ITAK rejects Govt proposal of implementing 13A without police powers

Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK), the largest Tamil party representing North and Eastern provinces rejected President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s proposal of full implementation of 13th Amendment without police powers for Provincial Councils as solution for ethnic conflict. 

During a discussion with Tamil Parliamentarians representing the North and East held yesterday (18), President Ranil Wickremesinghe made it clear that he won’t be able to implement the controversial amendment in full without Parliament approval and two third majority. 

The meeting saw heated arguments between President Wickremesinghe and ITAK leader R. Sampanthan when the latter pointed out that successive governments including the current one are dragging the issue for years without genuine willingness to resolve it. 

ITAK Jaffna District Parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran explained that President’s proposal of implementing 13th amendment without police powers is against the policy decisions and decisions taken by the State in the past while stressing earlier governments’ stand and assurances to India and international community for full implementation of the law and go beyond it for meaningful devolution.  

Responding to Mr Sumanthiran’s statement regarding former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s support for the full implementation of the 13th Amendment, the President clarified that he is Ranil Wickremesinghe, not Ranil Rajapaksa, a statement released by the President Media Division on the meeting said. 

“While it was possible to grant all powers outlined in the proposal, except for police powers, the inclusion of police powers would require the agreement of all party leaders representing the Parliament. He also noted that a two-thirds majority in Parliament was necessary for such decisions,”

The meeting came in the wake of the President's first official visit to New Delhi on Thursday at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

President Wickremesinghe also discussed various bills concerning the functioning of Provincial Councils after the initial devolution of powers. These bills encompassed the appointment of Regional Secretaries, education, vocational training, higher education, agricultural innovations, industries, and tourism. President Wickremesinghe assured that these bills would be presented to Parliament.

“Ultimately, the President underscored that the full enforcement of the 13th Amendment can only be achieved if all party leaders in the Parliament agree to a comprehensive devolution of powers. The President’s proposal and discussions centered around multiple measures to address the challenges faced by the people in the North and East regions,”
Under the 13th Amendment of the Constitution, the President emphasized the importance of legally announcing the transfer of decision-making powers on specific subjects to the central government, the statement added. 

During the meeting, the President emphasized that he has already put forth a comprehensive proposal to address the problems faced by the people in those regions and it is up to the Tamil Parliamentarians whether to take it forward or not.

Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, Ministers Susil Premajayantha, Prasanna Ranatunga, Vijayadasa Rajapaksa, Douglas Devananda, State Ministers Suren Raghavan, S. Vialendran, S. Chandrakanthan, Members of Parliament R, Sampanthan, M.A. Sumanthiran, C.V. Vigneshavaran, Angajan Ramanathan, Selvam Adaikalanathan, Charles Nirmalanathan, S. Sridharan, D. Siddharthan, Shanakya Rasamanikkam, Thavarasa Kalaiarasan, K. thilipan, G. Mr. Karunakaran and Tamil MPs representing the Parliament, the President’s Secretary Mr. Saman Ekanayake and government officials also participated in this discussion.