Introduction
Leader of National Freedom Front (NFF) and the Minister of Construction, Engineering Services, Housing & Common Amenities, Hon Wimal Weerawansa delivered a public lecture on the 7th of September 2011 on the ‘13th amendment plus? Or Minus? at the Youth Services Council, Maharagama.
The following commentary is a summary of the key points he made during his lecture.
Objective of the Lecture
The international community and their local supporters are attempting to reverse the victory Sri Lanka achieved after defeating the separatist terrorists. Now they have commenced a dialogue on ‘13th amendment plus’. Hence this series of lectures intend to bring this conspiracy to the attention of the patriotic actors.
Content
- Today’s world is facing three main kinds of crisis situations
- Economic instability
- Political instability
- Environmental crisis
- There is a possibility to have an international intervention on Sri Lanka. The background is been prepared for that at the moment.
- This preparation is taking place in two ways at the moment:
- Creating internal instability within the country
- Direct use of International actors
- Methodologies used to create internal instability
- Grease Devil Phenomenon: To create conflicts between people and the military
- Using university students to create internal crisis
- International actors against Sri Lanka
- Meeting between the Secretary of States in the US: Hilary Clinton with J Jayalalitha, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
- Latest report of Amnesty International criticizing the efforts of Lessons Learnt & Reconciliation Commission
- Independence Day remarks by Ambassador Patricia Butenis highlighting young people. She concluded her speech wishing all the best for the young generation in Sri Lanka.
- Robert O’ Blake’s visit to Sri Lanka and his schedule to meet the university students: There are no such events of him meeting University students in Sri Lanka’s recent history. It was reported that a group of university students have submitted a letter to Ambassador Butenis. These incidents are all interconnected.
- Statement made by an international actor in recent press, highlighting the need of a Libyan style intervention in Sri Lanka.
- The International community is in need of strengthening Tamil chauvinism politically. It was defeated militarily by the government of Sri Lanka. For that, they use the provincial council system as a tool. As a result, the international community has commenced talking about 13th plus with the objective of transforming government thinking to go for a power devolution beyond the 13th amendment
- Sri Lanka is not in need of a power devolution structure that goes beyond the existing 13th amendment. If such a thing happens it will definitely pave the way for the establishment of another independent state within Sri Lanka, similar to the South Sudan scenario.
- Patriotic actors need to get together and defeat these international conspiracies. At a time where we have successfully defeated Tamil chauvinism we shouldn’t be discussing power devolution, but about social and economic development
- Housing for everyone
- Livelihood development
- Creating more educational opportunities
- Making Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims equal stakeholders of the economic development
Conclusions
- There is a possibility of Sudanese agenda against Sri Lanka to transfer to a Libyan one.
- The government will be forced to go for 13th plus and ‘secession through devolution’ will be encouraged.
- The end result could even be taking the leader who commanded the war together with the war heroes to its success, to a similar war tribunal as that for Yugoslavia.