Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan yesterday said that a new Constitution will be adopted before the end of this year, to take the country on a new journey.
He said that Sri Lanka is faced with a choice either to take the country forward or to drag the country backwards. “If we want the country to move forward in every aspect, then it is inevitable that we adopt a new Constitution,” he said.
The Opposition Leader was speaking at the meeting with the visiting Belgium - Sri Lanka Parliamentary Friendship Group yesterday at his office in Parliament.
Briefing the delegation, Sampanthan said the present Sri Lankan Constitution was not enacted based on consensus. The processes of enacting a new Constitution which recognises the multi-ethnicity and pluralistic nature of this country has begun and the draft Constitution was placed before the steering committee yesterday (18).
Sampanthan said that there are opportunities for this process to succeed and we should make maximum use of the prevailing circumstances to find a permanent solution to this long-standing national question.
Speaking on the reconciliation process, Sampanthan said people are not happy as they do not receive early relief for their problems. He brought to the notice of the delegation a number of issues faced by the Tamil people in the North and East.
Highlighting the large extent of lands occupied by the armed forces, he said people have lived in these lands for generations and they want their land back, but progress in this matter has been very slow.
On the issue of missing persons, Sampanthan said people want to know what has happened to their loved ones and people cannot live in uncertainty forever. “The truth must be ascertained. Our people are staging protests for a number of months regarding these matters, but the progress is not up to expectations.”
Appreciating the EU role in the past, Sampanthan appealed to the delegation to impress upon the government to take necessary steps to prevent adverse impacts on its people in the future.
The delegation led by Senator, President of the Belgium – Sri Lanka Parliamentary Friendship Group Prof. Petra De Sutter, comprised Vice President Ozlem Ozen, Vice President Georges Dallemagne, Senator Alain Destexhe, Senator Andries Gryffroy, Secretary of the Inter-Parliamentary Union Office in the Belgium Federal Parliament Marc Jolling and the Belgium Ambassador to Sri Lanka Jan Luykx.
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