Army Officers & Soldiers Educated on Constitutional Reforms

Directorate of Legal of the Army Headquarters in coordination with the office of the Co-ordinator, 'Public Outreach Programme on Constitutional Reforms and Constitution Making' organized an awareness programme at the Army Hospital auditorium in Colombo Thursday morning (28) in order to educate Army personnel on the subject.

In response to a request made by the office of the Co-ordinator, 'Public Outreach Programme on Constitutional Reforms and Constitution Making', Commander of the Army, Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake made arrangements instructing Brigadier Edward Jayasinghe, Director Legal of the Army to facilitate the conduct of the educative programme.

The public outreach programme is aimed at reaching the General Public, Civil Society, Public Officers, Religious Dignitaries, School Children, Youth and other stakeholders by raising awareness on the constitutional reform process of Sri Lanka.

This workshop was organized as part of an effective and comprehensive public awareness programme.

The programme was coordinated by Mr. Winston Pathiraja, Secretary to the Public Representations Committee on Constitutional Reforms and conducted under the leadership of Mr. Lal Wijenayake, Chairman of the Public Representations Committee on Constitutional Reforms.

The programme raises awareness as to the need for a new constitution and educates the participants about the substance and process behind constitutional reforms in Sri Lanka, based on materials available in the public domain.

To generate much needed awareness and interest and to engage the public in relation to the discourse surrounding the constitutional reform process, the workshop also included a Question and Answer (Q & A) session at the end of the forum.

The Q & A sessions facilitate and enable participants to clarify matters pertaining to the constitutional reforms process in progress, gain better understanding and engage in effective dialogue relating to the constitutional reform process and the needs and aspirations of the general public in the context of formulating a new constitution for the country.

More than 80 Senior Officers and 100 Other Rankers of the Army together with 25 officials of the Prime Minister’s office joined the awareness programme.