The National Joint Committee

20^th September 2019.

His Excellency, Gotabaya Rajapaksa,
President of Sri Lanka,
Presidential Secretariat,
Colombo 1.

Your Excellency,

The National Joint Committee wish to congratulate you on being elected as the seventh Executive President of Sri Lanka. We also wish you every success during your term in office as President of Sri Lanka to implement the election manifesto that you presented to the people. You have proven to be an achiever who has always successfully implemented whatever task that you were entrusted without any fear or favor. We are therefore confident that you will be able to protect and preserve the unitary character of the state, its territorial integrity and the sovereignty of the people of our nation for posterity.

You have unfortunately been elected the President of a country in which people are divided based on ethnicity and religion. One of the reasons for such division is ethnic and religious based party politics. We sincerely hope that you will be able to unite the people of our country by doing away with ethnic and religious based party politics. The other reason that divides the people is the gradual establishment of ethnic enclaves in certain parts of the country. Such ethnic enclave need to be discouraged and an effort needs to be initiated to integrate people of all ethnic groups and religious beliefs in all parts of the country. 

The Indo Lanka Agreement that was forced on Sri Lanka by India through gunboat diplomacy that resulted in the introduction of the 13th Amendment to our Constitution has to be abrogated as the Provincial Councils thus established have proven to be white elephants. Devolution of power as opposed to decentralization of power can even result in the division of our nation.

It is our view that Provincial Councils or similar institutions should never be given legislative powers. We endorse your policy of having one law for the entire nation. Granting legislative power to Provincial Councils would go counter to such policy Therefore legislative power given to Provincial Councils should be removed as a matter of priority. Legislative power should only be exercised by Parliament. Even if Provincial Councils are allowed to remain we are in favor of strengthening the Local Authorities and Provincial Council members to be nominated from the existing Local Authorities thus avoiding Provincial Council elections. Such a move would prevent Provincial Council members being remunerated utilizing public funds.  

The National Joint Committee appreciates your pledge to follow a strictly nonaligned foreign policy. Due to the fact that Sri Lanka is strategically located in the Indian Ocean the country needs to remain nonaligned and refrain from getting involved in the geopolitical confrontation that is developing between America and China, through agreements that would enable these countries to gain a foothold in Sri Lanka. Therefore all bilateral agreements Sri Lanka has signed or propose to sign needs to be evaluated to ensure that our country follows a strictly nonaligned policy. We are very much concerned with the numerous trade and other agreements the Government of Sri Lanka signed or attempted to sign with other countries against our national interests. We therefore urge that Article 157 of the Constitution be further strengthened to ensure that no future Government would enter into such agreements surreptitiously without the approval of Parliament.

Finally we sincerely hope you will take necessary action to enable Sri Lanka to withdraw from the co-sponsorship of UNHRC Resolution 30/1 taking into consideration information available in the Report of the Second Mandate of the Maxwell Paranagama Presidential Commission of Inquiry and Lord Naseby’s discloses to the British Parliament. It is our view that your Excellency as a matter of priority prevent NGO’S both local and foreign from interfering with state affairs. The anti Sri Lankan resolutions and agreements were entered into and numerous legislation enacted to harass our Armed Forces at the instigation of these NGO’S. Therefore we suggest for you to appoint a special Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the conduct of these NGO’S and prevent them from interfering with the affairs of our motherland.   

Yours sincerely,

Anil Amarasekera/-

Lt Col,A.S.Amarasekera.(Rtd.) 

Co-President.