Sri lanka today began the process of formulating a new Constitution with President Maithripala Sirisena underlining the need for constitutional reforms aimed at achieving reconciliation with the minority Tamil community and preventing another ethnic war.
“We need a Constitution that suits the needs of the 21st century and make sure that all communities live in harmony,” Sirisena, who completed one year in office today, said in his address to the Parliament.
Outlining the previous attempts in the island nation’s history to settle the Tamil issue through various forms of devolution, Sirisena said, “The extremists in the south and the north have caused the loss of thousands of young lives”.
“We must ensure reconciliation and harmony so that we will never go back to war.”
“I believe now, through our past bitter experiences, we must prepare ourselves for future challenges,” he said.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who also spoke in the Parliament, presented a resolution to set a Constitutional Assembly (CA) made up of legislators, who would seek public input and make recommendations for a new Constitution.
In a special session, Wickremesinghe moved the resolution in Parliament to set up CA and a steering committee of 17 members to draft the new Constitution.
“We will have the whole Parliament formulating the Constitution unlike the previous instances when the constitutions were drafted outside Parliament,” he said.