Sri Lanka cannot be divided: PM

17 January 2016 07:46 am

In a special statement on the process of drafting a new Constitution, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said today the country could not be divided and that no one had the slightest intention of diluting the unitary nature of the country through the new Constitution.

He said the new Constitution was being drafted within the parameters of the Sixth Amendment to the 1983 Constitution which prohibits the setting up of a separate state within the territory of Sri Lanka.

“Some say the foremost place given to Buddhism and the unitary nature of the country are being diluted through the new constitution. No one wants to divide the country. Most of us including me are Buddhists, I am Sinhalese and I need to unite the whole country. The draft will be passed with a two-thirds majority in Parliament. For those who speak of Buddhism losing its foremost place in the Constitution, I will make a special statement in Parliament. I ask the small parties not to politicize this issue,” the Prime Minister said. “The new constitution will be based on the aspirations of the people.”

He said the names of those in the committee to collect the views and proposals of the people via social media had been submitted by him to Cabinet on December 19, 2015.

The Prime Minister said the 24-member committee would also travel across the country to collect the views and proposals of the people.

“I am not keen to draft the new constitution inside a single chamber. I want the people to present their views to draft a Constitution which is suitable for the 21st century. The purpose of using the social media is to obtain the views of the youth who will be the future leaders of this country. This is the first time that the social media is being harnessed in drafting a new Constitution,” he said.

After the draft Constitution is passed with a two-thirds majority, it will be submitted to the Cabinet and then placed before the people at a referendum, he added. (Piyumi Fonseka)