The President during a meeting with the leaders of the leftist parties yesterday , had said the basis of the Parliamentary Select Committee process would be the recommendations of the All Party Representatives Committee (APRC) headed by Prof. Tissa Vitharana.
The President had said this when making a presentation with regard to the 13th Amendment to the leaders of the leftist parties, with the participation of representatives of “state agencies”, sources said.
However during the ensuring discussion the President had “not given reasons” for the omission of Prof. Tissa Vitharana from the PSC headed by Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva, despite the issue being raised by the Minister Vasudewa Nanayakkara, informed sources said.
Sources said that during the meeting attended by Ministers Vasudeva Nanayakkara and D.E.W Gunasekara, which lasted for close to half an hour at Temple Trees, the President had briefed the Ministers about “inherent administrative matters related to the granting of Police Powers” to the Provincial Councils.
The two ministers were the only Political representatives at the discussion.
The Ministers had in turn presented their “unequivocal stance” with regard to the 13th Amendment, sources said.
The APRC headed by Prof. Tissa Witharana formed on July 11, 2006, was boycotted by the UNP and the JVP.
The final report of the committee was presented to the President on August 16, 2009 with none of the proposals being implemented thus far.
Speaking to Daily Mirror Online Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara confirmed the meeting that took place at Temple Trees and said that there was consensus to further discuss the matters related to the implementation of the 13thAmendment at the Parliament Select Committee.
“We want all the parties to join the Select Committee process and discuss the entire issue. The President told us that the APRC recommendations would be the basis of the PSC proceedings. The PSC is a parliamentary body and should not be seen as a government body and therefore it shouldn’t be identified as such. We urge all parties to participate in the process,” he said ( Hafeel Farisz)