Restoring Government in Sri Lanka

*groundview journalism For citizens

9 Apr, 2012 Dr Vinoth Ramachandra

If Sri Lanka is fast becoming a pariah state in the eyes of the world, it has nothing to do with the recent UNHRC Resolution.

The writing has long been on the wall. As a nation, we are ruled by a group of men who seem to have nothing but contempt for the rule of law, let alone for truth in the public sphere. Violence and threats of violence against critics, the suppression of media freedom, extra-judicial killings, misplaced economic priorities and corruption on a scale that made even previous governments look clean, have become the order of the day.

The minimal definition of government has to do with the rule of law: namely, that as a people we should be governed not by arbitrary fiat but by a system of laws to which the law-makers and law-enforcers themselves are accountable. The opposite of government is sovereign will, where the King/President decides what is “good for the nation”, and changes his mind from day to day- and uses the police and army not to uphold the law but to carry out his private will.Continue reading »