Ceylon Today Editorial

PCs AND Constitution making

06 January 2017

With Constitution making now on the cards and Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe and President Maithripala Sirisena being on the same wave length on this score (other than going for a twenty first Amendment (21A) to remedy any shortcomings in the present Constitution if any),a new Constitution may not only have to once more address the question of power-sharing, where all the noises made are seemingly in regard to such, but it may also have to address the question of cost rationalization in relation to power-sharing.

With Sri Lanka's public debt at a massive 76% of GDP as at 2015, a sizeable chunk of it being contributed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa's white elephants and also the Provincial Councils (PCs), a creation of India's, to allegedly thrash out the question of power-sharing, nonetheless, the wastage of taxpayers' money by cost rationalization of such power-sharing schemes needs to be attended to on an urgent basis.

If Rajapaksa was responsible for creating white elephants like Hambantota Port six years ago in 2011, in like manner, India, at the point of a gun, was responsible for creating another white elephant, i.e. the PCs 30 years ago in 1987.

PCs, there are nine of them, are however, not self-sustaining. They are dependent on the Centre for their sustenance. As a result, annually, billions of rupees, of taxpayers' money, are swallowed up for their upkeep.

The genesis of the PCs was Sri Lanka's Tamil terrorist problem. India, playing a regional power political game used strong arm tactics with the threat of military intervention on tiny Sri Lanka, thereby successfully checkmating Colombo's near war win against Tamil terrorism in 1987, a mere four years after its genesis in 1983.

Because of India's bullying, this war dragged on for another 22 years. Apart from the terrible cost that the island suffered because of this, India too was not left unscathed, losing over 1,000 troops and having one of their Prime Ministers killed by a Tamil terrorist suicide bomber. India sowed the wind and reaped the world wind.

Howbeit, India's ostensible solution to the Tamil question was power-sharing through the PCs, though, everybody worth the salt knows, this was a pretext for muscle flexing by India on tiny Sri Lanka.

Power-sharing, probably is a good idea, but this issue of power-sharing was not confined to the northern and eastern parts of the country only where the Tamil problem existed, but the institution of PCs also enveloped the rest of the island; that was the rub.

The balance seven provinces of the country (out of a grand total of nine) were mainly populated by the Sinhalese, the majority population of this country, who didn't ask for power-sharing. The Sinhalese who comprise 75% of the island's population were happy with the power centralized in Colombo, with some devolvement of power through the local government system introduced by the British.

The PCs were established at the behest of India to give greater power to the provinces, over and above the powers devolved through the Local Government institutions (which encompass Municipal Councils, Urban Councils and Pradeshiya Sabhas).

PCs were instituted to give a measure of autonomy to the Tamils in the North and the East, virtually at gunpoint by New Delhi. And, as a result, the PCs came into being under the 13th Amendment (13A) to the Constitution passed by Parliament in November 1987.

Nonetheless, the institution of PCs under the 13A was not confined to the northern and eastern parts of the country only, where the Tamil problem lay, but also embraced the rest of the island's seven provinces where there was no necessity for such power-sharing, thereby giving birth to a white elephant, similar in proportion to Rajapaksa's several white elephants.

At least the PCs were 'rammed down the throat of the old man (J.R. Jayewardene) by the Indians' as one local editorial writer described it, but in the case of Rajapaksa's white elephants, Hambantota Port, et al, those were never rammed down his throat, but was a case where he gladly went after those white elephants, caught them and made the country (not himself) swallow them,hook, line and sinker!

It was the minority Tamil problem or Tamil question that resulted in the birth of the PCs. But by a strange quirk of fate or law, the PCs, and their establishment, encompassed the whole of the island's nine provinces, originally comprising eight PCs, but subsequent to the demerger of the NE, to all nine of the country's provinces as well.

The PCs are not self-sustaining. They require funds from the Centre for its operations. This creates further burdens on the already beleaguered exchequer. Therefore, the new Constitution, should address this issue on an urgent basis, or, otherwise, by passing 21A to the present Constitution.

Daily News Editorial

JO’s Sangha edict

06 January 2017

The Joint Opposition has threatened to halt the agreement on the Hambantota Port project being signed and has vowed to mass protesters to lay siege on the project site on the day of the signing. Garrulous JO activist Dullas Alahapperuma has even sounded out more drastic measures. He says that they of the JO are planning to obtain a Sangha Akgnawa (Sangha edict) to prevent the project getting off the ground. It is not too difficult to imagine who will issue this Sangha Akgnawa. The Mahanayakes have so far not responded to the pleas of the JO on the Hambantota Port project to its entire satisfaction. A similar Sangha Akgnawa was threatened by some Bhikkus on Sarath Fonseka when the former Army Commander challenged Mahinda Rajapaksa for the Presidential race. The chief proponent of this Sangha Akgnawa, then, was the redoubtable Ven. Uduwe Dhammaloka Thera of “unlincensed elephant” fame. The country knows in whose camp the Ven Thera is in today.

A Sangha Akgnawa is known to be an edict issued by the Buddhist clergy that all Buddhists are bound to adhere to. Both, the President and the Prime Minister being Buddhists, the JO plan is clear. It wants to show the country that the duo, by not adhering to an the edict of the Sangha, have lost the claim to call themselves true Buddhists, particularly with regard to Premier Wickremesinghe, who is dubbed pro west, now that the agreement signing is to go ahead with both the President’s and Prime Minister’s blessings. It is doubtful though if a majority of Buddhists in this country would consider this Sangha Akgnawa sacrosanct, that they are compelled to follow, given the conduct of certain Buddhist clergy in the JO camp, which has not done any credit to Buddhism, or the teachings of the Enlightened one.

Be that as it may, the country’s economic development and future progress cannot be held hostage to the whims of a set of Buddhist clergy who are hell bent on advancing the political project of Mahinda Rajapaksa. The Government should make every endeavour to resist this agitation carried out for political reasons. There was nary a whimper of protest when tens of thousands of acres of forest land in Hambantota was destroyed to make way for a loss making airport. Not a single Buddhist monk, among those who are in the forefront in the “Hands Off Hambantota” agitation today complained of the destruction of cultural sites, as they are doing now, when vast tracts of land were being bulldozed to make way for the Mattala airport. There were no protests either when the Chinese were first inducted into Sri Lanka by Mahinda Rajapaksa and given a free run of the country to do as they please. Nobody protested when Chinese workers were employed in the Hambantota port in their hundreds while youth unemployment in Hambantota had surged. There was also no outcry when loans from the Chinese were piling up to the skies, plunging the country into a massive debt trap, or when the Chinese finger was in every pie, so much so we were called a colony of China.

The present government, alas, is left holding the baby. Those protesting don’t seem to realise or deliberately feign ignorance that the astronomical loans obtained from China has to be repaid and the government has settled for the best option in entering into a Public Private Partnership with the Chinese companies to defray this massive loan. Bhikkus confined to their aramayas cannot be expected to know the economic implications of this loan being defaulted. Nor can they be made to understand the economic benefits to the country accruing from trade agreements (Alahapperuma also plans to obtain a Sangha Akgnawa against ICTA). What all these monks clamour for is a regime change so that they can get back their patronage positions as advisors or other high office such as Chairman of the National Police Commission, for thumping salaries. Barring a few, there are hardly any monks among these rabble rousers who are true to their convictions borne by the fact that not one of these ‘patriots’ made even a token protest when war hero Sarath Fonseka was unceremoniously thrown behind bars.

The game plan is clear. What the JO and its Bhikku supporters plan is to drive away investors by their antics and cripple the country’s economy. The Sangha Akgnawa is a mere ruse to give respectability to this campaign. Hence, the government should not cave into threats and take the bull by the horns. President Jayewardene acted firmly with protests and agitations, willfully carried out to disrupt the economy. Had he not dealt firmly with the July strikers there would not have been a Free Trade Zone in Katunayake.

Similarly, President Sirisena should not show restraint with those planning giant protests at Hambantota with ulterior motives. The protesters, as Minister Mahinda Amaraweera stated, are planning to cash in on blood spilled or a body or two, for that matter. While the right to assembly and protest is a democratic right, there should be no room for saboteurs, trouble makers and disruptive elements.

The Island Editorial

Justice hurried,justice buried

06 January 2017

The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government has, in its wisdom, decided to set up a special tribunal to handle bribery and corruption cases as we reported yesterday. Cabinet Spokesman Rajitha Senaratne has said once it is established, hey presto, the current investigation process which he considers slow will get a turbo boost.

The tardiness of the judicial process is not the only reason why the government has not been able to bring those it once accused of corruption and other serious infractions to justice. There are several others. First, the suspects covered their tracks while they were in power. Second, some of the allegations the yahapalana leaders used to galvanise the public into voting against the last regime were grossly exaggerated. They spoke of stolen gold weighing several tons, a ‘golden horse’ brought here all the way from Buckingham Palace and USD 18.5 billion stashed away in offshore accounts of the former ruling clan and its cronies. The naïve expected the new government to seize the stolen assets and throw the culprits behind bars posthaste. Third, some of the incumbent rulers are beholden to their predecessors as they received favours from the latter. Fourth, they fear that they will have to pay for their corruption and abuse of power when they lose power and the boot is on the other foot. Hence, they are wary of going the whole hog to fulfil their election pledge to punish the corrupt.

Current leaders, faced with serious politico-economic difficulties, seem to have taken leave of their senses. There are compelling reasons why a special tribunal must not be set up. True, justice delayed is said to be justice denied. Similarly, justice hurried is justice buried. The government must not yield to pressure from its backers to stage judicial circuses to entertain the public and cover up its many failures.

The setting up of a special tribunal will enable the suspects to show themselves to be victims of a political witch hunt. The ill-conceived move is sure to open an escape route on the political front for those who must be made to pay for their corruption and abuse of power.

The government ought to learn from its predecessor’s mistakes such as the wrongful impeachment of Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake. The Rajapaksa government, intoxicated with power, manipulated the parliamentary process and resorted to a kangaroo trial disguised as a PSC (Parliamentary Select Committee) probe to get rid of her. But, subsequently, her impeachment was revoked by the present administration, which also did not follow the proper procedure in effecting the rescission. President Maithripala Sirisena acted arbitrarily. (Interestingly, Sirisena and many others who are championing good governance today unashamedly voted for her impeachment!)

One is reminded of how the late Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike was stripped of her civil rights and her parliamentary seat in the most despicable manner for seven years through a special presidential commission in 1980. The JRJ government, with several of the current UNP leaders within its ranks, imposed civil disabilities on her without caring two hoots about the judicial process. The then Opposition Leader A. Amirthalingam, speaking in Parliament minced no words when he declared: "This is a political murder; this is a political killing. You are seeking to kill the position of the Member for Attanagalla, which is the greatest punishment that could be meted out. Retrospectively and retro-actively you are creating offences and are meting out punishment, which is not in keeping with the fundamental rights you have guaranteed and it is a violation of the Universal Charter of Human Rights." Some of those who unflinchingly voted for depriving Mrs. B of her civil rights are championing good governance today!

The Civil Rights Movement, in a hard-hitting statement issued on Dec. 10, 1980, said the course of action the JRJ government had resorted to had "inflicted a kind of second class justice for political offenders". Is the current UNP-led government planning a repeat performance?

Meanwhile, the government decision to appoint a special tribunal is tantamount to an expression of no confidence in the judiciary and will help bolster the argument being peddled in some quarters for an international war crimes court here.

The yahapalana regime will be mistaken if it thinks the proposed ‘show trials’ will help distract the attention of the public from its pathetic failure on the economic front, protracted postponement of elections for political reasons, rampant corruption, skyrocketing cost of living, abuse of power, the continuation of the culture of impunity etc.

Those who have robbed public funds, benefited from kickbacks at the expense of the country and committed other forms of infractions must be brought to justice. But, in tackling issues arising out of investigations into bribery and corruption, let the self-appointed champions of good governance heed the classical adage, festina lente or ‘make haste slowly’. If they get their act together on the economic front and fulfil their pre-election promises, they won’t have to resort to measures such as the appointment of special tribunals to impress the public.