Letting go of unnecessary tension over ETCA

- Feb 27, 2016

The Resolution for the Appointment of the Constitutional Assembly, which was presented seven weeks ago to start off with the drafting of the new Constitution, is still in the labour room unable to deliver. The Resolution was put off for the second time in Parliament on Wednesday after two days of extensive debate.

It was presented to the House by the Prime Minister on January 9 and taken up for a full day debate on January 12, but was put off given the lack of consensus on its content that outlined the process of constitutional making exercise. Even though Parliament sat eight days after that, the Government did not move the Resolution for debate.

In the meantime, the Government asked for the proposals of the Opposition parties and the SLFP group representing the Government to amend the Resolution. The Resolution, which was put forth for debate last Tuesday, had been revised accommodating the proposals agreed by the both sides. Yet, the two main parties working in a tenuous national government have been unable to reach a final agreement on it until the debate was taken up on Tuesday.

This lack of agreement drove the Prime Minister to inform Parliament that the Resolution would not be moved for vote at the end of debate on Wednesday as scheduled, but be adjourned for a further date till the Cabinet finalizes the amendments. On the one hand, this decision gets along well with the democratic and transparent policies and consensual politics sought by the Government, but on the other hand, it causes for procrastination of the much-awaited and long overdue Constitutional reforms.

Constitutional making process
The differences of opinions, as seen at the very outset on the basic structure of Constitutional making process, are a strong indication that more and far bitter struggles lie ahead, and that those will begin to vex when the drafting is in full flow.

Among the varied views aired during the debate, there were clashing views even to what was previously thought that there was a common agreement in general. For example, Pivituru Hela Urumaya Leader Udaya Gammanpila in his speech maintained that they in the Opposition do not prefer a new Constitution, but only an Amendment to the existing Constitution.

"The Government has three main aims in bringing these Constitutional Reforms. One is to abolish the Executive Presidency, the second is to revise the electoral system and the third is to provide for a power devolution mechanism that exceeds the 13th Amendment. Personally, I disagree with the first and third of them, but agree for electoral reforms. When all these are presented together in one Constitution, we cannot object selectively," he said.

Taking part in the debate, SLFP seniors and Ministers Nimal Siripala de Silva and W D J Seneviratne, reiterated that the Prime Minister agreed to all the amendments proposed by the SLFP, and that the two parties are now on the same page about the Resolution.

However, JVP MPs Sunil Handunnetti and Anura Kumara Dissanayake observed that the UNP and SLFP were trying to play happy families, while they have been unable to come to an agreement within the Government on the proposed Constitutional Assembly, which is a pre-requisite for the Constitutional drafting. "If both parties have agreed as claimed, why the Resolution cannot be moved for vote without adjourning for another date," they asked. Both the JVP and TNA were seen continuously pushing the Government to adopt the Resolution without further delay.

Taking the House to a new turn, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, known for his tough talk lately against the critics on the proposed Economic and Technological Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) with India, expounded on the much talked-of agreement in Parliament on Tuesday.

One million job opportunities
The Premier with yet another blistering speech called upon the detractors of the ETCA not to spread myth, canard, hatred and anger over an agreement for which no draft has yet been finalised. He promised that the final draft would be presented to the House and that he would seek the consensus of all groups concerned before signing it.

However, the Prime Minister was resolute that the ETCA would be signed by the middle of this year. Elaborating on his plans to deliver his Government's pre-election promise to generate one million job opportunities in the country, he noted Sri Lanka should find a bigger market than its domestic market to cater to this purpose.

He explained that the ETCA is only one out of the many trade and investment agreements Sri Lanka is planning to sign in the period to come. "We have planned trade and investment agreements with the US, India, China, Pakistan, Turkey, Singapore and several East Asian and SAARC countries. Nobody should unnecessarily fear to face local and foreign competition. When we take the Lankan history of business, no business had collapsed due to local and foreign competition, instead we only find instances where they had thrived by facing the competition," he remarked.

"We do all these things thinking of the country and its future. We can no longer live as frogs in the well. We have to speed up with the fast moving world. We have to see the world with a broadened mind-set and be strong to face challenges in the world", he stressed.

The Prime Minister assured that the ETCA would not allow any foreigner to get employment in Sri Lanka in a manner that blocks employment opportunities for Sri Lankans. He emphasised that the agreement does not allow 'movement of natural persons', and that the professional groups in the country would be unaffected by it. However, he said both India and Sri Lanka would initially present their drafts separately and agree on the final draft through negotiation.

"It is unfair that you look for malefic signs in a horoscope of an unborn child. What we are trying to produce is a child with 'Raja Yoga'. We won't let anybody to set the country on fire by spreading falsehood and myth," he stressed in a firm voice.

Party leaders
After days of strenuous fight, the 'Joint Opposition' finally managed to win all of their demands in Parliament, but without the official recognition as a separate independent group in the Opposition. Yet, the leaders of minor parties in the UPFA, who are now in the Opposition, have been given the rights and privileges entitled by other party leaders. Those include the rights to attend the Party Leaders' Meetings and raise matters of public importance under the Standing Order 23 -2.

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya explaining on this matter to the House on Tuesday pointed out the demands of this group included the right to move adjournment motions, appoint their members to the Committee on Public Enterprises, Public Accounts Committee and the Public Petitions Committee, more time to speak at the debates, and to raise questions under the Standing Order 23 -2. He said he agreed to all of them, except the demand to make special statements under the Standing Order 23-2. However, it was known on the following day that this issue had also been solved in favour of the 'Joint Opposition' following a special high level discussion.

MP Vasudeva Nanayakkara commenting on these developments told media, "We are given all the parts of the body, now it is up to us to assemble them and make 'a man' out of them. That is not very difficult".
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