{"id":108409,"date":"2013-10-02T00:10:51","date_gmt":"2013-10-01T18:40:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=108409"},"modified":"2013-10-08T06:29:21","modified_gmt":"2013-10-08T00:59:21","slug":"a-note-on-the-federal-demand-by-the-tna","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/a-note-on-the-federal-demand-by-the-tna\/","title":{"rendered":"A Note On The Federal Demand By The TNA"},"content":{"rendered":"

By R.M.B Senanayake<\/a><\/span> –<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

R.M.B. Senanayake<\/p><\/div>\n

The TNA has in their mandate referred to their demand for federalism\u00a0which has upset many people in the South who think it is a precursor\u00a0to secession.<\/p>\n

The federal constitution could be designed to remove such possibility\u00a0of secession for the sub-unit could agree to give up such demand and\u00a0the Central government as a quid pro quo agrees not to alter the\u00a0allocation of powers and functions between the Center and the\u00a0sub-unit. The Agreement is a Covenant. The concept of a covenant is\u00a0drawn from the Bible where under the Old Testament God promises to\u00a0protect and safeguard the Israelites from their enemies and the\u00a0Israelites in turn agreed not to disobey God. Here is the note on
\nFederalism from Wikipedia.<\/p>\n

\u201cFederalism is a political concept in which a group of members are\u00a0bound together by covenant (Latin: foedus, covenant) with a governing\u00a0representative head. The term “federalism” is also used to describe a\u00a0system of government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided\u00a0between a central governing authority and constituent political units\u00a0(such as states or provinces). Federalism is a system based upon\u00a0democratic rules and institutions in which the power to govern is\u00a0shared between national and provincial\/state governments, creating\u00a0what is often called a federation\u201d.<\/p>\n

Since 1956 several attempts have been made to resolve the demands of\u00a0the Tamil people. There was the B-C Pact of 1957 which referred to\u00a0Regional Councils. There was the Dudley Senanayake-Chelvanayagam Pact\u00a0of 1965 which provided that \u201cAction will be taken to establish\u00a0District Councils in Ceylon vested with powers to be mutually agreed\u00a0upon between the two leaders. It was agreed, however, that the\u00a0Government should have power under the law to give directions to such\u00a0Councils in the national interest\u201d. The Agreement was not given effect\u00a0to by the Dudley Senanayake Government due to opposition by Sinhala\u00a0nationalist extremists. And this led to the withdrawal of the Federal\u00a0Party from the Cabinet in 1968.<\/p>\n

In 1979 there was the attempt to establish District Development\u00a0Councils. Again they were abandoned after the attempt to rig the\u00a0Jaffna elections. The Tamil parties withdrew their co-operation.<\/p>\n

What is important to note is that all these Agreements were\u00a0unilaterally nullified or abandoned by the Central Government.<\/p>\n

The demand for federalism reflects the need for both sides to abide by\u00a0any Agreement. But in a unitary State the Center is sovereign and\u00a0there is no shared sovereignty. This means that the Center can\u00a0unilaterally withdraw from any Agreement or can change the Allocation\u00a0of Functions and Powers between the Center and the Provinces. Some\u00a0also point out that the Central Government has not always been\u00a0respectful of the fundamental rights and even the human rights of the\u00a0citizens. So the Tamil minority is dissatisfied d with devolution\u00a0within a unitary state. They would like to constrain the powers of the\u00a0Center in relation to the division of powers for they fear that the\u00a0Center may gradually usurp the powers of the Provincial Councils. A\u00a0Federal Constitution envisages a Covenant between the Center and the\u00a0subunits. So that the Center cannot unilaterally usurp the powers\u00a0already devolved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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