The 20th Amendment to the Constitution which seeks to abolish the Executive Presidency is the last chance to prevent a return to autocracy and brutality in Sri Lanka, backers of the major constitutional reform say.
According to Co-Convener of the Purawesi Balaya organisation, Gamini Viyangoda who has been ardently campaigning for the cause, failing to adopt the Amendment will usher in a dark age for the country after the year 2020.
“It will surely allow for a dictator to come into power” he warned, adding that this dictator would not make the same old mistakes such as calling for the Presidential Election two years earlier than required by the former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. “No such risk will be taken again,” he warned, claiming that only the abolishment of the Executive Presidency can avert the calamity that will befall on the country.
Therefore, he says it is the responsibility of President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to take the leadership of this movement to ensure the proposed constitutional reform is adopted.
“The political leaders of the Government and even the Opposition cannot principally oppose the amendment presented by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) recently,” he pointed out as it had been pledged on numerous occasions that they would abolish the Executive Presidency while curtailing its powers as a policy decision.
“Mahinda Rajapaksa promised to do so twice” he pointed out.
Taking cover under the 13th Amendment these politicians, according to Viyangoda, tries to use it as an excuse by stating that only by preserving the Executive Presidency that a breakaway of the Local Governments could be stopped.
“ Howeve, the 13th amendment which was in place since 1987 was not an issue to those who repeatedly promised to abolish the Executive Presidency before ,” he said claiming that certain parties are latching onto flimsy excuses to oppose it.
Despite several political parties and figures announcing recently that they would not support the new Amendment it has not come to a point yet that it should be given up, Viyangoda said.
The fact that only several minority parties along with the pro-Rajapaksa factions of the Joint Opposition (JO) announcing their opposition to the reform is not a good enough reason to give up on the proposed reform according to Viyangoda.
Therefore, Civil Society Movement, Purawesi Balaya along with 48 other civil society groups is set to intensify their efforts towards awareness campaigns carried out by them to support the 20th amendment in the coming weeks. “We will take this information regarding the 20th amendment to the people” he confirmed adding that they will also take great efforts to impress upon the people the narrow political aims of those opposing the reforms.
“Politicians of this country are an unprincipled and opportunistic lot known for their duplicity as seen by recent comments,” he said adding that therefore the agitation to implement the 20th Amendment may perhaps fail. “Nevertheless the civil society groups involved in the movement will fight for the abolishment of the Executive Presidency till the very end” he affirmed.