Sri Lanka government and opposition discuss implementation of 17th Amendment

Leaders of Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party (UNP) met with External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L Peiris today (22) to discuss the implementation of the 17th Amendment to the Constitution.



The UNP during its discussions with the government last week requested for the implementation of the 17th Amendment.
UNP parliamentarian Joseph Michael Perera told ColomboPage that the discussion was focused on the implementation of the 17th Amendment and on reaching a consensus on the matter.
During the discussion, Minister Peiris had expressed several views on the implementation of the 17th Amendment and the UNP delegation had requested for the views to be handed over in writing.

"We need to have it officially so we can also look into them," Perera said.
He said the UNP delegation asked Peiris to request the government to implement the proposals of the parliamentary committee headed by Minister DEW Gunasekara on the implementation of the 17th Amendment.
"In the final report, we have agreed to everything except for one clause, which can be worked out. So we asked the government to look at implementing the committee proposals," UNP MP Perera said.
Perera observed that Peiris had agreed to discuss the opposition party's proposals with the President.
The UNP delegation included Acting Leader Karu Jayasuriya, Joseph Michael Perera, Wijedasa Rajapaksa, SLFP (M) Wing Leader Mangala Samaraweera, and SLMC Leader Rauf Hakeem.