Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has pledged to move swiftly to pass the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution once the Supreme Court delivers its ruling, saying the proposed amendment is essential to punish corruption and dismantle what he described as the country’s existing “black laws” system.
Addressing a political rally in the Bulathsinhala area, Dissanayake said the Government would take steps to secure parliamentary approval for the amendment immediately after receiving the court’s decision.
The President said the court ruling was expected within 21 days and stressed that the amendment would be passed without delay once the decision was received. His comments place the proposed constitutional change at the centre of the Government’s stated effort to address corruption and what it regards as entrenched protections within the existing system.
Dissanayake said decisions taken by his Government were carefully considered in the interests of the public and insisted that the Government would not reverse decisions once they had been made.
“We make these decisions after carefully weighing them in the interests of the people. Therefore, we will not reverse any decision we take. Now those who were protected by this corrupt system are becoming alarmed. They are running from embassy to embassy and writing to international organisations. But we will not stop our journey,” the President said.
His remarks came as he argued that the scale of alleged crimes and corruption committed during previous administrations was extensive. Dissanayake said he was himself surprised as individual cases and allegations continued to emerge.
The President presented the proposed constitutional amendment as an essential component of the Government’s broader effort to ensure accountability and strengthen the operation of the law. He argued that the scale of wrongdoing under previous governments demonstrated the need for the legal system to operate fully against those responsible.
“Honestly, given the nature of the wrongs that have occurred, when the law is properly enforced, the situation is such that not even one person will be left,” Dissanayake further said.
The Government’s next step will depend on the court’s ruling on the 22nd Amendment. Dissanayake’s pledge indicates that, once the ruling is delivered, the administration intends to move the proposed constitutional change through Parliament without further delay.
The President’s comments also frame the amendment as part of a wider political confrontation with individuals and groups he says benefited from the existing system. His assertion that some of those affected are approaching diplomatic missions and international organisations suggests that the Government expects resistance to its programme of legal and institutional change.
For the Government, the immediate sequence is therefore clear: await the court’s decision, expected within 21 days, and then seek parliamentary approval for the amendment. Dissanayake has made clear that he does not intend to allow further delay once the legal position has been established.
