Chandrika to submit new constitution despite threats

Chandrika to submit new constitution despite threats
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

COLOMBO, JULY 30: The Sri Lankan government would table the draft constitution in Parliament next week, disregarding threats of agitation from right-wing Sinhalese Buddhist monks and the withdrawal of support from the opposition United National Party (UNP), official media reports said here today.

State run The Sunday Observer newspaper, quoting highly placed source, said the final political decision about tabling the reform package would be taken by President Chandrika Kumaratunga after consultations with her ministers in the next few days.

"The reforms proposals bill could be tabled in the house by the end of the week," it said.

Parliament is scheduled to be dissolved on August 24 atthe end of its five-year term. There was likelihood of the House being dissolved by August 20 itself, it said. The dissolution would be followed by general elections this year.

It now appears Chandrika was weighing pros and cons aboutplacing the consitution for ratification by Parliament in view of the 80-member strong UNP's decision not to support the draft consitution, despite the fact that it has been endorsed by its leaders during a 15-week long consultations process.

The party, however, said it was against the government rushing in the new constitution in view of opposition from monks and some Tamil parties.

In the event of failure to mobilise the necessary majority, Chandrika kept her options open to withold voting on the new constitution and instead get the electoral reforms ratified, which could give her bigger majority in the next Parliament.

Sri Lanka's election system at present was based on proportional representation system, which government aruges effectively prevented any political party from gaining a two thirds majority on its own or with it allies.

Meanwhile Sinhalese Buddhist Monks, backed by top prelates of the influential Buddhist sects, formally began their agitation against the Constitutional proposals with a modest rally in Central Colombo yesterday.

To drum up further support, the monks now castigated Chandrika for recalling two senior Army Generals from northern Jaffna, despite their successful defence of the Peninsula from the LTTE attacks in April and May this year.

A resolution, to be submitted for yet another meeting ofmonks for Tuesday said that the transfer of Army Chief of Staff Maj Gen Janaka Perera and Commander of Jaffna, Maj Gen Sarath Fonseka was intended to weaken the war effort under pressure from foreign countries and other parties and demanded their re-instatement, media reports said.

Undeterred, Chandrika went ahead with preparations for parliament polls by doubling the allocation to MPs for developing their constituencies.