All parties at APRC agree on devolution solution

Rajmi Manatunga

COLOMBO: Political parties represented in the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) have unanimously agreed on the devolution of power as the solution for Sri Lanka's ethnic problem.

The consensus on power sharing has been reached when the APRC, comprising members from political parties represented in Parliament including the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) and the Eelam Peoples' Democratic Party (EPDP), held their 17th session on Monday.

"At Monday's meeting we were able to come to an agreement that the national problem should be solved through the devolution of power. There is agreement and support by all parties to solving the national question through maximum devolution," APRC Chairman Minister Prof. Tissa Vitharana said.

Addressing a press conference at the Peace Secretariat yesterday Prof. Vitharana said the consensus was a positive development given the diverging opinions the parties held on power sharing when the Committee first started its deliberations.

He attributed the achievement to the Committee's four day visit to India to study the Panchayat system of governance, which according to him, had a 'salutary effect' in convincing the Committee members of the viability of devolution as the solution to the national question.

"During the visit to India, we were able to gain an understanding as to how the Indian Constitution works and the relationship between the centre and the peripheries within the Indian system. All Committee members agreed that such a framework of devolution was productive," he said.

However, Prof. Vitharana emphasised that the Committee's agreement on taking devolution to the village level similar to the Panchayat system did not in any way negate power sharing at the provincial level.

"It is not a substitute for the devolution of power from the centre to the provinces. That (devolution at provincial level) has to take place. The idea is to take devolution further, right down to the village level," he said.

He pointed out that the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was the staring point of the APRC deliberations and that the general view of the Committee was that the constitutional framework set up by the Amendment should be strengthened and improved upon.

The Panel of Experts appointed to assist the Committee is also expected to submit its final report to the APRC within the next two weeks.

"If the Committee is of the view that any clarification should be made on this final report, the APRC will have joint meetings with the Panel".

Meanwhile, the APRC has also decided to agree to requests from the Tamil United Liberation Front, the Eelam Peoples' Revolutionary Liberation Front and the Peoples' Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam to address the Committee.

Representatives of the United National Party are also expected to participate in the Committee's deliberations shortly.