its culture and politics were suppressed.

    The chaos has also prompted a flight of business from region and alarmed European leaders who fear the crisis could fan separatist sentiment around the continent.

    NOT EASY

    “It is not going to be easy, it is not going to be free, it is not going to change in a day. But there is no alternative to a process towards the Catalan Republic,” lawmaker Marta Rovira of the Junts pel Si pro-independence alliance said in a debate leading to the vote.

    After the debate, lawmakers from members of three main national parties — the People’s Party, the Socialists and Ciudadanos — walked out. Members of the pro-independence parties and the far-left Podemos then voted 70-10 in favor in a secret ballot aimed at hindering any attempt by Madrid to lay criminal charges on them.

    Spain’s constitutional court said it was reviewing the vote. The state prosecutor and other parties have three days to open a case.

    Montserrat Rectoret, a 61-year-old historian, was among the crowds in Barcelona.

    “I am emotional because Catalonia has struggled for 40 years to be independent and finally I can see it,” she said.

    (Additional reporting by Paul Day, Julien Toyer and Jesus Aguado, writing by Angus MacSwan, editing by John Stonestreet)

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