The Public Representations Committee (PRC) on Constitutional Reform yesterday said it had not made any recommendations on federalism, the state religion and homosexuality, but had merely reported the views of the public on such issues.

Committee chairman Lal Wijenayake told the media they had only reported the views of the people who had presented their submissions to the PRC.

“No one wanted federalism and therefore we have not made any recommendations with regard to this at all,” Mr. Wijenayake said.“However many wanted the rights of different communities safeguarded, and we have highlighted this. But we have stated in our report that the concurrent list under the 13th Amendment should be abolished and replaced with a list of powers that would be devolved to local bodies,” he added.

Elaborating on the state religion, Mr. Wijenayake said the report had noted that Buddhism should continue to be safeguarded by the state. However he said divergent views made by the people were also included in the report.

As for homosexuality, he said the committee had reported that the new constitution should address issues faced by the modern world.

He added that the PRC report had also taken into consideration the views expressed by its own members. When asked whether this harmed the collective responsibility of the committee, Mr. Wijenayake said the report included both a majority view and a minority one, and was therefore balanced.

The PRC also noted that a constitution could not resolve certain issues pertaining to the laws governing particular ethnic groups as these had to be resolved by the groups themselves. It was highlighted that the Tesavalamai Law could not resolve some land issues in the North.

“We have not recommended anything, but have summarized what the general public wants, and have given space to the ideas of all PRC members regarding the public views to ensure its credibility,” he added. (Yohan Perera)