CNA Staff, Oct 15, 2020 / 15:47 pm
Sri Lanka's bishops said Tuesday that the country's democracy would decay if parliament passes a constitutional amendment that would strengthen the president's power.
The bishops said the Twentieth Amendment, which would allow President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to take control of parliament, would be dangerous for the country. They instead encouraged government officials to focus on drafting a new constitution that safeguards democracy, law, and equality.
"We need to emphasize that concentration of power in an individual without checks and balances does not augur well for a Democratic, Socialist Republic," they said in an Oct. 13 letter.
The letter was signed by the president and the secretary general of the Sri Lankan bishops' conference, Bishop Winston Fernando of Badulla and Auxiliary Bishop Anthony Jayakody of Colombo.