Prof. Pieris has completely left out of his analysis all the political manoeuvrings by the Premadasa government to disrupt the implementation of the 13th Amendment. It is true that some weaknesses of the 13th Amendment offered a legal framework for such a disruption. But the implementational problems were also aggravated owing to the political culture dominant in Sri Lanka which inculcates a centralized power structure. But the 13th Amendment was the first attempt to devolve power to the provinces through the constitution. People understand through their experience.
Devolution is no longer a dirty word.
This is not merely because of the legal drawbacks of the amendment, but because of the unwillingness of the Colombo government politicians to share power with the local leaders, Tamil or Sinhala. This situation will prevail even under the new constitution after it is enacted, unless adequate measures are taken to change the prevailing political culture. Mr. Varadharaja Perumal, then the Chief Minister of a merged North-East Provincial Council tried to implement fully. Now Mr. Douglas Devananda M.P. wants its full implementation. The 13th Amendment is a part of our constitution.