New constitution within united, undivided Lanka, says Opposition Leader in Matara

Opposition Leader Rajavarothiam Sampanthan reached out to the southern constituency in a conciliatory speech in Matara last week, saying the country’s new constitution would be drafted within the framework of a united and undivided Sri Lanka.

“The country will be one united, undivided, indivisible country which cannot ever be divided. I convey that message to you as the democratically elected leader of the Tamil people,” Sampanthan told crowds at a Samurdhi event in the southern town.

The Opposition Leader said this was the first time an effort was being made to draft a constitution that would be acceptable to all of Sri Lanka’s people, asserting that if the new constitution is enacted, it will bring about a new country within a decade.

“We are not looking to divide the country. We are only trying to share power,” the 83 year old leader of the country’s largest Tamil party said at the event.

Sampanthan was attending a passing out ceremony for candidates who had undergone skills training at the Samurdhi Development Community Foundation organised by UNP Matara District MP Buddhika Pathirana. The Opposition Leader went into detail to explain the powers that would remain with the Central Government in a power sharing arrangement that was being envisaged, saying defence, foreign affairs, finance and currency and immigration and emigration would be vested with the centre.

All the powers required to ensure the unity and indivisibility of the country would remain with the Central Government, the Opposition Leader explained.

Other powers would be devolved to the provincial councils which would have enhanced powers, and devolution would allow people of a particular region to exercise more control over the issues relevant to them through elected representatives of those areas, Sampanthan said. 

“There will be a much more effective and participatory democracy through the devolution of power,” he assured.

The Opposition Leader, who hails from Trincomalee in the Eastern Province, told the crowd in Matara last week that he had visited a Buddhist Pirivena, a Vishnu Devale and the Kataragama Devale during his trip down south. “Poojas were conducted for us and we received the blessings from these temples. It only showed me how much we are part and parcel of one history, one culture and one tradition – particularly the Sinhalese people – the Buddhist people and Tamil people and the Hindus in particular,” he said.

Reaching out to the predominantly Sinhalese people of the south further, the Opposition Leader said that there was very little difference between Buddhism and Hinduism. “If we all follow the teachings of Lord Buddha, we will not have problems in this country. Lord Buddha teaches us kindness, justice, forgiveness, equality and cohesion,” he elaborated.

He urged people to think differently, forget the past and look to the future. “We don’t want our children and grandchildren to suffer in the way we all have suffered,” Sampanthan said. (DB)