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
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Sunday, August 6, 2017
A Disunited Government But United Against Accountability, Justice & Reconciliation
The
coalition Government of United National Party [UNP] – Sri Lanka Freedom
Party [SLFP] calling itself as a Government of ‘Good Governance’ took
office in January 2015 with Mithiripala Sirisena [SLFP] as President
with Ranil Wickremasinghe as Prime Minister [UNP]commanding 105 members
of Parliament and
Mithiripala Sirisena [SLFP] holding 97 members. Two major political
parties who were battling against each other in all parliamentary
elections joined to form a historical Government giving high hopes and
optimism to all sections of the people in Sri Lanka particularly for the
Tamils. Plenty of vote catching promises were made. The most important
being the elimination of bribery and corruption and prosecuting past
corrupt politicians particularly the former President Rajapaksa clan,
who amassed wealth unprecedented in the history of Sri Lanka. The other
promise was to offer a just, and permanent political settlement to the
70 year old ethnic problem with promises to take steps to redress the
other grievances due to war and after the war. Another important promise
was to replace the old JR Jayewardene’s constitution with a new
constitution engaging the public from all walks of life with a
consultative process. The mandate of the people was obtained to carry
out the above commitments with the approval of 6.3 million voters during
the elections, including the majority of Tamil and Muslim voters.
The
Government acted on the promised steps to set up a Constitutional
Council, independent Police Commission, and independent Judicial
Commission while clipping some powers of the President under the 19th Amendment.
The extent of independence and impartiality is far from satisfactory
when looking back at some of these Commissions’ past conduct of
functions which appear to be falling in line with the ruling
Government’s thinking.
The
Government after more than 30 months in power is still grappling with
power struggle, inner divisions and personal clashes in and outside the
Parliament particularly between the UNP and SLFP ministers and high ups.
Doubts as to who runs the Government, President or Prime Minister also
are cropping up due to lack of co-ordination and consultation or even
personal communication. The recent meeting of the UN Special Rapporteur
for Human Rights and Counter Terrorism with the Tamil political
prisoners in Anuradhapura irked President Mithiripala Sirisena who was
unaware of it until knowing the UN Rapporteur’s scathing comments on Sri
Lanka made by him in a Press Conference.
The
Joint Opposition Group initiated by Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa
has also become a veritable irritant threatening to scuttle the
Governments move to enact a new constitution, not to mention his
venomous opposition to increased devolution of powers to Northern
Provincial Council, a permanent political weapon used to sway the
Sinhalese voters. PM Ranil is also accused by some in the Maithiri’s
quarters for the soft approach in the prosecution of Mahinda Rajapaksa
associates as a check mate to SLFP’s electoral ambitions and gains. The
net result is a government which is running only to survive and last
until the next Parliamentary Elections. This corroding instability has
resulted in many failures for the ‘GOOD GOVERNANCE’
which has progressed to a Government of “NO CONFIDENCE’ and ‘NO
GOVERNANCE’ hoping to survive until the Parliamentary Election in 2020.
1.
All the recommendations of the UNHRC Resolution 30-1-2015 remain
unimplemented except the Office of Missing Persons Act which was passed
in August 2016 without adequate powers to ensure culpability for the
offenders but only ensuring impunity for them. The
Internal Judicial Mechanism is yet to be conceived and with the
declared statements of President, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister
not to prosecute any security personnel for war crimes, even holding
investigations, the principles of justice and accountability have got
their good byes in no uncertain terms, while burying the reconciliation
process.
2.
The proposed new constitution could be an aborted or child of
miscarriage. The all powerful Maha Sanga with its three Chief Prelates
landed their knockouts for any new constitution, calling on the
Government to look after the existing constitution with suitable
amendments which should be confined to reduction of Presidential powers
and electoral reforms, with Buddhism and unitary system remain as it is.
The government has also yielded to the demands of Maha Sanga by
declaring that any changes or amendments to the constitution will be
submitted to Maha Sanga for their pre approval. This is nothing but a
slap on the face of the 6.3 million voters who gave the mandate for a
new constitution and who only have their right to exercise either to
approve or reject it based on the sovereignty of people over everything
else.
The
statement of the Joint Opposition Group “No one should act against Maha
Sanga and its stand”. And the statement of UNP member Kajantha
Gunawardene “Consent of two parties is required to enact a new
constitution, one is the consent of Maha Sanga and the other is the
consent of people. Without these consents a new constitution cannot be
enacted”. These statements are the writings on the wall as to the fate
of a new constitution.
It
appears that Sri Lanka holds the unique distinction of having two
states with the veto power, being vested with the Maha Sanga.