Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Change 13th Amendment through a referendum - Basil Rajapaksha

Economic Affairs Minister Basil Rajapaksa says the government will not hesitate to introduce a 19th Amendment to the constitution (19 A) if it feels the 13th Amendment has some shortcomings.
Speaking to heads from the Tamil media, the Minister said that the laws should be made to fulfill the expectations of the public and if those laws have shortcomings then they need to be amended.

He noted that the  13th Amendment to the constitution was introduced to resolve issues faced by Tamils in the north of the country.

The Minister recalled that both the TNA and the LTTE had at one time strongly opposed the 13th Amendment and the LTTE had even assassinated former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi over that issue.

He said that if anyone attempts to misuse the 13th Amendment the public themselves will call for its withdrawal.

The Minister said the government is also ready to repeal or amend the 13th Amendment through a referendum. (Colombo Gazette)