Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe today appealed the lawmakers to cooperate in drafting a new Constitution to replace the nearly 40-year old statute for a better future of the country.
Addressing a ceremonial session held to mark the 70th anniversary of parliamentary democracy in Sri Lanka, he said "We must put forward a political solution to address the national issue".
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, along with parliamentary speakers from SAARC nations, also attended the session.
Speakers from SAARC nations are in Sri Lankan capital to attend the three-day eighth conference of the Association of SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians (ASSP) beginning tomorrow.
Wickremesinghe said that President Maithripala Sirisena's government was committed to end the national issue (drafting of a new Constitution) with a political solution.
He said this in reference to a report, submitted by him to parliament last month, which is expected to lead to a new draft Constitution for the country replacing the 1978 adopted Constitution.
The Tamil minority, on whose behalf the LTTE ran a bloody armed conflict for political independence, remain hopeful that the new constitution would offer them political autonomy.
The ASSP was set up in 1992 to promote friendship and understanding among the peoples of South Asia, promote co- ordination and exchange of information among the Parliaments and Parliamentarians of SAARC countries and provide a forum for exchange of ideas and information on parliamentary procedures and practices of the region.
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