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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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Thursday, August 24, 2017
Sri Lanka: New Constitution a Must
( August 23, 2017, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The
peoples’ verdict at the Presidential election of January 2015 reflected
the mandate of the people for a new constitution to remedy democratic
deficits in Sri Lanka’s governance arrangements, nearly 40 years after
the enactment of the current constitution. A year later, after the
Parliamentary election of the same year, the process for the enactment
of a new constitution was initiated on 9th March 2016 with the passing
of the Framework Resolution for the appointment of the Constitutional
Assembly. This assembly was a representative body consisting of all 225
members of Parliament sitting as a committee to draft proposals for a
new constitution, chaired by the Speaker.
The Constitutional Assembly appointed six sub-committees composed of
Parliamentarians to submit draft proposals on the topics – Fundamental
Rights, Public Service, Judiciary, Public Finance, Law and Order and
Centre Periphery Relations. In contrast with the undertaking of the
government in the Framework Resolution, there was very poor public
information and engagement about the subsequent process of drafting,
raising serious concerns about both its transparency and legitimacy. By
end 2016, all six sub-committees had submitted their draft proposals.
The Constitutional Assembly also appointed a Steering Committee, chaired
by the Prime Minister, which is widely representative of all political
parties. The mandate of the Steering Committee was to present a draft
proposal for a new constitution to the Constitutional Assembly.
A profoundly important feature of the ongoing constitutional process was
the open and participatory process with which it was initiated. Even
prior to the passing of the Framework Resolution, a Public
Representations Committee for Constitutional Reforms (PRC) was nominated
by all political parties and appointed by the cabinet of ministers to
seek the views of the people on the contents of a new constitution for
Sri Lanka. Members of the public and interested groups were able to make
direct representations at the sittings of the PRC in every district of
the country and also at the sittings of the sub-committees in
Parliament. This open and participatory process is in stark contrast to
the passing of the 1972 and 1978 Constitutions, drafted by the political
parties which had won election victories, enabling them to enact
constitutions of their choosing. The public responded actively to this
unprecedented opportunity, and the subsequent report of the PRC and the
sub-committee reports did reflect the range of views held by Sri Lankan
citizens on key elements of a future constitution. It is very
regrettable that following the publication of the PRC report there has
been little clarity about how the views of the people of this country
have informed the subsequent process.
It is of great concern and disappointment that this process appears to
have reached an impasse. The six sub-committee reports were supposed to
have been debated by the Constitutional Assembly in January of this year
but this was postponed indefinitely. Thereafter little or no progress
has been made in resolving the outstanding issues. Developing tensions
between the two factions of the so-called National Unity Government also
appear to be hampering the process. The initial time frame for the
Constitutional Assembly to debate the draft constitutional proposals is
long past and no definite deadline has been set for this process. In the
meantime some political parties and prominent Buddhist clergy have
publicly taken the position that a new constitution is unnecessary. It
is extremely disheartening thatthese groups seek to override the will of
the people.
Contentious issues to be resolved in the draft constitution include the
abolition of the Executive Presidency and the extent of power sharing
between the centre and the provinces. There has been a long-standing
need to replace the powerful Executive Presidency with a more democratic
Parliamentary system that ensures the sovereignty of the people through
the undisturbed parallel functioning and the separation of powers of
the three pillars of government, i.e. the Executive, the Legislature and
the Judiciary. Strengthening the independence of the judiciary is an
absolute necessity, and must include provisions on the appointment and
dismissal of judges. We also must not overlook the need for an equally
independent, fearless and professional public service that must have the
capacity to run the country without being subject to the direction,
oversight and control of ministers and without interference from them.
The powers of the ministers must be limited to policymaking, and
implementation of policies must be left to professional public servants.
Further, meaningful power sharing and strengthened human rights is
critical for rebuilding the political structure of the country, and is
long overdue, nearly eight years after the end of the war. The new
constitution must fulfill the need to ensure good governance, rule of
law, the dignity of every citizen, national unity and meaningful
reconciliation. The supremacy of the constitution and the sovereignty of
the people must be embedded in its provisions.
A new constitution has been mandated by the people and law makers must
give it the highest priority. Any attempt to subvert this process for
cheap political gain by those elected by the people, cannot and must not
be tolerated. We urge the Prime Minister and members of the Steering
Committee to ensure that the draft constitutional proposals are put
before the Constitutional Assembly within the next three months at
least, and are also made available to the public. We also urge all
representatives of the people in Parliament, both in government and the
opposition, to consider the proposals positively and in the best
interests of all the people of this country. We acknowledge that the
task of drafting a new constitution is not an easy one, given the
multi-ethnic-religious constituency of the island nation. It is
nonetheless imperative that the process is followed through to the end,
and the voice of the people, made clear at the last two elections, be
heard.
Mr. Priyantha Gamage Bishop Duleep de Chickera
On behalf of the Friday Forum:
On behalf of the Friday Forum:
Dr.
A.C.Visvalingam, Prof. Savitri Goonesekere, Mr. S.C.C.Elankovan, Mr.
Faiz-ur.Rahman, Rev. Dr. Jayasiri Peiris, Mr. Danesh Casie-Chetty, Dr.
Upatissa Pethiyagoda, Mr. PulasthiHewamanna, Mr. Chandra Jayaratne, Mr.
Ananda Galappaththi, Prof. Gameela Samarasinghe, Mr. Javid Yusuf, Prof.
ArjunaAluwihare, Mr. Dhammapala Wijayanandana, Mr. Prashan de Visser and
Ms. Shanthi Dias