JHU against police, land powers to PCs

By Jayashika Padmasiri
The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) is against granting both land and police powers in the 13th Amendment, to any province in Sri Lanka.

The party is scheduled to meet with President Mahinda Rajapaksa shortly, to voice their disapproval on the matter. The party is also set to strongly protest against the implementation of such powers, in the event their objections go unheard.

JHU spokesman, Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe told The Bottom Line yesterday that the JHU would disagree to the provincial councils being provided with land and police powers, especially taking into consideration the present situation in the North and East.

“It is clearly stated in the Constitution that police powers or land powers cannot be implemented during an emergency. We support the idea of the Interim Council and the implementation of the 13th Amendment. However, we do not agree to any provincial council, especially the Northern and Eastern Provinces being provided with land and police powers,” he said.

Warnasinghe also said that if the government decides to implement those powers, disregarding their disapproval, the JHU will protest against the government in the future.

He also said that the matter will also be taken up in Parliament.