President tells Indian delegation:
'It cannot be a Rajapaksa-Sampanthan agreement'
President Mahinda Rajapaksa said last week that all political parties
must get together for an all-inclusive political solution for the
grievances of the people in the North and the East, who had been
unfortunate victims of the LTTE terrorism.
"We cannot import a solution, and it cannot be a Rajapaksa-Sampanthan
agreement" the President said during a discussion with a visiting Indian
delegation headed by the Deputy Leader of the Opposition of the Rajya
Sabha Ravi Shankar Prasad. The Indian delegation called on President
Rajapaksa at Temple Trees on Friday afternoon.
During the conversation, Prasad told the President that Sri Lanka's
unity and integrity are not negotiable. While congratulating the
President for eradicating terrorism, the delegates stated that what they
saw during their visit to Jaffna "was an eye-opener to all". They were
impressed by the development work in the North. He said that the Lessons
Learnt and Reconciliation Commission report "was a bold step and is
brilliantly written." The delegation also spoke about the nature of the
relationship between India and Sri Lanka and said that local issues in
Sri Lanka sometimes impact India as well.
The members of the Indian delegation with President Rajapaksa |
"Sri Lanka is a friend of India beyond politics, beyond government,"
Prasad said. "It's a relationship of the heart." The discussion also
focused on several other areas of mutual interest, including the
challenges faced by fishermen and the Parliamentary Select Committee to
find a political solution in the north and east. "All parties must get
together for an all-inclusive political solution," President Rajapaksa
said. "We cannot import a solution, and it cannot be a Rajapaksa -
Sampanthan agreement."
The Indian delegation asked the President about northern elections to
which President Rajapaksa reaffirmed his commitment to holding the
elections in September. External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris,
Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga, Secretary to the Ministry
of External Affairs Karunatilaka Amunugama and Advisor the President Dr.
Sunimal Fernando were also present for the discussions.
Ranil's political lesson to Mannaperuma
Dr. Jayalath Jayawardena was known to be a die-hard supporter of UNP
leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. Ajith Mannaperuna was the next in line in
the UNP preferential votes list for Gampaha district after the recent
death of parliamentarian Dr. Jayawardena.
Mannaperuma entered Praliament last week to succeed Dr. Jayawardena
as UNP MP for Gampaha District. Prior to Mannaperuma took oaths in
Parliament, Ranil thought he should enroll Mannaperuma to his camp so
that the strength of the Reformist group of the UNP won't go up.
Nimal Siripala de Silva |
Ajith Mannaperuma |
Ranil summoned Mannaperuma to his Jawatte office. After warming
welcoming the new UNP MP, Ranil briefed Mannaperuma on the role of a
parliamentarian. The Opposition leader had a lengthy discussion with the
new MP-elect and wished him well. Ranil was convinced that Mannaperuma
too would be loyal to him just as Jalalath.
On Tuesday evening, Ranil went to Naga Viharaya, Kotte to meet the
chief incumbent Ven. Maduluwawe Sobhitha Thera and his movement. The
Opposition leader was accompanied by UNP General Secretary Tissa
Attanayake, former UNP chairman Malik Samarawickrema, parliamentarians
Gamini Jayawickrema Perera and Wijayadasa Rajapakshe. Parliamentarian
Arjuna Ranatunga and J.C. Weliamuna were among the other in the other
delegation.
Ranil gave a detailed description on the new constitution proposed by
the UNP. After a patient hearing, Ven Sobhitha Thera said both parties
many common ideas. "We have many similarities and I don't think it would
be difficult for us to work together. As the Opposition leader, you must
meet the President and enlighten him. Depending on the response of the
Government we could think of a future move," the Thera told Ranil.
As stated in this column, Ranil went ahead with his holiday plan in
Nuwara Ealiya, despite the weekend's funeral of his confidant and
Gampaha District UNP MP Dr. Jayalath Jayawardena. After failing to
impress Jayalath's family to put off the funeral until Monday, Ranil
decided to pay his last respects to Jayalath's body on Friday and left
for Nuwara Eliya with his inner circle.
To justify his absence and touring Nuwara Eliya, Ranil was smart
enough to fix a few party events too through Chandana Karunaratne. Rani
met several Estate trade union leader's at Karunaratne's residence,
along with R. Yogarajan. He spent the night at the Grand Hotel.
President Rajapaksa turns '43'
President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Thursday completed 43 years since
first entering Parliament. He was the youngest member to be elected to
the then National State Assembly from the Beliatta constituency from the
United Front coalition which secured an unprecedented victory.
The 1970 Parliament was a fitting beginning for this budding
politician hailing from a political dynasty in the South, to chart a
long career culminating in his ascension to the Executive Presidency.
He won the crucial 2005 Presidential election contesting under the
United People's Freedom Alliance ticket and became the fifth Executive
President of Sri Lanka.
President Rajapaska within a short span of three years succeeded in
crushing one of the world's most ruthless terrorist groups - the LTTE
which for three decades killed thousands of innocent people of all
communities.
In his political career, President Rajapaksa went on to become a
Cabinet Minister, the Leader of Opposition and the Prime Minister before
being elected as the 5th Executive President. He was the third elected
President of Sri Lanka.
He was appointed Minister of Labour and Vocational Training following
the People's Alliance victory at the 1994 General Election. In 1997, he
was appointed as the Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.
President Rajapaksa was the Leader of the Opposition in 2001.
President Rajapaksa was re-elected for a second term of office at the
Presidential Election held on January 26, 2010.
He established a record in Sri Lankan political history by being the
first Executive President to lead his party to a landslide victory in
Parliamentary elections held just over two months after being elected
for a second term to the office of Executive President, with an
overwhelming majority of 1,842,749, polling 6,015,934 votes.
Premier in China
Touring China after President Rajapaksa's recent state visit is Prime
Minister D.M. Jayaratne. He met Chinese Vice Prime Minister and held
bilateral talks yesterday.
"Te People's Republic of China will not support any action taken
against Sri Lanka," People's Republic of China Vice Premier Ma Kai told
the visiting Lankan premier.
"China is a friend of Sri Lanka and will never forget the ties it has
with Sri Lanka, the Deputy Vice Premier said when he met Prime Minister
D M Jayaratne on Friday. The meeting was held at Haigeng Gargen Hotel,
Kunming City in the Unnan Province. The Vice Premier said Sri Lanka has
always supported China.
He said China will assist Sri Lanka to rise to an international level
and several agreements have been signed between the two countries to
uplift Sri Lanka's economy.
"Partnership agreements are being further formulated at the
discretion of the two countries. Feasible approaches are being studied
to convert raw material available in Sri Lanka to a production mode," Ma
said. He said direct cooperation would pave the way to build a good
future for both countries.
"China is concerned about the economic development strategies of Sri
Lanka. During the past 15 years, Sri Lanka-China friendship has moved to
a new avenue.
Sri Lanka's master development plan has been appreciated by China,"
the Vice Premier said. Prime Minister Jayaratne said Sri Lanka works
closely with China.
"Sri Lanka expects 10 million tourists from China. President Mahinda
Rajapaksa has signed over 15 agreements with China. Expo 2013 Trade
Exhibition is a blessing to South Asian countries," he said. The Prime
Minister requested China's Vice Premier to visit Sri Lanka.
Cabinet proposes two amendments to 13A
The Cabinet of Ministers proposed to make two amendments to the 13th
Amendment to the Constitution under which Provincial Councils have been
set up.
Cabinet spokesman and Media and Information Minister Keheliya
Rambukwella said the Cabinet has granted seven days to all political
parties to make their observations on the proposed amendments to the
13th Amendment.
Speaking at the weekly Cabinet press briefing at the Media and
Information Ministry on Thursday, Minister Rambukwella said the Cabinet
proposed to repeal the President's right to proclaim the merger of
Provincial Councils under the13th Amendment.
Minister Rambukwella said the Constitutional clause that requires the
consent of all Provincial Councils to pass the nationally important
Bills will also be changed and the consent of the majority of Provincial
Councils would suffice to pass such Bills with a simple majority in
Parliament. He said the Cabinet will discuss these proposals with the
observations of coalition partners at the Cabinet meeting next week. The
minister said amendments would be brought to the 13th Amendment in good
faith as the Tamil National Alliance is not making their representation
to the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) which is aimed at discussing
the issues pertaining to the devolution of power.
"The government cannot wait any longer merely because the TNA is
evading the PSC. Various forces from outside also insisted that the TNA
should make their presence at the PSC but they did not," he said.
Minister Rambukwella said President Mahinda Rajapaksa has openly said
he will accept whatever the decisions taken by the PSC and these
decisions would be implemented.
"President Rajapaksa says that he is ready to implement whatever the
decisions taken by the PSC," he said. Minister Rambukwella said the TNA
has no policy over the PSC. He insisted that the amendments are not
aimed at the Northern Provincial Council. "Elections in many Provincial
Councils including the North Western Province are in the pipeline and
the proposed amendments are not aimed at the Northern Provincial council
election," he said.
Minister Rambukwella said the Cabinet of Ministers haven't taken any
decision over land and police powers of the Provincial Councils.
He said political parties in the government have been given time to
make their observations with regard to the proposals and they will also
make their observation over the police and lands powers of the
Provincial Councils.
Pavithradevi in Russia
A Sri Lankan delegation led by Power and Energy Minister Pavitra
Wanniarchchi, and senior officials of the ministry has participated at
the First Asian and Pacific Energy Forum 2013 during in Vladivostok,
Russian Federation recently.
"We take pride in the fact that we are well on the way of achieving
100 per cent access to electricity by the end of this year and we have
been able to manage our power system without any power cuts which is an
exemplary achievement, Minister Pavitra Wanniarchchi said when she
addressed the First Asian and Pacific Energy Forum 2013 in Vladivostok.
The Forum was a landmark event conducted under the auspices of the
United Nations and its Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the
Pacific (ESCAP). Sri Lanka was elected as a Vice Chair of the Forum.
"Let me congratulate Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation
Alexander Novak on your election to this prestigious position. We thank
you for the timely initiative taken to address the issues of regional
energy security and sustainable use of energy" Minister Wanniarachci
said.
"Sri Lanka is a small island nation with a population of mere 20
million surrounded by the Indian Ocean and strategically located with
close proximity to international navigational route connecting West Asia
and East Asia. Sri Lanka's closest neighbour is India and also closer to
the South Pacific countries on the west. Sri Lanka is one of the
founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement and always acted as a
strong and active member while maintaining non-aligned principles," she
added.
Pavithra said that Sri Lanka "Our country is now a very peaceful
country after the elimination of brutal separatist terrorism which has
resulted a nearly three decades of unrest and well on its way towards
becoming one of the emerging economies in Asia. We as a nation is very
much grateful to the government and the people of the Russian Federation
for their unstinted support extended to our country during the difficult
times," she said.
"We take pride in the fact that we are well on the way of achieving
100 per cent access to electricity by the end of this year and we have
been able to manage our power system without any power cuts which is an
exemplary achievement. However, the cost of producing electricity has
significantly increased along with the greater dependence on fossil
fuels. As a country that does not produce petroleum this has been a
particular weight on our economy," she added.
Nimal Siripala 30 not out
Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva completed 30 years to his political
career. A stalwart of the SLFP, he has made an immense contribution to
the party and the country as a politician. The felicitation ceremony was
held at Wills ground in Badulla under the patronage of President
Rajapaksa.
Addressing the gathering, the President said the people of the
country irrespective of their racial, religious and other petty
differences, should strive for the development of the country. He added
that people belonging to all religions and ethnicities should join and
work for development.
President Rajapaksa said the Sri Lanka Freedom Party is always ready
to give credit to its members who have taken great pains for the
protection and promotion of the party. The President added that SLFPers
in the calibre of Minister Nimal Sirpala de Silva will never betray the
party, its leader nor the country.
"That was the main reason why we sent him to take part in the
negotiations with the LTTE in Geneva," he said. "Nimal had no hatred for
the LTTE although the terrorists tried to kill him in Jaffna," he said.
The President added that Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva took a
genuine effort to end the conflict through negotiations.
"Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva participated in negotiations with
the LTTE with much hope to end this issue forgetting all their
atrocities to him and the people of the country in general," he said.
He said their friendship goes back to 1960s when the SLFP was
contesting for the Colombo Municipal Council in the early sixties under
the leadership of Former Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike.
The President said Minister de Silva was a tower of strength to
former premier Bandaranaike during the 1965 General election too. He
appeared in court on behalf of former Premier Bandaranaike when the
latter's civic rights was deprived by the UNP regime. Minister de Silva
played a leading role in the Sinhala Union when he was at Law College.
"He organized the student movement for the protection of the
education system," he said. The President added that Minister Nimal
Siripala de Silva canvassed for the district quota system in education
to ensure equal opportunity for students in rural areas," the President
added. |