COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s government on Saturday began the process of drawing up a new constitution for the country aimed at eliminating causes that led to a quarter-century civil war.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe proposed that Parliament be converted into a constituent assembly to draft a new constitution.
President Maithripala Sirisena, speaking in Parliament, said constitutions since Sri Lanka’s independence from Britain in 1948 have not focused on unifying different ethnic communities. Objections from the majority ethnic Sinhala community to power sharing deals with minority ethnic Tamils in the early years led to terrorism and war, he said.
“I believe now, through our past bitter experiences, we must prepare ourselves for future challenges,” he said.