Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday called on the President to appoint the Constitutional Council (CC) without delay as all the pre-requisites are already in place.

Speaking at a party organisers meeting in Ratmalana he urged the President to make the CC legal in “one pen stroke” and questioned as to why it was still being delayed. Noting that there were no hurdles left as the names had already been put forward by both the Opposition as well as the Prime Minister he insisted that if the President was swift in his appointment he could still save the regime from many of the accusations leveled against it.

“If the President appoints the CC then at least in part he can escape from many allegations being made by various factions including the international community. He would be proving that Sri Lanka is in fact a functioning democracy. Many of the commissions that have been appointed including the Police Commission would work far more effectively if the CC was also appointed, as was the initial plan,” he said.

Addressing the gathering Wickremesinghe also pointed out that the loans provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) could not be given without stipulated guidelines and that even thought the IMF has said that it would be free of such considerations in connection to Sri Lanka that is yet to be decided.

“The IMF Head has said that they will not put any regulations on Sri Lanka but that can only be decided after the IMF delegation comes to Sri Lanka and evaluates the situation. He cannot decide in advance whether the guidelines will be infused or not. This delegation is to come at the end of this month and until they decide we do not know what obligations the country will be under as a result of this deal,” he said.

Wickremesinghe also repeated his challenge to the President to appoint and independent commission to investigate attacks made on the media over the past few months and insisted that the five member commission proposed by him should be made a reality if the President is sincere in proving that he or his establishment is not behind the attacks.