Ceylon Today Editorial

ANOTHER SLFP VICTORY?

11 May 2017

It's becoming increasingly clear that increasingly strident demands from within the SLFP Pro-Sirisena faction has been exerting considerable pressure on the President, leading him on successive occasion of late to speak more in terms of spearheading a Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) electoral victory which can only mean that he is being compelled to bow to the demands of senior SLFPers for major ministerial portfolios. This was only to be expected when viewed in the context that relatively senior men in his camp genuinely feel they are being short changed in the allocation of ministerial power positions.

What this portends of course is that the SLFP-UNP partnership will in all probability come to an end by 2020 the latest though not before, irrespective of all the clamouring within the SLFP. This is simply because they need each other to push through radical constitutional reforms if together they continue to desire going through with international commitments to uphold and secure through such radical reforms their collective commitments to the UN, the EU and the major global players to protect fundamental human and political rights and values which the UN and EU in particular have been pressing with un-abating persistence.

As the EU's Envoy in Sri Lanka Tun Lai Margue put it delicately "Within the country, the Sri Lankan Government is in the unenviable position of BEING MANDATED TO CHART A DEFINITIVE COURSE FOR RECONCILIATION THAT RECOGNIZES AN INCLUSIVE AND COLLECTIVE SRI LANKAN IDENTITY".

This is a far cry from the post-independence socio-political status quo of the Sinhala-Buddhist socio-religious-political primacy that has been enshrined in the Constitution, and NOT A COMMON , INCLUSIVE AND COLLECTIVE SRI LANKAN IDENTITY.

That definition suggests a Constitutional upheaval with crisis-level potential for socio-political upheaval as the Sansoni Commission report said over 25 years ago. No wonder then that Margue defined this challenge with the understatement of "Unenviable".

Such radical reform to which the unity government has committed its partnership to is a political powder keg and one cannot blame either Sirisena or Wickremesinghe getting cold feet at the unenviable prospect. The mere attempt will be an explosive weapon handed on a platter to brothers Mahinda and Gotabhaya Rajapaksa . One does not need a great deal of grey matter to know that it can be to unleash a socio-political crisis of unprecedented dimensions in the country to which the government can only respond with military might if it wants to remain in power. Either way, the President and Premier need each other for this daunting prospect that is being shrewdly used as a lever for former top MR loyalists now in Sirisena's Cabinet to continue urging him to desist from action against breakaways who attended MR's May Day rally. Either way, Sirisena finds himself in the inevitable position of having to drink from this poisoned chalice. "His" ministers within the Cabinet and without clamour for a total SLFP Government. They feel that the combined forces seen at separate attendances at Getambe and Galle Face can easily pip the UNP at the post at the next elections. They also know that should that happen, they can all be assured of all the portfolios...and more...as was the Rajapakasa policy to keep everyone happy.

But to date we do not exactly know what the UN, EU and international community are demanding of the government by way of phrases such as "constitutional change" or "scope of reform" and so on.

Margue very naively defined it in her statement that, "throughout the civil war and its aftermath, we have worked with community leaders, civil society leaders, human rights activists to press for the protection of fundamental freedoms and values". Obviously all of this is in relation to the Tamils in the country. THESE EFFORTS ARE IMPORTANT AND THEY WILL DEEPEN.

Unenviable and daunting hardly begin to define the enormity of the challenge facing Sirisena and Wickremesinghe. Besides this fact, the President has on several occasions said the government will not under any circumstance allow war heroes to be tried for any crimes related to the war. How then can he legislate on the reforms which seek to do exactly that? It would be the end of his political career as the entire SLFP would brand him a traitor. Wickremesinghe on the other hand has not said anything that suggest, he agrees with the President on that score. But without sufficient votes in Parliament he can't push through such legislation in an exclusive UNP Government. However, he has been non-committal because it would be in his and the UNP's political plans and aspirations to ensure such legislation goes through so that he can get rid of the Rajapaksas for good. Both Parties therefore find themselves facing a constitutional dead end.

Constitutional reform will fail at a referendum.

An SLFP victory at the next Polls seems to be on the cards.

Daily News Editorial

A boost for reconciliation

11 May 2017

As the nation celebrates Vesak, we heard the great news that the long-awaited National Policy on Reconciliation has been approved by the Cabinet. This ties in with the very message of Vesak – peace and compassion for all beings and is just what the country needs as it rises anew from the embers of a conflict.

Chairman of the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR) and former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga who announced the Policy said it will be the policy on national reconciliation and co-existence, which will serve as a guideline for carrying out national reconciliation programmes throughout the country for all stakeholders, including ministries, government institutions and NGOs. President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe took a personal interest in the project and gave it all encouragement.

The National Policy on Reconciliation is set to fill a long-standing vacuum due to the absence of a consolidated National Policy on Reconciliation. The National Policy on Reconciliation will aim to satisfy the need of the country for an over-arching vision on reconciliation and a broad, coherent framework to steer and direct the process of national reconciliation.

The national reconciliation policy was drafted after an year-long and wide array of consultations with institutions, persons, ministries and NGOs. The former President is the ideal person to helm this project – even after losing an eye in a LTTE suicide bomb attack, she did not harbour any animosity towards the Tamil community which the LTTE claimed to represent, and always stood for amity among the various communities.

This is the first time that such a comprehensive policy has been adopted by any Government. It is the policy of the State of Sri Lanka on reconciliation, which means that future Governments too will be committed to implementing it. We hope that this will be the first of a series of national policies on other critical aspects such as agriculture, health, education, defence and foreign affairs that do not change with each Government. In most well-established democracies, the core policies do not change regardless of the political entity in power and this should be the case in Sri Lanka as well.

ONUR must be congratulated on this endeavour because some of the main objectives of the Policy Document have already been implemented even before the official unveiling. They include religious festivals and events, cultural programmes, and conflict awareness programmes to be participated by schoolchildren across the island. In keeping with these programmes the children of other religions belonging to various ethnic communities are to take part in at least one main religious events of another religion. The next step will be creating more awareness among adults where they will be able to discuss the conflict, harmony and co-existence at workshops around the island. Art, drama and music, which are universal in nature, are also being used to promote amity.

The Government also deserves plaudits for involving the Security Forces in the reconciliation moves. They are very much involved in the de-mining and resettlement processes and many lands previously used by the Forces have been handed over to the civilian owners. Newspapers reported recently that a soldier has married an ex-Tiger woman cadre and that women soldiers had taken Avurudu presents to a group of rehabilitated women Tiger cadres in the North. These are heartwarming stories that show reconciliation in action.

The Reconciliation Policy will focus on Equality, Human Rights, Justice and the Rule of Law, Transitional Justice, Inclusivity and Diversity, Sustainable Development, Civic Consciousness and several other factors, some of which will also be enshrined in the new Constitution that is taking shape.

Conflict Sensitivity, Cross-Cultural Awareness, Victim-Centredness, Gender Responsiveness, Foresight and Innovation, Leadership and Sustainability, Efficiency and Effectiveness, Coordination and Complementarity and Clear and Consistent Communication are among the other cornerstones of the Policy. All these are of crucial importance for long-term reconciliation.

Together, the National Policy on Reconciliation and the new Constitution are expected to lead to a Sri Lankan identity that has evaded us all these years. Still, the first question that we ask someone who we meet for the first time is “are you Sinhala? Tamil? Muslim?”. It is time we identified ourselves as Sri Lankans. A Singaporean, for example, will not identify himself or herself as Chinese, Malay, Tamil or Eurasian. Likewise, we should firmly project a Sri Lankan identity within and outside our shores. That will show the world that we are all united under one nation, one flag.

Trust is the very basis of reconciliation. The loss of trust between the major communities in Sri Lanka, mostly engineered by self-serving politicians, led to a 30-year-war that took the country back by several decades. We are still struggling to emerge from the dark abyss of war. The restoration of mutual trust will be the key to long-term reconciliation. This Vesak, we must take the Buddha’s words to heart as we begin the drive for lasting peace and reconciliation – “hatred does not cease by hatred, it ceases by love alone”. Truer words have never ever been spoken.

The Island Editorial

More motormouths

11 May 2017

 

Even the shadow of a doomed marriage is crooked. So goes a local saying. This is true of the fragile political marriage of convenience between the two main political parties. The SLFP’s decision to appoint a separate Cabinet spokesman (or braggart?) to represent its interests points to a severe trust deficit among the constituents of the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe coalition in spite of the yahapalana leaders’ attempts to paper over the cracks.

Ministers belonging to the SLFP and the UNP are at daggers drawn and exchange barbs and abuse at every turn, making a mockery of their much-advertised ‘unity’. UNP Minister Sarath Fonseka’s recent stream of invective against his SLFP Cabinet colleague John Seneviratne is a case in point. There have been many other instances of ministers causing affronts to the dignity of one another. UNP Ministers have gone to the extent of asking their SLFP counterparts to leave the government. The intra-coalition rivalries of the yahapalana regime have apparently come to a head. What really keeps the warring members of the SLFP and the UNP together is their fear of Mahinda Rajapaksa making a comeback. It may be recalled that the Joint Opposition’s successful May Day rally prompted President Maithripala Sirisena to consider appointing a committee to strengthen bonds between the SLFP and the UNP! In the unlikely event of Rajapaksa deciding to retire, we would witness a political version of the Night of the Long Knives in the government. (The yahapalana grandees ought to ensure Rajapaksa’s safety by increasing his security instead of pruning it, for their own sake!)

Minister Mahinda Amaraweera (SLFP) sought to hoodwink the media the other day very suavely. Asked by a journalist at an SLFP media briefing why the two Cabinet Spokesmen, Ministers Gayantha Karunatilleke and Rajitha Senaratne, could not speak for the entire government, Amaraweera claimed they did so, but the need for an SLFP Cabinet spokesman had arisen because journalists raised queries about the SLFP at Cabinet media briefings. So, it is the fault of the press!

If it is only to field questions from journalists that the SLFP needs someone to represent it at the post-Cabinet media briefings, then why should it have a separate Cabinet spokesman for that purpose? Either the current Cabinet Spokesmen can refuse to be drawn on issues concerning individual constituents of the coalition or an SLFP minister can be assigned to be present there on a weekly basis and answer questions about his party. A simple solution, isn’t it?

The SLFP should admit that its real worry is that certain statements current Cabinet Spokesmen make at press conferences are detrimental to its interests and heavily loaded in favour of the UNP. Senaratne’s recent claim that President Maithripala Sirisena was planning to assign a new role to Minister Fonseka in a bid to bring order out of chaos which trade unions were wreaking on the country has made quite a stir; it has, in fact, tarnished the image of President Sirisena, who boasts of having created democratic space for people to protest without let or hindrance.

At this rate we may have a panel of Cabinet Spokesmen as big as the jumbo Cabinet with each and every constituent of the ruling coalition wanting to have its own Cabinet spokesman. After all, a government that only talks needs more spokesmen! What the government should do is not to get more ministers to talk but prod them into serving the public in keeping with their pre-election pledges. Now that the yahapalana politicians have talked the talk for more than two years, they had better walk the walk if they are to face a future election confidently. They cannot go on postponing polls indefinitely.