War of words over CC

By Uditha Jayasinghe
The government yesterday described the Constitutional Council (CC) as a “distraction” and insisted that its main focus was ending the scourge of terrorism in the country.
UPFA Gen Secy and Education Minister, Susil Premajayantha addressing a media briefing insisted that all attention of the government was focussed on bringing the war to a successful conclusion parallel to the expectations of the people and that the appointment of the CC was secondary in such a situation.
He was responding to objections raised by Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe over the delay of the appointment of the CC and the nominations of two individuals. Wickremesinghe had earlier criticised the government for dragging its feet and minority parties for objecting to a Tamil who was nominated to the CC by Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake on the grounds that he had participated in the 1971 insurgency.
Mr. Wickremesinghe on Monday noted that the delay in the finalization of CC and objections raised by the Government allies had caused a fresh crisis preventing an early implementation of the 17th Amendment to the Constitution.
However, the government denied such allegations instead transferring the cause of the delay on to the war. “The people have given us a clear mandate to end this war. That is our primary focus and that is what we as a government must do. The appointment of the CC will happen. But we must prioritise. It is not possible to expect the government to do everything at the same time. We must let the process continue,” he said.
Meanwhile, National Freedom Front (NFF) Leader Wimal Weerawansa yesterday when contacted by The Bottom Line maintained that the CC appointments were “unconstitutional and unethical” given that they have not received the approval of all political parties. Insisting that the stance of the NFF had not been taken under consideration, Weerawansa maintained that due process must be followed.
“There are many flaws in the entire 17th Amendment. What we ask is not for it to be delayed or hurried but for it to be implemented without any shortcomings. That should be the main focus of both the government and the opposition. It would be unfair to sacrifice the military victories so hard won by the armed forces through hurried and ill-planned constitutional amendments. Nothing would be served through that,” he said.
The NFF Leader also pointed out that unless the 17th Amendment was brushed up the Commissions that are to be appointed under it would simply become a nest for retired people to feather with high salaries. Strongly advocating that no individuals who took part in ethnic conflicts in this country should be appointed to the CC he urged the government to fix the lapses within the entirety of the 17th Amendment without bowing to political pressure.