|
|
 |
  |
| Sunday, 11 July 2004 |
 |
|
 |
Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Muslim proposals for the North East Interim Council The North-East Muslim Peace Assembly (NEMPA), concerned about the future of Muslims in a merged North East, where the LTTE would be the dominant power, has formulated an alternative set of proposals for the North East Interim Council. The proposals outline power sharing arrangements ensuring the security and protection of Muslims in the area and seek to have among other things, independent NE Muslim Participation in the Peace Talks. There shall be established an interim council for the administration of the Northern and Eastern Provinces for a period of 5 years. The objective of the interim council shall be to reconstruct and develop the war ravaged North East region and establish peace and normalcy. The interim council shall ensure as quickly as possible to re-settle and rehabilitate all those people who have been displaced since the beginning of the ethnic strife. It shall be the duty of the interim council to rehabilitate the lives of the displaced people and enable them to repossess their lost dwelling and properties and adequately compensate them. During the interim period the council shall ensure the de-escalation of violence and the decommissioning of illegally held arms in the possession of para military groups. Constitution of the interim council The total number of the members of the interim council shall consist of such number of members as is equal to the total number of members entitled to be returned in accordance with the determination by the Commissioner of Elections under section 3(3) of the Provincial Council Elections Act of 1998 from the several districts of the Northern and Eastern Provinces to the Northeast Provincial Council. The interim council should consist of representatives from all three communities living in the Northern and Eastern Provinces. President will decide on the proportion of membership among the three communities. (It is suggested that there should be a minimum of 30% of the seats for the Muslims). President will call upon the political parties in the Parliament representing the people of the Northern and Eastern provinces to nominate their representatives to the interim council in proportion to the number of seats they have in Parliament. Powers and functions of the interim council The interim council shall be entitled to exercise all the powers of the Regional Councils established under new constitution. The powers of the interim council shall be enshrined in the constitution. The functions of the interim council and its relations with the Governor will be laid down in the constitution. The core subjects and functions to be assigned to the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister and the other Ministers shall also be enshrined in the constitution. The interim council shall take appropriate action against human rights violations. Administration of traditional Muslim homelands in the North East. All Muslim majority divisional secretary divisions in Ampara, Batticoloa, Trincomalee, Mannar and Jaffna Districts should be clustered and brought under separate Muslim secretaries in each district. Implementing agency of the interim council All the development programmes of the interim council shall be channelled through the respective local authorities. As soon as the interim council is established; the central government shall proceed to appoint a delimitation commission to establish ethnic oriented local authority areas all over the North and Eastern Provinces. As far as possible and practical the commission shall endeavour to bring in within the same local authority areas, all the residential and agricultural and other areas and resources of the people of the same community. The delimitation commission in the process shall also re-examine the boundaries of the existing local authorities and may recommend the creation of such additional number of ethnic oriented local authority areas with a view to allay the fears and suspicions of the different communities and people. Such new local authorities as recommended shall be established within a period of six months (6) and the Central Government with the assistance of the interim council shall ensure the holding of elections to all local authorities and other local authorities in the region whose term of office has expired. Minority safeguards There will be the following safeguards to ensure that all communities in the Northern and Eastern provinces can participate and work together successfully in the operation of the interim council:- The interim council shall function in committees. There shall be allocated committee chairs, Ministers and committee membership to all communities. Key decisions and legislations should be proofed to ensure that they do not infringe the fundamental rights enshrined in the constitution. Any decision of the interim council should not be valid. If it prohibits to restrict the free exercise for any religion. If it makes persons of any community or religion liable to disabilities or restrictions to which persons of other communities or religions are not made liable, or Confers on any person or community or religion any privilege or advantage which is not conferred on person of other communities or religions, or Alters the constitution of any religious body accept with the consent of the governing authority of that body (similar to Section 29 Soulbury constitution) The key decisions and directives that may affect one or more minority communities of the region not to be valid except with a double majority. Deputy Chief Minister of the interim council to be a member of the Chief Minister's conference as well as the land and water use council. Cabinet and its size There shall be a minimum of eleven (11) members in the cabinet of the interim council. Out of the eleven(11), three(3) shall be members of the first minority of the region. There shall be a minimum of one(1) member from the second minority of the region. The Deputy Chief Minister and the other cabinet Ministers of the Minority communities of the region should have the confidence of the majority members of their respective communities in the interim council. Law and order Whilst the Chief Minister shall be in over all charge for law and order in the Northern and Eastern provinces-he shall exercise his powers through the Deputy Chief Minister who will be directly answerable for law and order in the traditional Muslim homelands. There shall be a Police Station in every local authority area and the composition of the Police Force shall reflect the ethnic composition of the said local authority. All Police Stations in the traditional Muslim homelands should come under the respective Muslim district Superindent, Muslim Province Senior Superintendent and Muslim Regional Deputy inspector General. Budget allocations The Finance Commission shall take into consideration the following matters before allocating funds and give appropriate directives to the interim council. The disparity already prevailing in certain under developed local authority areas. The size of the population and geographic area of the local authority. The interim council should expend such finds as are allocated to it by the Central Government in accordance with the guidelines provided by the Finance Commission. The interim council should also ensure that minority communities within a particular local authority should not in any way be discriminated in the allocation of funds for development. Employment opportunities All employment opportunities in the Eastern and Northern provinces shall be given on merit and according to the ethnic proportions of the respective districts in which such vacancies are available. State lands It shall be illegal for the interim council to distribute State lands in any way that would disturb the demographic pattern of any particular local authority or Administrative Division or District. State lands shall be preserved by the interim council for those landless persons of the district according to the demographic pattern of the said district. Any excess land in any district shall be distributed on priority basis to those landless of the adjoining district subject to the rule relating to demographic pattern. Cultural committees There shall be established three(3) cultural committees one each in respect of every ethnic community of the region. All members of the interim council belonging to one ethnic community shall ipso facto constitute the cultural committee of the said community. The cultural committee shall function under the respective chairperson elected by the members of the respective communities. All heads of local authorities belonging to the same community within the region could also take part in the deliberations of the cultural committees. A Cultural Committee in addition to religious and cultural matters may also discuss and decide on any other matters of common interest of the said community in the region. The interim Council shall in the Annual Budget allocate specified sums of money at the independent disposal of each cultural committee for the benefit of the development of the different cultures of all communities in the region. International human rights monitoring missions There shall be established International Human Rights Monitoring Missions in all the eight districts of the North East region to monitor human rights violations. Equality commission There shall also be established an equality commission to monitor the statutory obligations of the interim council to promote equal opportunity in specific area and parity of esteem among any communities and to investigate individual complaints against public bodies. Two separate regional councils in the North East At the expiration of five years from the commencement of the constitution of the interim council, two(2) separate regional councils shall be established. A predominant Tamil unit called North-East regional council comprising the combined Northern and Eastern provinces but excluding the areas covered by the predominantly Muslim unit called South Eastern Region. A predominant Muslim unit called South Eastern regional council comprising the traditional Muslim homelands in Ampara, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Mannar and Jaffna Districts. M.I.M. Mohideen, Secretary General. NEMPA |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
