President Ranil Wickremesinghe will convene an All Party Conference (APC) on July 26 to make the Party Leaders aware about the programmes implemented and programmes expected to be implemented with regard to the national reconciliation.
Leaders of all political parties and independent groups representing Parliament have already been invited to participate in this conference which will be held on July 26 at the President’s Office.
The President has presented a comprehensive proposal for reconciliation and devolution and for furthering the multifaceted aspects of the development plan in the North and he has invited all the party leaders in the Parliament to work with consensus for the sake of national unity regarding these measures.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe previously emphasised that he has submitted the best proposal related to solving the problems of the people of the North and East, and that the Tamil party leaders should decide whether to take it forward or not.
The President emphasized that the government has not in any way raised any preparation for the integration of the Northern and Eastern Provinces or any discussion about it and that the purpose of this programme is not to get political benefits but to solve the problems of the Tamil people in the North East.
The President intends to fully implement the 13th Amendment of the Constitution only if all the Party Leaders representing the Parliament agree to a full division of powers.
The President is of the opinion that the agreement of all the Party Leaders representing the Parliament is necessary for granting the Police powers mentioned in the 13th Amendment of the Constitution and for that a 2/3 majority in the Parliament is also required.
After the completion of the preliminary work on the division of powers, bills regarding the running of the affairs of the provincial councils are also to be submitted to the Parliament. Under the 13th Amendment of the Constitution of the Republic, the power to make decisions regarding certain subjects is transferred to the Central Government and those subjects must be declared legally.
The draft for the Office of National Unity and Reconciliation has been forwarded to the Attorney General to examine its constitutionality and it is to be submitted to the Parliament soon and the National Action Plan on Reconciliation drafted by the Office of National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR) will also be submitted to the Cabinet soon, the President stated in the discussion held on the July 18 with Tamil Parliamentarians representing the North and East.
(sundayobserver.lk)