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Constitution must not affect any ethnic group in any way - Prof Fleiner

Jaffna special correspondent

"In a land where there is multinationals with diverse religious cultural values a constitution must be drafted in a manner that no single ethnic group shall be affected in any way. It is important that multinationalism and its values should not be affected at any cost. Federalism is like a polyphonic orchestra in western music.

It never tampers with the harmony and melodious structure of the music. Similarly administrative structures formulated by federalism should not affect the multinationals" said Prof. Dr. Thomas Fleiner, Professor of Constitution and Administrative Law and Director of the Institute of Federalism in the University of Fribourg, Switzerland.

He was speaking as a guest speaker at the Jaffna university Library auditorium on "Federalism and the Right to Self determination." Dr. Nobert Ropers Director Burghof Foundation for Conflict Studies, Germany presided.

Dr. Fleiner further said that federal structure must be based on a respective territory. The constitution must balance both self rule and shared rule. It must also be based on consensus acceptable to all communities. Even those living abroad must be able to say 'there is a land that is our fatherland'.

He said that self determination is a disputed issue in national and international law. It is of two kinds - internal and external self determination. The Oslo agreement is based on internal self determination. It ensures the exercise of democratic rights, autonomy, and safeguards security measures and social and cultural values. The concept of shared rule and the participation in the administration of legislative acts are also guaranteed in the law.

The Oslo agreement has accepted several solutions to accommodate self determination. They have a state status in the constitution making process. We must have a constitution to guarantee self determination.

The question is who is the holder of this right, because it is a collective right. Who has the state status? A constitution making process can be done not against, but with the consent of the holder.

The second issue he said is historical habitation. Democratic concept is based on number. This at times leads to the tyranny of the majority. In self determination historical root plays an important part. History supersedes the number. Self determination should concern more on the history than on number. The right to rule a territory is also stressed here. The state so formed through this, if it determines, could function of its own.

Speaking about his native land he said that Switzerland in the 18th and 19th century was teemed with political and religious conflicts. It was one of the poorest countries in the 19th century. By our resources unity trust and peaceful coexistence we were able to develop our country. Germany and France which stood poles apart are friendly nations today. I advise you to find new solutions to develop your country.

Dr. N. Nithyananthan of the Dept. of Economics, Jaffna University, R. T. Ganeshalingham Snr. Lecturer in Political Science, Jaffna university and Kodeeswaran, Attorney-at-Law took part in the panel discussion.

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