Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) General Secretary Arumugam Thondaman has formed a 15 member committee to submit views and proposals for a new constitution, said Former Minister P.P Devaraj.
Addressing the media yesterday at the Ceylon Workers Congress head office, Devaraj said the committee is comprised of members attached to the CWC, political and legal representatives and academics.
Devaraj said the committee will discuss and formulate proposals to ensure that all the people are given
equal recognition in terms of the constitution adding that the committee will look into political problems faced by the Indian origin Tamils and take measures to rectify all the issues pertaining to the Tamil community.
“The constitution has to ensure that it does not provide a second class citizenship for the minorities living in the country. The Constitution of a nation should be an article that all citizens can feel proud of regardless their religion or ethnicity,” he said.
Referring to the report of Prof. Tissa Vitharana to the All Party Representatives Committee (APRC), Devaraj said Prof. Vitharana’s concept should be accepted by the government, that people of Sri Lanka shall be described in the constitution as being composed of ‘the Sinhala, Sri Lankan Tamil, Moor, Indian Tamil and other constituent peoples of Sri Lanka’ with the right of every constituent to develop their own language, promote its own culture and the right to its due share of state power.
Stating that the Committee will be chaired by R. Sivaraman, he said that the CWC seeks the opinion from public and other academics with regard to the new Constitution.
by Nushka Nafeel / CDN