Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne PC
The President stated in Galle on 19 July 2024 that not reducing the upper limit of the term of the President and Parliament from six to five years while preparing the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution was a lapse on my part due to my inexperience. I wish to set the record straight.
Presidential candidate Maithripala Sirisena signed a memorandum of understanding with a group of 49 political parties and organisations headed by the Venerable Maduluwawe Sobitha Nayaka Thero at Viharamaha Devi Park, in which he pledged to abolish the Executive Presidency altogether. However, the very next day, he signed another MOU with the Jathika Hela Urumaya, in which he pledged not to make any constitutional change requiring a Referendum. Mr Sirisena’s election manifesto also stated that no constitutional reform necessitating a Referendum would be initiated.
Soon after being sworn in, President Sirisena appointed Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister. Constitutional affairs was Gazetted as a subject under Prime Minister Wickremesinghe. A Cabinet sub-committee headed by Premier Wickremesinghe was appointed to oversee the Nineteenth Amendment process. The five-member team that prepared the initial draft comprised three retired officials who had served in very senior positions in the Legal Draftsman’s Department, myself and another lawyer. The entire drafting process was carried out on the basis that the Bill should not be placed for approval at a referendum, in keeping with President Sirisena’s electoral pledge. While the terms of the President and Parliament were proposed to be reduced from six to five years, the upper limit of six years was not touched as that would require a Referendum. Article 83 of the Constitution mandates that a Bill that seeks to amend or is inconsistent with particular Articles listed or the said upper limits would be required to be passed by a two-thirds majority in Parliament and approved by the People at a Referendum. It is essential to note that Article 83 itself is included in the list of provisions requiring a Referendum.
The several drafts prepared were all shared and discussed with the Cabinet sub-committee. The draft finally approved by the Cabinet sub-committee was then sent to the Legal Draftsman, who took over as required by law and made some changes. It was then sent to the Attorney-General, who took the view that certain clauses, especially some that reduced the powers of the President, would require a Referendum. Prime Minister Wickremesinghe had several meetings with the Attorney General to discuss the matter. I participated in one such meeting. Several changes had to be made to the Bill because of the Attorney-General’s position.
Prime Minister Wickremesinghe presented the Bill to Parliament. When it was challenged in the Supreme Court, the Attorney-General argued on behalf of the Government that no provision required a Referendum. The clauses that the Supreme Court held to require a Referendum were either amended or withdrawn in Parliament.
In light of the above, I regret that President Wickremesinghe has thought it fit to place the entire blame on me for not reducing the upper limits of the President’s and Parliament’s terms. I reiterate that the entire amendment process was based on avoiding a Referendum following President Sirisena’s pledge at the Presidential election.
nimal fernando / July 21, 2024
This guy has $1.5 million in just one account ……….. 39.10 ……. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7gXC8pHAtg
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How did he earn it? :)))
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Looks like there are many “Lapses” all over ……..
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deepthi silva / July 21, 2024
You mean because of your respect for an election pledge ( which are totally ignored in Sri Lanka any way ) given by a confused and substandrad
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deepthi silva / July 21, 2024
You mean because of your respect for an election pledge ( which are totally ignored in Sri Lanka any way ) given by a confused and sub-standard Sirisena ,you deliberately made an error in amending the constitution !
According to your own story Sirisena has not played any role in this process of constitution amendment.. Only your respect for his pledge about the referendum motivated you. A referendum any way is a very democratic method .
What a lame and foolish explanation by a lawyer who pretends to be an expert and a man of high standards !
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Nathan / July 21, 2024
deepthi,
He is a Lawyer on second thought.
High standards is distant to him.
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Ajith / July 21, 2024
“A referendum any way is a very democratic method .”
Yes referendum is a very democratic method. But it should have been done two years before before Ranil become President elected by SLPP. Why now? Presidential election also can be considered as a referendum now. People should decide whether to give Ranil and this parliament get more than 50% vote. Ranil as a lawyer and rounded by many lawyers including Sumanthiran were well aware of this fact. No more cheating needed.
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Douglas / July 21, 2024
Ajith: “Mun Okkoma Yaalua Malli” – All these fellows are friends.
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Mallaiyuran / July 21, 2024
Ha Ha Ha ….
Comedy Thamai!
A drama is being created by Evil when he sees Tiran Alley Kuyukthiya fires fireworks fizzled with Athurugiriya Murders. Though the media quickly dropped off quickly fearing falling back into 2010s notorious government sponsored murders of media men, the Athurugiriya incident was a once in a century incident. After 75 years of watering and nursing violence Sinhala Buddhist culture, enriched with rape, murders, drug, kidnapping by the Parliamentary criminals and rapist security forces, UNP-SLFP Union one more time came together in one ticket and organized a one night extravaganza party with IMF, in order to satisfy the IMF’s fancy desire of that is condition of government fulfilling the terms in their “Audit of governance”, as Kuyukthiya. As per media’s ad hoc reporting, 35,000 helpless citizens, mothers, school children were humiliated for 6 months to deliver the Athurugiriya, a fortnight ago, as one morning show. The police peeled the victims in front of the media to demonstrate to the citizens that these dramas are essential in surviving in the Sinhala Buddhist political circus, because they are the worst idiots in the world, with no efforts always swayed in the direction UNP-SLFP Union wants. It was not just the local Sinhala Buddhist, but stimulated by Partners of Evil like IMF project Chief Peter Breuer, Norwegian Envoy and consultant, Erick Solheim,
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Mallaiyuran / July 21, 2024
When one reads this disgraced lame duck excuse of Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne, it is so pathetic to note the whole world reduced for a cheap one penny respect. Even if the UNP-SLFP union cuts the umbilical cord off and pushes away the baby it bore, the Yahapalanaya devil is so persistent to possess the UNP-SLFP Union. Half of the election propaganda was created from the 2015 Yahapalanaya Gilmart, and it was during that regiment the “Super Impunity for Corruption & Political High Crimes” was declared as “Amendment 1A” to the constitution of the Wildlife Sanctuary, SinhaLE Lankawe. On our repeated debates on the fake provisions of 19A, which was admired as return of democracy to Ceylon, while the presidency was not abolished contrary to the 99.99 % people mandate of January 2015 election, by its only sheep skin clad wolf – democracy killing clauses had only cleared the path for the Old Royal Rowdies to return and pass the 21A, With 19A, Dr. Uyangoda, a learned JVP lawyer, left CT forever. Kusal Perera, another stalwart author, who one-time advocated Justice CV should be given 3 months presidency to abolish that position and declare parliamentary election, stopped coming to CT. He kept his connection with CV, but never returned to CT.
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Mallaiyuran / July 21, 2024
Oh God, you sent the Yahapalanaya to earth to save the Langkang, and then you drove it to Hell too? What an unkind man you are to the Sinhala Buddhist Intellectuals! Pavum Thamai, after working for 5 years so dedicated and passing another 5 years under UNP-SLFP union administration and under the auspicious atmosphere of IMF, Dr. Jayampathy is called a Traitor, the demolisher of the Sinhala Buddhists’ Wild Kingdom!
The current game (last two years) became more popular within the international community many times more than Yahapalanaya. Evil has proved how successful he can be in pulling the wool into the eyes of Modayas, at any time he wished for, whether it is on locals or on the world’s superpowers. He does all these black arts with so much ease and success while every participant and spectators keep their eyes wide open.
By this new drama, Evil has proved to the Sinhala Buddhist Modaya that how honest he was in wielding the uncensored-tyrannical powers of the Langkang’s EP on any citizen or officer of his government. He brought Dr. Jayampathy to the police station, focused the media camera on direct ankle and investigation the crimes Dr. JW committed in the past. This “Police Camera inside the investigation room” is the newly invented feature of the UNP-SLFP’s Sinhala Buddhist Yahapalanaya governance, under IMF loan funding
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Mallaiyuran / July 21, 2024
DR. JW’s action here in CT is what one describes as an act of pulling the venomous snake, which was sliding into the hole, and putting it in his pocket. Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne, ailing to understand that this is only an election “Name Revival” effort of The Evil. Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne is not standing for election, nor a main advocate for NPP. Then why this unwanted reply, after all, in which, nowhere he was able to give strong proof that it was not his fault, only because undeniably, truly it was his fault too. Isn’t this “Kulika Poi Searu Poosura Seyal”. (Went to the bath and spread dirt all over the body). NPP may come or NPP may not, if something goes bad in the coming election (if one is held) too. That is ok, but instead if Evil comes, here he has indicated that he has an eye on Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne, his former loyal aide, for having played out our Evil in the 19A. So, if Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne doesn’t like the Hospital Hotel bed, but the room next to the one Puimi has booked for her (after August?), then it is ok.
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Mallaiyuran / July 21, 2024
Anyway, this is not meant by Dr. Evil, Deakin University, Australia (in Tattletale and Wheeling and Dealing), to Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne, but it is only for current & past aid, Dr. Deal Dasa, the double traitor (not double agent), who attempted to derail the current 22A, which is a dream amendment for Evil to win the election.
Beyond the Sinhala Buddhist Intellectuals’ wheeling and dealing electioneering tactics, we can investigate some truth about the 19A, unrelated to anything that is going on now in the Gall Face Presidential Palace and Diyawanna Lake Palace. The most contested amendment in any court is 19A, because of its fallow. If Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne had issued this statement in conjunction with one of those lawsuits, it might have cleared his name, possibly. After Evil had pleaded Rowdy King to take over the parliament on three separate occasions during Yahapalanaya time and after the value of the rupee was deprived in the Forex market, he blamed his aides as people who pull the carpet under the feet of the Sinhala Buddhist Modayas. Evil dismissed the parliament within 4 years, one year earlier than needed to save people money in the election. Then he stole the Rowdy Royals’ election for his PM and EP position. He explained that the theft was for saving the Sinhala Buddhists’ democracy. Dr. JW has not explained any one of this in his unwanted reply to Evil,
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Mallaiyuran / July 21, 2024
I have a question for Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne: “Could he explain kindly, in conjunction with 19A, what happened in July 2022? Can he tell whose fault it was the Evil, a person who was always in his history rejected by Sinhala Buddhist was crowned as the Evil Emperor of Langkang, to defeat the protestors? Whose fault was that the following terms during July 2022 were not corrected? Did the S83 prevent 19A from stopping any unelected person becoming the EP of the country?
Another question too, please! Consider these quotes from you:
1). “Mr Sirisena’s election manifesto also stated that no constitutional reform necessitating a Referendum would be initiated.”
2). “A Cabinet subcommittee headed by Premier Wickremesinghe was appointed to oversee the Nineteenth Amendment process. The five-member team that prepared the initial draft comprised three retired officials who had served in very senior positions in the Legal Draftsman’s Department…….”
3). “While the terms of the President and Parliament were proposed to be reduced from six to five years, the upper limit of six years was not touched as that would require a Referendum.
4). The several drafts prepared were all shared and discussed with the Cabinet subcommittee. The draft finally approved by the Cabinet subcommittee was then sent to the Legal Draftsman, who took over as required by law and made some changes. It was then sent to the Attorney-General……..”
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Mallaiyuran / July 21, 2024
5). “Prime Minister Wickremesinghe presented the Bill to Parliament.”
In the five bullets I have presented from your essay, five various process have been described employed to vet the clauses and fix the terminology of the 19A, which was looked forward to restore the democracy, but only drafted and used to fool the UNHRC Modayas to make Old Rowdy escape from war crimes/Genocide crime, in same manner the current Air Lanka divestment and loan reduction to loan sustainability games are played, for IMF imbeciles. In any of those five occasions, was there any mention from you or Sumanthiran, the lead lawyers to change the “Six years of the president term to match with parliament’s term five years” and from some other corners it was opposed as the “president term” was completely a different animal, it cannot be matched with Parliament’s five years? Please, direct back to readers again for my bullet four, where you specifically mention that anything that violated the presidential power was either ignored and avoided or opposed by the Chief Justice Sri Pavan. But you have not pointed out on one occasion that the term of president was suspected as not the power of president, so you asked to consider changing that too. You know, the presidential election cannot be let under the power of the president; it is always under the power of the citizens.
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Mallaiyuran / July 21, 2024
Isn’t this, as per your answer to your past boss, a de facto confirmation of’‘ 6 Year Presidential Term” of 1978 constitution by 19A that the president’s term should and must be 6 years and the original 1978 constitution stand unmodified in that aspect. Then why haven’t you, with some public benefits advocates, have filed another action in the SC, that as you and Sumanthiran were the internal party of the constitutional amendment and with all the legal expertise rest in you both, the term of president is unchallengeable 6 years and the election commissioner has not received any authority to conduct the election unless parliament bring a NCM or the Senator Brutuses in Dubai unseats president But if the president quit the job, election cannot get declared automatically, only the communist Dinesh becomes the president. But still that is not a matter for quitting president; like in 2019 Evil can quit 1 year earlier, if he thinks his term has already expired, then the rest of the Diyawanna Lake enterprise will do some arrangement for another alternative for Evil.
One last question Sir, who is the another lowyer in this, “myself and another lawyer.” Is that you are indicating that Sumanthiran, the partner in crime, but Evil withheld his name, or is that because no Demulo Pariah deserves to be mentioned in the affairs of the Sinhala Buddhist’s Wheeling and dealing with?
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RBH59 / July 22, 2024
Why is he not blaming other people mistakes he and the promoter of Aragalaya most people join Aragala because he was there
Ranil Wickremesinghe has a history of political maneuvering, using the weaknesses of party leaders to his advantage. Now that he is President, many of his past controversies are resurfacing, but he seems to evade accountability. Previously, even former President Maithripala Sirisena removed him from office. Despite this, Ranil’s ambition for the presidency was well-known, especially as he sought the position despite lacking popular support in past elections.
The economic bankruptcy Sri Lanka faces did not arise in a vacuum. Ranil’s previous actions and decisions have significantly contributed to the country’s financial struggles. The loans and economic strategies he endorsed in the past are now burdens that future generations must bear. Countries like Bangladesh are offering financial assistance while Sri Lanka grapples with these consequences. It is crucial to acknowledge that these issues stem from a long history of governmental mismanagement, of which Ranil Wickremesinghe was a part.
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