Can Ranil avoid confrontation prepared by fascistic forces?

By Dr. Vickramabahu Karunaratne-2017-11-23

There is an understanding between Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and President Maithripala Sirisena in the Yahapalana Government's attempt to change the Constitution, though they have been facing a series of obstacles. In spite of Maithri's commitment to his Sri Lanka Freedom Party some leaders are not enthusiastically backing the reforms initiative.

In spite of Malwatte Mahanayake and Asgiriya Anunayake with many learned Buddhist monks giving their blessings, the section of the Maha Sangha under the influence of Mahinda fascism are opposed to any constitutional change. The Yahapalana constitutional reforms project envisages the abolition of the presidential system and return to empowering of Parliament and replacement of the proportional representation system of elections and preferential voting with a mixed system, and greater devolution of power to Provincial Councils.

This is the only attempt to change the Constitution with public participation and debate. In all attempts before this, the Tamil people did not participate. In the same manner in 1977 then President J.R. Jayewardene enacted the present system, Chandrika Kumaratunga as President initiated a reform process in 1994, which ended in failure in 2000. JVP at that time became a hindrance to reforms based on devolution. President Mahinda Rajapaksa, in 2005 and 2009, promised to change the Constitution, but did not take concrete steps apart from appointing two committees to make recommendations. These committees, in particular the LLRC, made progressive recommendations. Nonetheless, Mahinda Rajapaksa continued in the path of fascist politics and finally did an unusual thing by amending the Constitution in 2010 in order to enhance, not reduce, the powers of the President, despite the fact that 'Executive Presidency' was the darkest feature of the Jayewardene Constitution.

Some analysts say: "History appears to repeat itself. The most ardent opponents of the reform initiatives now are Sinhalese nationalist forces, led by Buddhist monks. Parliamentary opposition, led by Mahinda Rajapaksa, is in the forefront of the secular campaign against constitutional reform. The opposition by Buddhist monks revolves around two points. One, further devolution would amount to giving in to the demands of the Tamil and Muslim minorities as well as appeasing the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam diaspora and foreign powers. Two, abolition of the presidential system would weaken the Sri Lankan State. The Maha Sangha leaders are also worried that the new Constitution might drop the 'foremost place' position that is accorded to Buddhism as per the current Constitution.

This is incorrect. The present opposition is much more political than the emotional explosions that signified the opposition to devolution or any change in Constitution in the past. Those emotional aspects are removed to a large extent by political education and praxis of Desa Premi revolution of 88/89. Today, domination of a well organized fascistic political network is creating the real challenge to the Yahapalanaya. Do the Yahapalana leaders recognize this threat and are they prepared to defeat it. Even if Prime Minister Wickremesinghe is aware of all this, which is why, he has adopted the strategy of drafting the new Constitution through the Parliament acting as a Constitutional Assembly and the proceedings of the Constitutional Assembly were conducted in a low-key fashion with little controversy, can he avoid the confrontation prepared by the fascistic forces?