{"id":61404,"date":"2016-12-13T02:23:55","date_gmt":"2016-12-13T08:23:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=61404"},"modified":"2016-12-12T17:30:00","modified_gmt":"2016-12-13T00:30:00","slug":"sri-lanka-new-constitutional-proposals-comparisons-with-gl-neelan-package","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2016\/12\/13\/sri-lanka-new-constitutional-proposals-comparisons-with-gl-neelan-package\/","title":{"rendered":"Sri Lanka New Constitutional Proposals \u2013 Comparisons with GL-Neelan Package"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shenali D Waduge<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

Efforts to tweak Sri Lanka\u2019s constitution is nothing new. Several mischievous attempts had been made to dilute the sovereignty of Sri Lanka by creating issues, hyping these to levels where solutions had been to dilute the sovereignty. Language issue was flogged to create the Bandaranaike-Chelvanayagam Pact of 1957 followed by the Dudly-Chelvanayagam Pact in 1965, then came India\u2019s Indo-Lanka Accord of 1987 introducing the 13th<\/sup> amendment and the provincial council system. A load of false history was included and not challenged by those in power. Thereafter the 1992 Mangala Moonesinghe Parliamentary Select Committee Proposals, followed by Gamini Dissanayake\u2019s vision for the 21st<\/sup> century. However we are looking at the GLP-Neelan 1995 and the subsequent proposals made by Chandrika Kumaratunga\u2019s Government in 1996. Though, we have been told that a Constitutional Committee has been appointed in looking at the clauses of the Union of Regions proposals against the current set of proposals it looks to be a copy and paste proposal. We will take up other proposals like ISGA, PTOMs etc to see how the present new constitution is actually a pick and choose of all of the detrimental proposals that the people had previously rejected.<\/p>\n

It is important for us to understand that the eelam project is no brainwave of the LTTE or its leader Prabakaran. DBS Jeyraj writing on the assassination of Neelan Thiruchelvan says Neelan\u2019s failt in Tiger eyes was the co-authoring of a set of constitutional reform propsals with Prof. G L Peiris\u201d. It is ridiculous of any nation to be going ahead with proposals when two provinces have a history of attempting to separate and the representatives are members linked to that separatism. Moreover, their demands are virtually incorporated into the new constitutional proposals.<\/p>\n

It is a total sell out of the country to a handful of people who only desire to control and be in power. Why should the aspirations of separatist ideology help carve out a small island nation when no one can explain how more Tamils are living, working among Sinhalese than they prefer to live among their own. Those that live among their own are suffering caste and class discrimination none of which they experience living with the Sinhalese.<\/p>\n

The GL-Neelan Package proposals were released on 3 August 1995. It was formally introduced by the GOSL on 16 January 1996. Ironically, the package was accused of promoting separatism by the Sinhalese while LTTE accused the package of betraying Tamil interests! The Parliamentary Select Committee diluted the devolution and tabled it on 24 October 1997. LTTE assassinated Neelan in July 1999.<\/p>\n

Chandrika amended this draft in 2000 and presented it as the original version which it was not. Chandrika did not even mention Neelan\u2019s name when she introduced it to Parliament. Ironically UNP did a volte-force and refused to support the Bill going so far as to burn copies of the proposals inside Parliament. Fast forward to 2001, UNP comes to power and starts talking about power sharing and devolution!<\/p>\n

According to DBS Jeyraj no sooner the proposals were released (though LTTE were not sent a copy of the proposals) LTTE held a press conference in Jaffna and Anton Balasingham condemned the package. In other words neither Prabakaran nor LTTE were in favour of any solution.\u00a0 But then why did he sign the CFA of 2002?<\/p>\n

For LTTE & Prabakaran to refuse it and for segments of society to claim it was the \u2018best possible scheme of power sharing\u2019 it clearly points out to the reality that Tamils are not united in what they want nor are they upfront about the truth of what they problem is except that they want only their solution.<\/p>\n

The striking resemblance between the new proposals and the GL-Neelan proposals are the devolution of power to the regions. (Union of Regions\/Regional Councils) The new proposal gives more powers to the regions than that which is given by India to its States.<\/p>\n