With the emergence of an independent Sri Lanka, His Excellency the Hon. D.S. Senanayake created a Sri Lankan identity. Under this identity the Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and Burghers where provided a way forward with one identity as defined in our national anthem by the words “because of the children of one mother”. This is also mentioned in the Fundamental Rights Chapter of our Constitution.
There were separate laws for different sections of the people in this country. The law of our ancient Sinhala kingdom is today known as the Kandyan law. It is more than 700 years old, the Roman Dutch law is more than 600 years old.
Thesavalama law is a special law which is about 500 years old and is unique only to Jaffna, having not been practiced even in South India. At the same time, the existing law for Muslims has long been accepted.
In addition, an ethnic group called the Mukkuwa in the Eastern Province lived until the latter half of the 19th century, under a separate law. In the 20th century, this group became extinct due to its mixing with the Tamil and Muslim communities.
We have accepted the methods and characteristics of different ethnic groups from the past and no one has been harmed by them.
The removal of these laws would be tantamount to the removal of the legal framework established for the entire state of Sri Lanka. We can fix the shortcomings in these laws.
Primarily, the rights of married women are restricted in the Thesavalama law. WeWmust address that.
Under Muslim law, too, the rights of married women are minimized, and a Bill was drafted in 2019 by the Good Governance Government to amend it.
The Presidential Task Force was appointed at a time when this Bill was being taken forward by Justice Minister Ali Sabry.
In addition, the equal treatment of women and men in Sri Lanka is not seen in all sectors and laws should be introduced for that as well. A dialogue has been formed in the country regarding this.
However, the appointed Presidential Task Force is destabilizing and destroying the national unity.
The Minister in charge of the subject or the Attorney General may seek advice and assistance from the President, without relying on a Presidential Task Force to convey his opinion.
The first thing to do is to debate in Parliament these laws. Thereafter, a Select Committee should be appointed to discuss the matter with the assistance of the Ministry of Justice and especially the Attorney General.
This is a ridiculous move by the President to remove this topic from the purview of the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General without discussing it in the Cabinet.
This is an unconstitutional act by the President, as this is a function of Parliament.
Therefore, we call on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to immediately abolish the Presidential Task Force on One Law, One Country, which is detrimental to the unity of the country.
