Showing posts with label WEST. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WEST. Show all posts
Thursday, March 19, 2015
utter confusion Yet RAW, WEST,DIASPORA PALANAYA PROMIISED TO DO
JHU wants to amend the 19th amendment; breakaway PHU mulls court action
19 Mar, 2015 16:00:40
By Gayan Chandrasekara
Mar 19, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government ally Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) on Thursday said they have put forward an observation paper to address the issues in the draft 19th amendment.
JHU spokesperson and western provincial councilor Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe told LBO that the draft amendment has breached the consensus they arrived.
“This gazette has violated the consensus arrived after the party leader’s meeting and the cabinet meeting held 15th Sunday,”
“I don’t know, whether this change has happened intentionally or unintentionally.” Warnasinghe said.
According to the article 42 (3) of the gazette notification published on 16th March 2015 to amend the constitution, the prime minister shall be the head of the cabinet.
However the said notification also says the President is the head of the executive and government; which is contrary to the aforesaid article.
“Even though the prime minster is the head of the cabinet, President should head the cabinet when he attends a cabinet meeting; because he can’t sit under Prime Minister.” Warnasinghe said.
If the President is regarded as the head of the executive; theoretically he should head the cabinet; since the President, the cabinet of ministers and the public service are considered as the three branches of the executive.
However article 42 (3) sets an explicit exception for that assumption by introducing prime minister as the head of the cabinet.
“There are several articles in the draft amendment which we think requires a referendum to change. Reducing the term of presidency from 6 years to 5 years is one such thing.” Warnasinghe stressed.
The JHU has also requested the cabinet to include a clause where it requires opinion from certain entity when appointing secretaries to the ministries though it has not been included.
“We also disagree to the provision which requires the views of justice minister and Bar association when appointing judges to superior courts." Warnasinghe said.
Court Action
Meanwhile, Udaya Gammanpila; leader of the JHU breakaway 'Pivithuru Hela Urumaya' (PHU) told LBO that they are preparing to file a fundamental rights petition in the Supreme Court challenging the 19th amendment.
“Soon after the draft 19th amendment included in the order paper in the Parliament, we are going to courts challenging it,”
“As per the current constitution; this new amendment should be approved by the people in a referendum because it seeks to reduce the powers of the President.” Gammanpila emphasized.
The Cabinet at an emergency meeting convened Sunday by President Maithripala Sirisena approved the 19th Amendment to the Constitution.
The main constitutional proposals of the amendment include the transformation of the Presidential form of government to a Presidential-Parliamentary system of government and the restoration of the 17th amendment to the constitution.
“This gazette has violated the consensus arrived after the party leader’s meeting and the cabinet meeting held 15th Sunday,”
“I don’t know, whether this change has happened intentionally or unintentionally.” Warnasinghe said.
According to the article 42 (3) of the gazette notification published on 16th March 2015 to amend the constitution, the prime minister shall be the head of the cabinet.
However the said notification also says the President is the head of the executive and government; which is contrary to the aforesaid article.
“Even though the prime minster is the head of the cabinet, President should head the cabinet when he attends a cabinet meeting; because he can’t sit under Prime Minister.” Warnasinghe said.
If the President is regarded as the head of the executive; theoretically he should head the cabinet; since the President, the cabinet of ministers and the public service are considered as the three branches of the executive.
However article 42 (3) sets an explicit exception for that assumption by introducing prime minister as the head of the cabinet.
“There are several articles in the draft amendment which we think requires a referendum to change. Reducing the term of presidency from 6 years to 5 years is one such thing.” Warnasinghe stressed.
The JHU has also requested the cabinet to include a clause where it requires opinion from certain entity when appointing secretaries to the ministries though it has not been included.
Court Action
Meanwhile, Udaya Gammanpila; leader of the JHU breakaway 'Pivithuru Hela Urumaya' (PHU) told LBO that they are preparing to file a fundamental rights petition in the Supreme Court challenging the 19th amendment.
“Soon after the draft 19th amendment included in the order paper in the Parliament, we are going to courts challenging it,”
“As per the current constitution; this new amendment should be approved by the people in a referendum because it seeks to reduce the powers of the President.” Gammanpila emphasized.
The Cabinet at an emergency meeting convened Sunday by President Maithripala Sirisena approved the 19th Amendment to the Constitution.
The main constitutional proposals of the amendment include the transformation of the Presidential form of government to a Presidential-Parliamentary system of government and the restoration of the 17th amendment to the constitution.
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
WEST,INDIA,DIASPORA CHANGED REGIME IN SRI LANKA - ARAB SPRING IS HERE
WEST,INDIA,DIASPORA CHANGED REGIME IN SRI LANKA - ARAB SPRING IS HERE
Foreign spies helped oust Mahinda – Gota
March 17, 2015, 12:00 pm
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa says that some countries had the wherewithal to overthrow democratically elected governments, though Sri Lanka lacked such capacity.
War veteran Rajapaksa points out that there had been many such interventions over the years in various parts of the world. Sri Lanka was a case in point, Rajapaksa said.
The ex- Defence Secretary was responding to a query on Derana 360 on Mondaynight whether he subscribed to his brother and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s allegation that the American, British and Indian intelligence services had got him ousted. Alleging that he had been a victim of a conspiracy involving intelligence services the former President said, in an interview with The Hindu, that India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) was operating without the sanction of the central government. The comment was made ahead of former Sri Lankan leader’s one-on-one meeting with Indian PM Narendra Modi.
Northern Provincial Councillor Dharmalingham Siddarthan is on record as having said that at the behest of the RAW, Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO) assassinated two Jaffna district members of parliament, including his father Visvanather Dharmalingham (MP for Manipay) and K. Alalasundaram (MP for Kopay) in early September 1985.
Responding to another query, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said that external intelligence services had subverted the former administration by taking advantage of what he called privileged status enjoyed by them.
Major countries maintained specialised units for clandestine operations outside their borders.
Asked whether he felt the intelligence services under him had failed his brother as they had failed to inform him of the then SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena’s move, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said that secret services countered threats to national security. Rajapaksa insisted that intelligence services hadn’t been used for political work under any circumstances.
Well informed sources told The Island that Maithripala Sirisena’s plan had been brought to the notice of the then SLFP leadership several weeks before the defection but it had been ignored. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said that Sri Lanka had never acquired a capability to tap mobile phones though it could have helped anti-terrorist operations.
Gotabhaya Rajapaksa paid a glowing tribute to intelligence services while recollecting the circumstances under which they managed to apprehend Kumaran Pathmathan in August 2009 and kill Gopi over one-year ago. Even Welle Suda had been apprehended in Pakistan during the previous administration, though he was brought to Colombo only after the change of the government in early January, the former Defence Secretary said.
Commenting on the assassination of The Sunday Leader editor Lasantha Wickremetunga in early 2009, Rajapaksa said that the new government should continue with the investigations conducted so far and bring the killers to justice.
Dismissing as baseless allegations that he in his capacity as Secretary to the Ministry of Defence had death squads at his disposal, Rajapaksa said that similar allegations had been directed at previous governments.
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