Group led by Karu seeks to resurrect Yahapalana constitutional proposals  

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Chairman of the Public Representations Committee on Constitutional Reforms (PRCCR) Lal Wijenayake yesterday (12) said that former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, in his current capacity as the Chairman of the National Movement for Social Justice (NMSJ), intended to initiate a dialogue with the National People’s Power (NPP) government to explore the possibility of advancing the constitutional proposals unveiled during the Yahapalana administration.

The Cabinet, headed by President Maithripala Sirisena, appointed the PRCCR on 22 Dec., 2015.

Attorney-at-law Wijenayake said that they recently discussed the constitutional proposals that were available for the NPP government’s consideration. “Having met at Jayasuriya’s residence, we reached consensus that the former Speaker should write to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in this regard,” Wijenayake told The Island.

Noting that President Dissanayake serves as the leader of both the Janatha Vimukthi Peremuna (JVP) and the NPP, Wijenayake emphasized that Premier Dr. Harini Amarasuriya had been a member of the PRCCR. Therefore, the NPP government could comfortably handle the constitutional proposals prepared following a countrywide public consultations at the onset of Yahapalana administration (2015-2019), the civil society activist said.

Wijenayake explained the current status of their efforts in response to The Island queries. According to him, the NMSJ Chief has called another meeting later this month to pursue the matter. Pointing out that some felt that the government should entirely focus on post-Aragalaya economic recovery process, the new administration couldn’t afford to keep the constitutional solution on the backburner, Wijenayake said.

The Public Representations Committee consisted of S. Winston Pathiraja (Secretary), Faisz Musthapha, Prof. A. M. Navaratna Bandara, Prof. M. L. A. Cader,  N. Selvakkumaran, S. Thavarajah, Kushan D’Alwis, Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, Dr. Kumudu Kusum Kumara, Sunil Jayaratne, Dr. Upul Abeyratne, Themiya L. B. Hurulle, S. Vijesandiran, M.Y.M. Faiz, Mrs. M. K. Nadeeka Damayanthi, Ms. Kanthie Ranasinghe, S. C. C. Elankovan, and Sirimasiri Hapuarachchi.

The Wijenayake-led PRC handed over a report that contained the entire set of proposals to Yahapalana Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe on 31 May, 2016.

 Karu Jayasuriya served as the Speaker of the Yahapalana government and was a key supporter of that constitutional process that received the backing of the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council.

Wijenayake said that in the wake of the November 2019 presidential election, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed a nine-member committee, headed by Romesh de Silva, PC, to formulate a new draft Constitution. That effort was discarded after Aragalaya forced Gotabaya Rajapaksa out of office, Wijenayake said, urging all political parties represented in Parliament to examine their proposals with an open mind. “Let us stop playing politics with the constitution making process. We should be genuinely interested in formulating a Constitution that would meet the aspirations of all communities,” Wijenayake said.

Wijenayake, who is a member of the NPP’s Executive Committee, said that during the presidential and parliamentary election campaigns references were made to the PRCCR’s proposals.

Responding to another query, Wijenayake emphasized that in spite of the successful conclusion of the conflict the country couldn’t achieve true national reconciliation for want of a new Constitution that was acceptable to the people.

Former SLPP National List MP Gevindu Cumaratunga accused Jayasuriya of promoting Yahapalana constitutional proposals that had been roundly rejected by the people at the presidential and parliamentary polls in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Cumaratunga emphasized that the proposed new Constitution should reflect the actual situation on the ground or post-2009 position. Asked to explain, the former parliamentarian said that the government shouldn’t, under any circumstances, promote a federal agenda in the guise of enacting a new Constitution.

Wijenayake noted that at the time the PRCCR formulated those constitutional proposals those who now represented the main Opposition SJB were members of the UNP. In the Yahapalana Parliament the JVP had only six MPs though the Marxist party-led NPP consisted of 159 MPs in the current Parliament.