A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Back to 500BC.
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Tuesday, July 25, 2017
Our right to new Constitution
The
Venerable Mahanayake Theras of the Buddhist Chapters suddenly met in
Kandy on July 4 under the leadership of the Asgiriya Chapter Mahanayaka
Most Venerable Warakagoda Gnanaratna Thera. The purpose is to stall the
ongoing Constitution-making process which is already more or less
halfway through. First of all, the million dollar question is as to why
such a concern on their part arose after nearly one and a half years,
and not at the beginning of the process.
As is well known, the National Unity Government, with the two
traditional arch rivals happily joining hands for the first time in the
country’s long term interest, secured the people’s mandate to form the
National Unity Government, inter alia, to enact and operate a new
Constitution. Hence, it is irrevocably incumbent on the Government to
carry out the sovereign people’s mandate, and there shouldn’t be any
hindrance from any quarter in this respect. Of course, all sections of
the people of all races and religions have had the opportunity to
present their views and ideas from the time the Public Representations
Committee headed by a political leader and Attorney-at-law Lal Wijenaike
started functioning at the inception. What has to be borne in mind by
one and all is that the people’s mandate cannot be jettisoned.
Executive Presidency
Now, it is common knowledge that the former President Mahinda Rajapaksa,
who had pledged in 2005 to abolish the Executive Presidency, reneged on
that pledge. On the contrary, having gone halfway through his second
term, he got the infamous 18th Amendment passed in Parliament to remove
the mandatory two-term limit to seek election to the Presidency,
insatiably aspiring to become the first third term President, but of
course it misfired thanks to the will of the people which is the most
paramount factor.
Presently, of course, he is a Member of Parliament as well as the
foremost leader of the Joint Opposition (JO) representing the dissident
wing of the UPFA, including the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP), the
National Freedom Front (NFF) and the Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) led by
Parliamentarians Dinesh Gunawardena, Wimal Weerawansa and Udaya
Gammanpila respectively. The notorious propaganda of the JO is that (a)
Federalism has all but been conceded, putting paid to the Unitary State
system, and (b) that the foremost place given to Buddhism is being
compromised. Such a bizarre misleading propaganda is nothing but an
insult to their own intelligence, besides taking the sovereign people
for fools.
National Unity Government
Well, the National Unity Government appeared somewhat taken aback by the
sudden moves of the Buddhist Chapters which might well erode the
Government’s 2015 mandate to take the country along the path of peace
and reconciliation, to fast-track economic development for democracy to
thrive, so that people of all races and religions could live in peace
and amity.
In the meantime, President Maithripala Sirisena has met with the
Mahanayake Theras in Kandy and assured them that there will be due
consultations with them once the final draft of the Constitution is
ready. Of course, the Mahanayake Theras can have their say even at this
stage of the Constitution-making processes, but at the end of the day,
the National Unity Government should boldly act in accordance with the
people’s mandate handed down at the two elections in 2015. What is of
most paramount importance is that there should be no question of
pandering to the whims and fancies of any segment, apparently driven by a
hidden hand.
Bandaranaike- Chelvanayakam pact
It is quite appropriate in this connection quote a journalist of yore of
no mean repute, Tarzie Vitachchi, from his book titled ‘Emergency ’58’.
Here is what he said on the question of the price paid for pandering:
“When a Government, however popular, begins to pander to racial or
religious emotionalism, merely because it is the loudest of the raucous
demands made on it, and then meddles in the administration and
enforcement of law and order for the benefits of its favourites, or win
the plaudits of a crowd, however hysterical it may be, catastrophe is
certain.”
What is historically relevant to remember in this connection is the
situation that led to Bandaranaike’s unilateral abrogation of the
Bandaranaike-Chelvanayakam pact in 1958, that is well-nigh six decades
ago. Chelvanayakam had consciously accepted the pact, knowing well that
it was a halfway house, even though some of his confidants had their own
reservations.
The fact that Bandaranaike found himself meekly abrogating the B-C pact
due to extraneous pressure especially from the Buddhist clergy, is
history, and a real tragedy; for had the BC pact been fully implemented
sans any obstructions, the chequered problem could well have been well
and truly finally resolved as the years went by, and there would
certainly have been no war and the colossal destruction of life, limb
and property.
Let lessons be learnt. Let wisdom prevail. Better late than never.