APRC proposal to be ‘home grown’ but no devolution

The head of an all party panel set up by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse to seek an ever elusive southern consensus on the Tamil national question and buy time to conduct war has said the panel has come up with a home grown solution with no absolute devolution.

Science and Technology Minister, Prof. Tissa Vitharana whos is also the chairman of the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) told local media "It is an indigenous method that would work out a solution for our country. However, there would not be absolute devolution of power"

Vitharana also announced that the panel’s proposals will not fall in line with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which is a result of the 1987 Indo-Lanka agreement and therefore not ‘home grown’.

Whilst many international actors including the United States see the 13^th amendment as a first step for Sri Lanka sharing power with the Tamils, the Rajapakse administration is not interested in the 13^th amendment which is already in the Sri Lankan constitution and requires only the implementation.

Rajapakse administration’s intentions on the 13^th amendment were made clear when it demerged the North-eastern province despite protests from India.

According to Vitharana, the APRC proposes the abolishing of the Executive Presidency and reverting to the Westminster system. It also proposes the setting up of a Commission that functions under the purview of the central government to determine and monitor policies with regard to land and water.

The APRC has looked at the formation of a village committee system and a second chamber consisting of representatives from the nine provinces, according got its chairman.

Vitharana explained that following a series of discussions, the APRC has prepared a draft of its final proposals that would be submitted for endorsement from the parties that were represented in the APRC.

The first copy of the draft is to be presented to Rajapakse, who is the head of the SLFP, for his observations.

"After the President is handed over the first draft, the other parties that were in the APRC would be given copies of the draft to receive the views

of their respective party leaders," Vitharana said.

Once the APRC receives the observations made by each party, it would be discussed and the final report would be prepared with the signatures of all member parties.

The APRC was appointed in 2006 to work out a power devolution formula to resolve the national question.

The APRC is attended by only two opposition political parties, the SLMC and the Democratic People’s Front from the opposition. The main opposition UNP, the JVP and the TNA do not attend the APRC sessions.

So far it had had over 100 deliberations with no significant progress.