Statements

On September 8, 2010, the Sri Lankan Parliament voted in favor of the 18th Amendment to its country’s Constitution.

The amendment makes two significant changes: it removes term limits on the presidency (previously set at two); and it gives the President power to make appointments to various high-level posts, including the Election Commission and Supreme Court. The new amendment effectively nullifies the 17th Amendment, passed in 2000, which delegated power to a Constitutional Council to nominate people for these posts. The previous Council consisted of the Prime Minister, the Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, one person appointed by the President, and several other members of Parliament. In its place, the 18th Amendment institutes a Parliamentary Council, which gives only non-binding advice to the President. This change gives the President sole authority to make direct appointments to key judicial and parliamentary institutions and commissions. The President will now make the following appointments:

Election Commission
Public Service Commission
National Police Commission
Human Rights Commission
Permanent Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption 
Finance Commission
Delimitation Commission

Chief Justice and the Judges of the Supreme Court
President and Judges of the Court of Appeal
Members of the Judicial Service Commission, other than the Chairman

Attorney-General
Auditor-General
Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (Ombudsman)
Secretary-General of Parliament

Lanka Solidarity expresses grave concern about both the substance of the 18th Amendment as well as the undemocratic process through which Parliament voted it into effect. In the weeks before the vote, the ruling regime manipulated a tepid opposition made weaker by political patronage and succeeded in suppressing substantial debate of constitutional reform. The government also mobilized support from cohorts within the judiciary. This resulted in a Supreme Court ruling that blocked a national referendum on the amendment. In doing so, the government cynically manipulated the democratic process to undermine the participation of the Sri Lankan people in making decisions about how they will be governed.

Lanka Solidarity welcomes the United States' ongoing engagement in Sri Lanka, as that country continues its transition into what we hope will be a period of real reconciliation and political change.

Two staff members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations recently produced a report with recommendations regarding American foreign policy on Sri Lanka.  Media coverage of this report has suggested that the U.S. might shift its policy to focus on its own geopolitical interests to the exclusion of its humanitarian and human rights commitments. Lanka Solidarity believes such a shift would be premature and would hinder the U.S.'s effective engagement with Sri Lanka.

As such, we are glad to note that this is only one of a number of ways in which the U.S. government has chosen to study and engage Sri Lanka.  In particular, we welcome the reassurances of the U.S. State Department that human rights concerns remain central to U.S. policy. We also support the 2010 Appropriations bill call for a follow-up to the first State Department report on war crimes in Sri Lanka, as well as the suspension of military assistance until certain conditions are met.    

Further, we reiterate that when the U.S. has taken a principled stand on human rights and humanitarian concerns,  and applied appropriate pressure to the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL), this pressure has led to substantial progress in protecting human rights, improving humanitarian conditions, and promoting stability in Sri Lanka and the region.     

This moment in Sri Lanka's history presents an opportunity to support real political change and reconciliation. However, we suggest that constructive engagement can take a different shape than that recommended by the report.