Peace and Conflict Timeline (PACT) » 13th Amendment

11 May 2008

pact team — Sun, 11 May 2008 18:55:16 +0000

President Rajapakse’s United People’s Freedom Alliance, running in a coalition with the breakaway LTTE faction known as the TMVP (formerly ‘Karuna faction’), wins control of the Eastern Provincial Council. The election commission reported that the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance coalition won 52 per cent of the vote, giving it a total of 20 seats on the province’s 37-member council.

About 60 per cent of the province’s nearly 1 million registered voters cast votes, according to the Election Commission. Independent monitors said the TMVP threatened voters during the election, opposition parliamentarians were attacked by mobs, children who appeared to be around 13 years old cast ballots and gangs of people shuttled between polling stations to vote numerous times.

Source
Sri Lanka ‘s president says election win a mandate for war against Tamil rebels, Associated Press (reported in the International Herald Tribune), 11 May 2008; Voters in eastern Sri Lanka worry about future, Associated Press (reported in the Guardian), 10 May 2008.

Quotations

“I note that the people of the east have given a clear mandate for peace through the defeat of terrorism, the strengthening of democracy and the development of the country.” President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

“I can’t say it was a free and fair election because it was not really.” Kingsley Rodrigo, head of the independent People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections.

“This is a totally distorted mandate that they got. This is obtained by fraud.” Rauff Hakeem, leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), which ran in with the UNP.

Related news items
The war dividend, The Economist, 15 May 2008
Bombing on eve of Sri Lanka polls, BBC, 9 May 2008;
Sri Lanka rescinds move to bar foreign media for elections, ABC News, 8 May 2008: “The Sri Lankan government said Thursday it was barring foreign journalists from covering weekend elections in the Eastern Province, but backed off hours later following a wave of protests by journalists and rights groups.”

11 March 2008

pact team — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 20:58:53 +0000

The Thamil Makkal Vidudal Puligal (TMVP) party wins 72 of 101 seats on nine local councils, the first elections in Eastern Sri Lanka for 14 years. For the municipal council of Batticaloa, the TMVP – contesting the elections under the banner of the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) – secured 11 of its 19 seats after obtaining 53.77 percent of the 26,331 valid votes.

Sources
Breakaway rebel group wins elections in eastern Sri Lanka, Hindustan Times, 11 March 2008; Former Tigers win Sri Lanka poll, Al Jazeera, 11 March 2008; Armed, state-backed ex-rebels win Sri Lanka poll, Reuters, 11 March 2008

Quotations

“I believe that the representatives of the people chosen in this peaceful election are the harbingers of success in the historic march to strengthen and widen democracy in our country.” President Rajapakse.

“In Batticaloa, not only TMVP, [but] many other armed groups are also there. Some of the Muslims also have arms. They have been keeping the arms with them. So I am not going to say this election is a free and fair one. ” Kingsley Rodrigo, chairman of the People’s Alliance for Free and Fair Elections.

“Supreme Commander Pillaiyan has spent most of his life wearing the jungle camouflage uniform of the Tamil Tigers. He joined the guerrillas at age 16, angry at the hardships faced by Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority and the rough way they were treated by the country’s armed forces. But four years ago, disillusioned with the Tamil Tigers’ longtime leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, he was among thousands of guerrillas who defected to the government side. He now wears a beige safari suit and black loafers and serves as Chief Minister of Sri Lanka’s Eastern Province, although he still answers to his nom de guerre, Pillaiyan,” Inside Sri Lanka: Your cash going to arms, say ex-rebels, 22 September 2008.

4 March 2008

pact team — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 21:20:58 +0000

The Supreme Court dismisses a petition seeking postponement of elections to the local bodies in Batticaloa. The petition brought by a number of civil rights organisations, argued that a free and fair election would be prevented given the presence of armed groups in the district. The decision paves the way for local bodies’ election to be held in the district on 10 March – after a gap of 14 years.

The Supreme Court directed the Inspector General of Police and the Defence Secretary to ensure a free and fair election, asking them to disarm all unlawful armed groups.

Source
Local bodies poll in Batticoloa after 14 years as plea is dismissed, The Hindu, 5 March 2008

24 January 2008

pact team — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000

The All Party Representative Committee (APRC) unveils its power sharing proposals after 63 sessions carried out over 18 months. The basis for the power-sharing proposals would be 1987 constitutional amendment – the 13th Amendment – on creating a system of provincial councils. The APRC was established by President Rajapaksa in 2006 to forge a consensus among all parties on a political solution to the ethnic conflict. However, the opposition parties, the United National Party (UNP) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) withdrew from the Commitee, whereas the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) was never invited to participate.

As regards the Provincial Council elections, the APRC report noted:

“The APRC is of the view that conditions in the Eastern Provinces are conducive for holding elections to the provincial council and that elections should be held immediately. Conditions in the Northern Province are far from being peaceful. A free and fair election in the North will not be possible in the near future. Hence an alternative arrangement is required in the Northern Province to enable the people of that Province to enjoy the fruits of devolution… As it is not possible to hold elections in the North, the President could make appropriate order to establish an Interim Council for the Northern Province in terms of the Constitution.”

Sources
Full implementation of the 13th Amendment recommended, The Hindu, 24 January 2008; APRC ‘approves’ 13th amendment, BBC Sinhala, 21 January 2008
Quotations

“This certainly would not be the final proposal and will not be a universal panacea for all ills in the country. It will however be a firm and reliable foundation to build and develop a new Constitution for the Nation. It is a long-term process, requiring a step-by-step approach. We will strive to implement to the optimum, what we could, under the existing Constitution and mechanism, amending it where necessary”. Chairman of the All Party Representative Committee (APRC)

“The Government of Sri Lanka has been good enough to share with us the interim steps recommended by the All Party Representatives Conference in Sri Lanka for implementation of devolution provisions and official language provisions of the Sri Lankan Constitution. It has consistently been our view that a settlement of the issues in Sri Lanka is to be done by the Sri Lankan people themselves in a manner acceptable to all communities within the framework of a united Sri Lanka. The Government of India will continue to work with Sri Lanka and its people to bring about such a settlement of the issues in Sri Lanka. To the extent that the APRC proposals contribute to such a settlement, they are a welcome first step”. Official Spokeperson, High Commission of India, Press Release, 25 January 2008

“The 13th amendment of 1987 was a treatment for ulcer. But 20 years down the line, the ulcer has become cancer. We now need a medicine for cancer, not ulcer.” V. Anandasangaree, President Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF)

“We consider the APRC as an anachronism, not representative of the free will of the Sri Lankan people. We reject any recommendations made by such a body. [The 13th Amendment to the Constitution was thrust upon the then Government] by the Indians with their gunboats outside the Colombo Harbour”. Somawansa Amarasinghe, Leader of the JVP.

Related events

Related links
Rohan Edrisinha on the APRC Proposals and the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, groundviews, 30 January 2008

23 January 2008

pact team — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 00:01:00 +0000

The ruling UPFA coalition sign an agreement with the TMVP (formerly the Karuna Faction – now known as the Pillaiyan Faction) to contest the local government elections in the Eastern Province together.

Source
UPFA -TMVP sign agreement for Batti poll, Daily Mirror, 23 January 2007

Related Links
Eastern elections, groundviews, 5 February 2007

Related events
11 May 2008
11 March 2008
4 March 2008

16 October 2006

pact team — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 07:34:14 +0000

The Supreme Court declares unlawful the 1987 merger of the Northern and Eastern provinces to form a single Tamil dominated North Eastern Province under the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord.

The Northern and Eastern provinces were merged under the 1987 Indo-Lanka agreement signed by President J. R. Jayawardhana and Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The judgement was the unanimous decision of a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court, which examined a petition by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), challenging the legality of the merger of the Northern and Eastern Provinces on the grounds that the LTTE had not relinquished their weapons. The Supreme Court held that the Emergency Regulation made in 1988 merging the Northern and Eastern Provinces was not in compliance with law.

Sources
North East merger illegal, BBC Sinhala, 16 October 2006; The importance of two provinces, BBC News, 17 October 2007.

Quotations

“The judgement knocks the bottom out of the peace process as a merged north-eastern province must be the basis for any peace negotiations.” R Sampanthan, Leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA).

“The SLMC had always taken a view that Muslim political strength had been weakened by the merger of the north and eastern provinces. But it would be wrong to assume that the court decision had ended the ethnic issue.” Rauf Hakim, Leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC).

“The executive, judiciary, legislature or any other powers cannot change the future of the people in the east. Their destiny can only be decided by themselves. According to the Indo-Lanka agreement, the future of the eastern population has to be decided by a referendum.” President Rajapakse, SLFP.

Related events
7 November 1987
7 September 1988
24 January 2008

7 September 1988

pact team — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 16:54:03 +0000

President Jayewardene authorises the merger of the Northern and Eastern provinces within a single North Eastern Province, through Section 37 (1) of the Provincial Councils Act No. 42 of 1987.

Opinion

“The northeast or the north and the east? … The 13th amendment and Provincial Councils Act of 1987 established the north and east as one province, subject to ratification by referendum when circumstances permitted. As this referendum has not yet taken place, the constitutional status of the east remains obscure. While successive parliamentary committees since 1987 have sought to clear up the confusion, the only clarity thus far achieved is that all Tamil parties, not just the LTTE, are totally opposed to any northeast ‘demerger’.” Rohan Edrisinha, Trying times: constitutional attempts to resolve armed conflict in Sri Lanka, August 1998.

14 November 1987

pact team — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 16:59:36 +0000

The amendment included provisions for the establishment of a system of Provincial Councils. The amendment inter alia incorporated the provisions of the Official Languages Act 1987 declaring Tamil as an official language of Sri Lanka.

Extracts from the 13th amendment to the Constitution
Article 18 of the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (hereinafter referred to as the “Constitution”) is hereby amended as follows:
…
(2) Tamil shall also be an official language.
(3) English shall be the link language.
…
Establishment of Provincial Councils
…
(1) Subject to the provisions of the Constitution, a Provincial Council shall be established for every Province specified in the Eighth Schedule with effect from such date or dates as the President may appoint by Order published in the Gazette. Different dates may be appointed in respect of different Provinces.
(2) Every Provincial Council established under paragraph (1) shall be constituted upon the election of the members of such Council in accordance with the law relating to Provincial Council elections.
(3) Notwithstanding anything in the preceding provisions of this Article, Parliament may by, or under, any law provide for two or three adjoining Provinces to form one administrative unit with one elected Provincial Council, one Governor, one Chief Minister and one Board of Ministers and for the manner of determining whether such Provinces should continue to be administered as one administrative unit or whether each such Province should constitute a separate administrative unit with its own Provincial Council, and a separate Governor.
…
Full text of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.

Opinion
“The 13th amendment to the Sri Lankan constitution gave effect to the devolution provisions of the controversial Indo-Lanka Accord, signed in July 1987 by President J.R. Jayewardene and the Indian Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi.

“For the Indian government, the accord was the culmination of four years’ diplomatic manoeuvring in which a range of strategies were deployed to help secure a satisfactory solution to Sri Lanka’s armed conflict. It is clear that the Sri Lankan government was pressured by India into signing the accord. Once it had signed, however, the government rammed the 13th amendment through Parliament despite strong opposition from inside and outside the ruling United National Party (UNP).

“The 13th amendment sought to devolve power to newly instituted provincial councils throughout Sri Lanka. It contained three lists detailing respectively the areas of government devolved to the provinces (List I), the powers retained at the centre (the Reserved List — List II) and a Concurrent List (List III) of shared functions which were ultimately controlled by Parliament. The provincial councils were elected in November 1988, but a number of clauses in the amended constitution allowed for the blocking of substantive devolution.

“Continued centralization was strikingly symbolized by the conspicuous strength of the executive presidency, although in some areas, such as health and education, devolved powers could be reclaimed by simple ministerial directive. Perhaps the greatest obstacle to practical devolution was the first phrase of the Reserved List which provided for ‘National Policy on all Subjects and Functions’ to be determined by Parliament. This phrase completely undermined powers apparently devolved to the provinces. Since the inauguration of the 13th amendment, Parliament has used this rubric often to encroach into the provincial sphere.

“In identifying the reasons why the 13th amendment did not bring about a sustainable solution to the ethnic conflict, many commentators have faulted the lack of political will at the centre. However, it also seems clear that the constitutional provisions themselves were fundamentally flawed. Because of its significant shortcomings, it is not surprising that Tamil political parties rejected the 13th amendment and demanded more substantive devolution of power.” Rohan Edrisinha, Trying times: constitutional attempts to resolve armed conflict in Sri Lanka, August 1998.