The National Freedom Front (NFF), one of the key constituent parties of the ruling UPFA has proposed that the Constitution be amended in a way that would ensure separatism will never again raise its head in this country.
In its proposals, the NFF has recommended that as a first step, changes should be made to avoid the resurfacing of separatism, ensure the people’s supremacy, and strengthen fundamental rights and transparency of governance.
Secondly, the NFF believes, the current proportional representation (PR) system should be abolished and, as the third and final step, measures be taken to ensure national unity and integrity and also make changes to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
The NFF is of the opinion that changes should be made to Article 157 of the Constitution that deals with actions of a separatist nature. The party recommends that the accused, in such a case, be taken to the Supreme Court where the matter should be resolved within a set time period (e.g. 90 days), and make it the responsibility of the defendant to get himself acquitted and also to allow any individual or organisation to petition against suspect individuals engaged in alleged acts of a separatist nature.
The NFF argues that if the 17th Amendment to the Constitution is implemented in full, the powers vested in the Executive by the people might, in the end, be subject to the authority of high ranking Government officials who might be directly or indirectly working for Non- Governmental Organisations. Therefore, these amendments should be abolished and, in their place, commissions that answer directly to the Executive must be appointed, the party recommends.
Any citizen should be allowed to run for Executive President any number of times and the Constitution must not impose restrictions in this regard, the NFF further recommends. The people must retain the power to decide whether or not to elect a certain individual as President, and therefore, the limitations imposed by the Constitution preventing a serving President facing another election should be removed and the people allowed to decide on the matter, the NFF suggests.
The NFF also recommends that health and education be made fundamental rights of the people and food security, the right to life and prevention of bodily harm should also be ensured, and adds that Articles 17 and 126 of the Constitution must be amended to make the private sector also responsible for the violation of fundamental rights. The public should also be allowed to access information from Government institutes and this must be recognised as a fundamental right, the party believes. Also, the NFF suggests, changes should be made so that Parliamentary Acts can be challenged in the Supreme Court before they are passed in Parliament. Provisions that recognise water, crude and all natural resources as property of the Government, and by extension, the people, and as such prevent them from being acquired by other parties must be added to the Constitution, the NFF asserts.
Now the time has come to start the battle to take the Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and all citizens towards economic prosperity and social justice, the party said in a statement detailing its recommendations for constitutional change.
“The whole nation awaits with great expectations and anticipation the firing of the first salvo of this battle, and with the proposed amendments to the Constitution, our hope, as the National Freedom Front, taking into account the victories achieved by Sri Lanka, is to create a new Constitution that will set the entire nation on the right path,” the NFF said. |
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