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Sri Lanka Presents Draft Constitution Amid Tight Security
The Sri Lankan government on Thursday presented a draft constitution to the parliament where hundreds of heavily armed soldiers and police were deployed.
The parliament was summoned by President Chandrika Kumaratunga for an emergency session for the government to unveil the new constitution that seeks to end the 17-year separatist civil war by devolving more powers to the minority Tamils.
Traffic was tightly restricted on the main roads to the parliament at Kotte in eastern suburban Colombo, while army commandos and police armed with automatic weapons guarded the area, witnesses said.
They said President Kumaratunga cannot make her voice heard in a speech to present the draft constitution as opposition United National Party (UNP) members of Parliament shouted and made lots of noises.
The UNP, which holds the balance of power to make or break reforms, has decided not to support the reforms, claiming that the government had not given sufficient time for the Buddhist clergy and the people to study the provisions of the legislation.
Officials sources said the parliament will begin to debate the draft from August 8 and put it to vote on August 14.
The government hopes moderates among the Tamils will support the move, which could eventually sideline the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels who have rejected the draft and demanded a separate state for Tamils in Sri Lanka's north and east.
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