Even after 37 years, the 13th Amendment controversy is not over

 The 13th Amendment controversy has been the subject of intense debate for the past 37 years, yet it has not yet been resolved. This modification is viewed differently when considering the distribution of power to the Tamil people, even though it was considered in regard to the authority of Sri Lanka's nine provincial councils. Southerners are more explicitly discussing the devolution of powers to the provinces in the north and east.

Ranil Wickremesinghe, the president of Sri Lanka, stated at a recent event that the government is prepared to grant provincial councils additional authority under the 13th amendment of the constitution, in addition to police authority. He stated that the Parliament will come to a consensus on it. The President of Sri Lanka claims that he is prepared to carry out the 13th Amendment to its fullest extent. However, nobody ought to care about police authority.

His stance dictates how he speaks.

There are also claims that many of the powers granted to the provincial councils have been reverted to the federal government.

Speaking during the All-Party Committee meeting last year, President Ranil Wickremesinghe of Sri Lanka stated that the president's executive powers are obligated to carry out the legislation as it is now written. For this reason, he has openly expressed his desire to execute the 13th Constitutional Amendment Act in its entirety.

For the past 37 years, the 13th Amendment has been codified in our statute book but has not been put into effect. I'd like to put it into practice. Someone in Parliament should introduce the 22nd Amendment Act and repeal the 13th Amendment if I am not going to carry it out. If not, I have a political obligation to uphold the relevant law. To put it into practice completely

He had declared to the world that collaboration was expected.

Numerous Southern leaders, including former presidents Mahinda Rajapaksa and Maithripala Sirisena, independent member of parliament Dalus Alagaperuma, Dylan Perera, President of the Lanka Sama Samaj Party, and Professor Tissawitharana, supported the decision made by the president of Sri Lanka.

Sinhalese nationalists who practice Buddhism spoke out against this subject, even if it was a contentious one at the time. Not only that, but the heads of Sri Lanka's four Buddhist faculties also voiced their disapproval. Realizing this, the President started to remain mute, seemingly putting his efforts on hold, and he withheld remarks and anecdotes pertaining to the Thirteenth Amendment.

During Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickimasinghe's visit to India in the previous year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed the 13th Amendment's implementation and the holding of provincial council elections. He gave the Sri Lankan government advice on how to guarantee the respect and dignity of Elamites. Aside from this, all TNP leaders have written to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging India to put pressure on the Sri Lankan government to forward the 13th Amendment, which would pave the way for the offering of a significant devolution package. They had insisted that this kind of provision would establish the prerequisites for a long-term political agreement. These are all modern occurrences.

India exerted pressure for the 13th Amendment to be passed, but for the previous 37 years, the Provincial Council system of governance operated without the authority to establish land police. The Indian superpower exerted significant pressure and imposition throughout the treaty's writing, but JR Jayawardena, the president of Sri Lanka at the time, made the very prudent decision to implement the 13th Amendment without giving land or police powers. It displayed JR's incredible talent.

President J.R. granted these two authorities when the government for the North and Eastern Provincial Councils was established, denying the Indian Army any room to operate. I disagree. The rulers of the province, under the leadership of Varadarajaperumal, who had formed a government with the support of the Indian Army, attempted, but were unable, to get police and land authority. Varadarajaperumal's organization attempted to create a national army in reaction to this.

It is a well-known truth that the Indian Prime Minister, who drafted the agreement, was unable to persuade the President of Sri Lanka to agree to the requests of Chief Minister Varadarajaperumal about police powers.

The use of any armed forces or other forces under the control of the Government of Sri Lanka in support of civil principles is not included in the 13th Amendment's definition of police power under the Ninth Schedule of the Provincial Council's section on Police and Public Order, which deals with the exercise of public order and police principles within the province and national security.

It is also described as excluding Sri Jayawardenepura and the surrounding areas, as well as the city of Colombo. Inspectors of Police, Chief Deputy Commissioners of Police, Chief Inspectors of Police, and other senior officers to be mobilized at the national level in accordance with Section 2.1 of the Law and Order Annex hereto shall comprise the National Section.

As a result, it has different ranks as specified in section 2.2. (You may read the entire text by reading Political Yap's 13th Amendment.)

to grant provincial councils police authority in light of the risks associated with giving them such authority over a police force.

The Sri Lankan government has been denying that it isn't feasible for the previous 37 years.

If we take into consideration the reasons behind the Southern Powers' strong opposition to the potential consequences of granting police powers to the Provincial Councils, we might conclude that it is being faced in this manner.

The defense and security capabilities of the federal government would be weakened if police authority were transferred to provincial governments.

Since Sri Lanka gained its independence, the National Police Force has made a significant contribution to maintaining law and order, ensuring city security, and using its authority in public affairs. Furthermore, it would refute the existing data showing 90% of police force recruitment is determined by ethnicity.

With the assistance of the police, the administrations of Sri Lanka have been carrying out all land grabs, acquisitions, and settlements for more than 2.75 years. These are the specific causes of the Eastern Province's hilly villages, Amparai, and Trincomalee's demise. The minority has claimed that because several strategically significant villages and communities are encroaching on the tribal border, the police have been encouraging this expansion. Thus, some Tamil speakers believe that the government's reluctance to advance stems from their concern that if provincial councils are granted police authority, significant changes to the current state of affairs may transpire.

Because racists in South Lanka and members of the Buddhist sects have instilled in the Sinhalese people the perverse belief that the police and land powers should not be granted to provincial councils, racists in the region have made it their mission to stop the police and land powers from being granted to the provincial councils.

The incorrect perception of police authority is caused by the competing views of racists and the misguided belief that giving this power to the youth of the North and East, who have been waging an armed conflict for more than 30 years, will facilitate disaster.

Furthermore, liberals like Ranil Wickrama Singha will fail in their attempts to change the mindset of the South Lankan society, which believes that granting such powers to the Tamils—who have been calling for a political solution based on collective decentralization for over 75 years—will cause the country to be divided.

The disagreements between then-Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and former President Maithripala Sirisena caused the attempts to draft a new constitution intended to provide a lasting solution to the political issues facing the Tamil people to end prematurely during the period of good governance under Wickremesinghe. In addition, it is also true that the major political parties in the Parliament are unwilling to work together to find a political solution, which has led to a growing mistrust of Ranil Wickramasinghe among the Tamil parties.

Among the first to provide misleading information regarding the possible advantages of giving provincial councils more authority over law enforcement was the former president Jayawardene. He was the primary figure because JR believed incorrectly that the North and the East would split apart if greater powers, such as the Indian states, emerged. It was the viewpoint that the Indian side presented.

Of all the world's best political systems, the Indian Samashti system is the best.

The authority granted to the states is the basis for interpretation. It is evident that while each state had the authority to devolve land and police authorities to a greater extent than the others, they refrained from initiating independence. Despite rumors that some states have tried hard to break away from the central federation, they have managed to preserve India's impressive organizational system. That's why it's important to realize that, despite Sri Lanka being a small island without borders, politicians from the South are acting hypocritically when they say that the Tamil people, who seek more authority, will use that power to split the nation.

When the Tamil National Federation questioned the status of police powers in the 13th Amendment this week during a meeting between members of the Northern and Eastern Tamil Parliament, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe responded that the 13th Amendment could solve the Tamil people's problems. We are unable to discuss the police authority in it at this time, though. His assertion that discussing won't fix issues makes sense in light of his perspective.