The House focussed attention on the new appointments to the Constitutional Council (CC), and Joint Opposition (JO) members attempted to show ignorance about the rules of the CC. They tried to point out that media reports had alleged that the people have no trust on the CC. Government lawmakers refuting the claims pointed out how everything was done according to the wishes of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa under the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, until the19th Amendment liberated those who had been under the jackboot of Mahinda Rajapaksa.
JO Leader Dinesh Gunawardena, said that none of them were aware of the rules of the CC and that there were reports that the appointments made by the CC so far were wrong. Leader of the House and Minister of Public Enterprise Lakshman Kiriella said MP Gunawardena raised none of those issues at the Party Leaders’ meeting. MP Vasudeva Nanayakkara said they had a right to know how the CC functions and its activities and added that they are in the dark here.
Minister of Higher Education Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe was of the view that appointing retired personnel to the CC was of no use as they are not responsible to anyone. He said certain things expected by the people have not yet been fulfilled while necessary criteria to conduct the functions of the CC have not been formulated. Therefore, once the new CC is appointed those criteria should be formulated through the consensus reached upon.
The newly-appointed members to the CC which met for the first time on Friday, unanimously recommended the nomination by President Maithripala Sirisena to appoint Supreme Court Justice Nalin Perera as the new Chief Justice. The maiden task assigned to them was to select a suitable Judge as Chief Justice, which position fell vacant on Friday due to the retirement of the 45th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka, Justice Priyasath Dep.
Parliament approved the nominations of former Sri Lankan diplomat Dr. Jayantha Dhanapala, Attorney-at-Law Ahmad Javid Yusuf and Naganathan Selvakkumaran, a senior lecture, Faculty of Law, University of Colombo as the three civil society members to the CC. Minister of Justice Thalatha Athukorala was nominated as agreed between the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader. Opposition lawmaker Bimal Rathnayake was appointed as the minor party representative while former Speaker MP Chamal Rajapaksa was nominated by the Opposition Leader. Ports and Shipping Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe has been appointed as the President’s Representative. Speaker Karu Jayasuriya (Chairman), Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan are ex-officio members of the CC.
The much awaited Reparations Bill was passed in Parliament on Wednesday with a majority of 16 votes. The JO members asked for a division and voted against the Bill citing various reasons. Moving the Bill, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said, the Reparations Bill was proposed to ensure reconciliation in the country and provide reparation to the affected or aggrieved parties. However, the JO members who joined the debate attempted to portray it as an attempt to promote LTTE terrorism.
JO member Keheliya Rambukwella said the country must compensate the victims of terror, not perpetrators of terror. Rambukwella said anybody who fights for the fundamental rights of the country cannot raise his hand for this Bill. However Opposition Leader Sampanthan described Reparations Bill as a welcome feature and added that the Office of Reparation should have freedom to act independently to offer reparations to those who have been victimised. TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran agreed saying it is a long overdue piece of legislation. He said the new legislation approved by the Parliament must set out the policy, but they feared that the process might be politicised. UNP Parliamentarian Mujibur Rahuman accused the JO of attempting to divert this important Bill in another direction to realize their narrow political objectives, saying it would pave the way for separatism.
UNP Colombo District MP Hirunika Premachandra joining the debate on the Reparations Bill made a scathing attack on several private institutions and said some sections of the media are targeting budding female Parliamentarians, amounting to character assassination. The MP in her emotional speech complained that her fundamental rights have been infringed due to deliberate misreporting by certain private television channels on court proceedings on October 8. She rejected the allegations on misusing Maganeguma Funds, and they were false. Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrama also called on the Speaker to take necessary steps to prevent MPs being insulted and defamed by the irresponsible media, reporting fake news. “If not, no decent person would want to enter Parliament,” he said. Making a statement in Parliament, the Minister said that there were attempts by certain sections of the social media and an electronic media channel to discredit him. Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said, a well-organized plan was unfolding to instigate racial and religious tensions by certain unscrupulous elements publishing false reports to the effect that heritage monuments of the country are being destroyed by the minorities. He said, there were news reports regarding the destruction of archaeological sites in the country, and that the most number of destruction is taking place in the North and East but the statistics indicate otherwise.