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| Friday, 5 March 2004 |
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Politics | |
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| Change of Constitution through informal methods dangerous precedent - GL by Manjula Fernando Minister and Cabinet spokesman Prof. G. L. Peiris expressed deep concern yesterday that a dangerous precedent will be established if the next Government resorts to change the constitution through informal methods, ignoring the law of the country. Referring to reported indications made by the Freedom Alliance members that action will be taken to change the Constitution, even if they come to power with a simple majority, Prof. Peiris said the United National Front (UNF) strictly opposes such illegal methods that would lead the country to more chaos. Prof. Peiris was speaking at the weekly media briefing at the Government Media Centre yesterday. Emphasising that the Constitution can only be changed through the stipulated procedure in the law books, he said any changes through informal methods to abolish the Executive Presidency would set the ground for a dangerous pattern. "Resorting to ad-hoc methods to change the Constitution would be a recipe for disaster," the Minister emphasised. He said: "If every new government elected, which is going to be a frequent occurrence as per the trend that has been set now, will want to change the Constitution, it will be nothing more than a periodical." "Whatever the changes to the Constitution, they must be in keeping with the proper procedure and it should stand the test of time," the Minister stressed. Prof. Peiris conceded that certain amendments to the constitution concerning the present electoral system, Executive Presidency and human rights were necessary but pointed out that implementation of the proposed changes from the 17th amendment were equally vital. The Minister added that baseless allegations were being made through the State media to justify the takeover of public institutions by the President. The accusations made before the takeover of the National Lotteries Board and the Development Lotteries Board are all false, Prof. Peiris said. "These allegations are meant to disseminate falsehood and there is a recurring pattern to these accusations. The public needs to be vigilant about these campaigns," he said. |
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