Ceylon Today Editorial

IMPLEMENT THE SOLEMN PLEDGES EARLY

Saturday 14th November 2015

 
President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe made a solemn pledge before the people at the cremation of the Most Venerable Maduluwawe Sobhitha Thera on Thursday. They made this pledge standing opposite the country's Parliament. SobhithaThera's dream was to abolish the Executive Presidency. Maithri promised to do that and both Ranil and Maithri assured that Good Governance would prevail if Maithri won the presidential poll.

The Thera was satisfied and he led from the front to ensure Maithri's victory. However, after assuming the Office of President, Maithri was surrounded with internal crises in his party. The Thera mounted pressure and got the 19th Amendment passed in Parliament as there was a tug-o'-war between the then minority UNP Government and the pro-Rajapaksa Opposition.

At the cremation of the Thera on Thursday, President Sirisena delivering the funeral oration pledged he would take all possible measures to abolish the Executive Presidency as desired by the late Thera. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the greatest tribute that could be paid to Sobhitha Thera was to bring about good governance and build a just society where democracy is upheld vibrantly. Hence, these pledges cannot remain mere words. Those necessities to build a just country were the dreams of Sobhitha Thera. If Maithri and Ranil glance back to last November, the memories of Sobhitha Thera will recall the great support the Venerable Monk extended to them. Today both Maithri and Ranil are in their present offices because of the dedicated and untiring support of Sobhitha Thera.

The people in this country were fed up with party politics when Mahinda Rajapaksa called an early presidential election. Except for hardcore United National Party and Sri Lanka Freedom Party supporters, the majority were not in a mood to vote. When Sobhitha Thera made the call to the people to seek a change, the people heeded to his call to support Maithri. If not for Sobhitha Thera, who mustered the support of the majority of the voters in this country, Maithri's task would have turned impossible. That was the reality in the last presidential election. Then the parliamentary election in August was announced. Though Sobhitha Thera looked dejected over the failure to honour major promises within the 100-Day Programme of Maithri, he came forward to support the alliance led by Ranil as he did not want another governmental administration that would indulge in nepotism. The support extended by the Thera saw Ranil winning a majority to set up a Government of Unity with President Sirisena.

Sobhitha Thera was strongly opposed to the return of any defeated candidate on the National List. He urged the present government to halt such moves. Contrary to his expectations, the faces on the National List took a different turn. The Thera was very hurt. He remained silent until he fell sick. People from all walks of life irrespective of ethnic difference rallied in large numbers to pay their respect to this great Thera, from Monday until he was cremated on Thursday. The crowds demonstrated that they followed the advice and policies of Sobhitha Thera more than what politicians promised them. As the Prime Minister said in his funeral oration, Sobhitha Thera was not a Mahanayaka, another religious or trade union leader and pointed out how the late Thera came to earn the status of a State Funeral, for his dedicated services to the people and the nation.

Amidst all odds, Maithri and Ranil must uphold their unity if they are to implement the pledges made to Sobhitha Thera. The late Thera has cast them with the responsibility to turn his dreams into reality. Sobhitha Thera made those pledges to the people. Based on the Thera's pledges, the people voted for Maithri and Ranil. Corruption was not tolerated in the Dhamma preached by Sobhitha Thera. Today we witnessed some government ministers indirectly backing corrupt deals of the previous regime. If Maithri and Ranil are truly committed to uphold the desires of Sobhitha Thera, to ensure good governance, they should rid the government of those ministers who back corrupt deals directly or indirectly. If that is not done, unity within the government will not last long. Sobhitha Thera helped to establish the present regime risking his life as he was open to threats. He was harassed by those in power at that time. His vehicles were followed by gangs set up by politicians in power. A fearless Sobhitha Thera who dedicated his life for a better Sri Lanka tomorrow traversed round the country to help Maithri and Ranil.

All political party leaders must bear in mind that only Venerable Sobhitha Thera was able to unite them for the sake of the nation and the people. So, Maithri and Ranil must not delay the execution of their solemn pledges made to Sobhitha Thera which were reiterated at the Thera's cremation on Thursday.

Daily Mirror Editorial

Daily News Editorial

Ven. Sobitha's legacy

Saturday 14th November 2015

 

The entire nation, irrespective of any differences, was in mourning on Thursday as Most Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera went on his last journey amidst a large gathering. It was a fitting farewell to one of the most erudite Bhikkus of our time who literally gave his life and soul to the cause of the Motherland. While Ven. Sobitha Thera was undoubtedly one of the most eloquent preachers of the Buddha Dhamma in living memory, he was better known for his incomparable contribution to enriching our democratic way of life. That was his lasting legacy and how his name will be defined for generations to come.

The January 8 Silent Revolution of the people would not have been possible without the colossal effort of Ven. Sobitha Thera to topple an autocratic regime that stifled people's rights. The National Movement for a Just Society (MNJS) headed by the Ven. Thera was the conduit through which this campaign for change gained momentum. Despite the many threats that came his way, he did not back down on his pledge to spearhead the campaign to restore good governance, democracy and rule of law. Having seen the evils of the Executive Presidency and the Proportional Representation (PR) system, he tirelessly worked to see an end to both of these mechanisms.

Even though the Rainbow Coalition that came to power on January 8 (subsequently reaffirmed on August 17) delivered on most of the demands of the MNJS and other like-minded organisations - such as the reintroduction of independent commissions - the abolition of the Presidential and PR systems has not materialized so far. However, it is most likely that the next General Election to be held around 2020 will be held on the proposed new hybrid electoral system, a mix of the PR and first-past-the-post systems, even if the next Local Government election is still held on the PR system due to time and practical considerations.

This still leaves out the abolition of the Executive Presidency. Some of the excessive powers of the Executive Presidency have already been curtailed following the election of President Maithripala Sirisena, but the abolition of the Executive Presidency per se, a much talked about slogan on the political stage for the last two decades, is yet to happen. A firm commitment to achieving this objective was sorely needed at this hour.

In the aftermath of the untimely demise of Ven. Sobitha Thera, President Sirisena has done just that, vowing before the mortal remains of Ven. Thera that he would do everything possible under his command to abolish the Executive Presidency and introduce electoral reforms which the late prelate fought for in the past few years. The Presidential Eulogy was not only a tribute to the highly revered Bhikku, but also an outline of some of the democratic measures due to be taken by the Government to create the just society that the Thera envisaged until his last breath.

In the words of President Sirisena, "Ven. Sobitha Thera devoted his life in the last few years to create a just society and promote the concept of good governance in Sri Lanka. The NMJS he formed to achieve those goals gave leadership to the mass campaign to bring myself and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to the present positions and to form the regime of Good Governance of today". President Sirisena has reiterated his pledge to create a just society, good governance, fully restore the rule of law and strengthen democratic institutions the Ven. Thera wished to establish through his relentless campaigns.

All politicians and other stakeholders in democracy must extend their support to President Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Government in delivering these pledges. We hope that initiatives will begin in earnest soon to abolish the Executive Presidency. The onus is now on the Bhikku and lay members of the NMJS to carry forward the vision and legacy of their late leader until his desired goals are achieved, with the support of other civil society organisations such as Purawesi Balaya, Lawyers' Collective and Friday Forum. This must be treated as a priority issue.

Ven. Sobitha Thera dedicated his entire Bhikku life to build a better Sri Lanka for all communities. That was his fervent wish and avowed objective. After a decade of tyrannical rule, Sri Lanka now has a golden opportunity to start anew and revitalize all democratic institutions and processes, in line with the thoughts expressed by the Ven. Sobitha Thera. That would be the greatest tribute we can pay to Ven. Sobitha Thera who relentlessly fought against injustice, lawlessness, authoritarianism and corruption. His was a life we should strive to emulate and his was a vision we should try to uphold. Unity among political forces, ethnic and religious groups and various civil society organisations - the main plank of Ven. Sobitha's mission - will be the key in this struggle to establish a truly democratic nation that upholds the rights of all. 

The Island Editorial

Honouring Ven. Sobitha

Saturday 14th November 2015

 

Politicians and others who spoke at Ven. Sobitha Thera’s funeral on Thursday, waxed eloquent, eulogising as they did the late monk. Each one of them paid a glowing tribute to the intrepid activist monk for the role he had played in preserving democracy under successive governments. They were exerting themselves in vain, we thought. People knew Ven. Sobitha well and they braved inclement weather to gather at parliament grounds in their thousands to pay their last respects to him and not to hear politicians speechify.

If defies comprehension why the great monk was cremated near a place which he had held in contempt. He was critical of lawmakers cum lawbreakers sponging off the public. He would certainly have protested if he had known while he was breathing his last where his funeral would take place. The Independence Square would have been the ideal place for his funeral.

The champions of good governance in their funeral orations reiterated the promises they had made before the Jan. 08 presidential election and the Aug. 17 parliamentary polls. In so doing, they admitted that their promises to the people and Ven. Sobitha had not yet been fulfilled.

President Maithripala Sirisena in his speech reiterated his commitment to abolishing the executive presidency. It was to achieve that goal that Ven. Sobitha Thera came forward to lead the joint Opposition’s campaign to dislodge the Rajapaksa government last January. He declared during the presidential election campaign that he would have backed even President Mahinda Rajapaksa if the latter had undertaken to scrap the presidency.

Ven. Sobitha Thera was dejected towards the latter stages of his life because his mission remained unaccomplished, according Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri, who had been very close to him. His disappointment had aggravated the deterioration of his health, Dr. Dewasiri has said in an interview with this newspaper.

The venerable Thera believed that for social justice to be achieved the concentration of unbridled power in the hands of a single person had to be stopped. For, power, like narcotics, has a deleterious effect on one’s sanity; causes brain fog as it were and promotes the so-called Jekyll-Hyde behaviour. It is being argued in some quarters that there is nothing wrong with the executive presidency as such and the problem is with the person who holds it. There may be some merit in this argument, but our experience has been that no one should be trusted with too much of power if democracy is to be safeguarded.

We carry an article on Robert Jordan in today’s Satmag section—Finish the book and die. It tells us that Jordan, who passed away leaving some of his works unfinished, expected someone else to finish them after his death and left notes on how that should be done. Likewise, Ven. Sobitha has told the politicians who benefited from his campaign for social justice how to finish his mission. Now it is up to them to go the whole nine yards and do so without trotting out lame excuses.

Let the government start work on writing a new constitution posthaste without pretending to be busy with other issues such as Avant Garde, which has all the trappings of a red herring. That company must be severely dealt with if its operations have been illegal, but there are many other pressing problems which need to be addressed urgently.

Will the government ensure that a project to write a new constitution and change the system of governance gets underway before the third month’s alms-giving in memory of Ven. Sobitha Thera?