Thonda power
As public optimism grows that the lock down/covid restrictions would be further relaxed this week, a short reader's letter that we publish today raises a question that is in many people's minds. Did not the good sense that applied in imposing an island-wide curfew on Poson Day (Friday) and the day before not apply to late CWC leader Arumugam Thondaman's funeral upcountry? True, a curfew was imposed in the Nuwara Eliya district on the Poson and pre-Poson days. But the television coverage of the funeral clearly showed the whole country that large crowds converged for the event, officially described as one with state patronage (as opposed to a state funeral?). There was no social distancing and both Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and his son, Namal, were caught on camera hugging the late Thondaman's son in sympathy. It would have been an obviously impossible task for police to enforce health safety rules at such an event just as much as it would have been impossible to impose them at Mihintale where tens of thousands flock on Poson Day every year.
A parliamentary election is approaching and we'll know the date when it will be held on Monday, Elections Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya has said. The Ceylon Workers Congress which has over the years delivered a bloc of Indian Tamil estate votes to rival parties and groups contending for national power is now a member of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP)-led alliance. The late Arumugam Thondaman had handed his nomination for the forthcoming election. Given his demise, the SLPP has nominated the late leader's son to his vacancy on their candidates list for Nuwara Eliya. This was on a decision of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa who opted for Jeevan Thondaman, Arumugam's son, over a nephew, Senthil Thondaman, who is also a contender for CWC leadership. What will eventually happen within the CWC over the leadership issue is still an open question with Senthil commanding support and influence in the union and Jeevan claiming an inherited legacy. However that be, the political interests of the SLPP, seeking a two thirds majority in the next parliament, obviously took precedence over the safety interests of the whole country in the matter of Arumugam's funeral in the present lock down situation.
This is a fact of life that we Lankans have to live with perhaps a price of democracy. Whatever political dispensation that is in office will always bat for the home side. Hopefully, the ignoring of the safety rules will have no repercussions. There was a report that a journalist covering Arumugam's death both in Colombo and upcountry had developed some symptoms but was ruled negative for Covid-19 after testing. Generations of Thondamans have wielded enormous political power in this Island during the post-Independence period as vividly recounted in a contribution to this issue by Rajeewa Jayaweera, a regular contributor to our newspaper. Obviously 'Thonda Power' flowed from the CWC's ability to deliver a crucial bloc vote to whichever side they favoured during an election. These votes obviously mattered over safety considerations.
A statue of the late Mr. S. Thondaman, Arumugam's grandfather, stands outside the old Parliament building which is now the Presidential Secretariat, where many of the political 'greats' of this country are similarly remembered. Savumiamoorthy Thondaman undoubtedly was of great service to his people who were unjustly disenfranchised by the Ceylon Citizenship Act of 1948. He shrewdly wielded the clout he commanded to deliver a plantation bloc vote to suit the swings of the political pendulum. This enabled him to serve as a minister in different governments which, no doubt, enabled him to serve his people. The junior Thondaman who's just passed away, was not a patch of the old block who commanded the respect and affection of his people for the great service he had rendered them. The dynasty continues. Whether the thousand-rupee daily wage for plantation workers that Arumugam discussed with Prime Minister Rajapaksa will also be part of a short-term package is also to be seen.
Reasons later?
Whether the five-judge bench of the Supreme Court which delivered a unanimous judgment on far-reaching constitutional issues over the country being without a parliament for the last several months as a result of the covid pandemic, did not adduce any reasons for its decision. Nor did it say reasons later as it is often done. The court is not obliged to give its reasoning on a Leave to Appeal matter as it must if the case itself was heard. Given the issues involved, the nature of the case itself and the sharp division of opinion on either side of the political divide, it is most unlikely that reasons would be given in present context. Rajan Philips, our widely respected columnist, writing in this page has offered an incisive analysis on this matter and its possible repercussions in the short to medium term which we commend to our reader.
There is no doubt that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa acted well within his powers in dissolving Parliament. This was not contested by the appellants who claimed that their fundamental rights had been violated by what followed the dissolution. Parliament is unquestionably a continuing institution and the periods in which it is in abeyance is constitutionally prescribed. A prorogation, for instance, can only be for a period of two months. A new Parliament must be elected within three months of the dissolution of its predecessor, but the current situation did not make that possible. If a presidential election intervenes between a dissolution of Parliament and an election of its successor, a period of four months from the dissolution and the sitting of a new Parliament is permitted. If the election is called at the end of a prorogation, then a period of five months will elapse between a dissolution and the election of a new Parliament. Article 70 of the Constitution provides for all these matters indicating there had been careful thought about all possibilities. But the totally unanticipated pandemic has turned everything topsy turvy.
The government, seeking a two thirds majority in the new Parliament, is anxious to have an election as early as possible on the nominations already submitted. If fresh nominations are called, the deeply divided UNP has another chance to sink its differences. But this is not to be. The court has not set an election date which remains the prerogative on the Election Commission which is firmly on record saying that it will act only in accordance with the health guidelines. It is the wish of the whole country that no liberties would be taken with these for the sake of expediency. So let us wait and see whether it is June, July or August or even later.
As public optimism grows that the lock down/covid restrictions would be further relaxed this week, a short reader's letter that we publish today raises a question that is in many people's minds. Did not the good sense that applied in imposing an island-wide curfew on Poson Day (Friday) and the day before not apply to late CWC leader Arumugam Thondaman's funeral upcountry? True, a curfew was imposed in the Nuwara Eliya district on the Poson and pre-Poson days. But the television coverage of the funeral clearly showed the whole country that large crowds converged for the event, officially described as one with state patronage (as opposed to a state funeral?). There was no social distancing and both Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and his son, Namal, were caught on camera hugging the late Thondaman's son in sympathy. It would have been an obviously impossible task for police to enforce health safety rules at such an event just as much as it would have been impossible to impose them at Mihintale where tens of thousands flock on Poson Day every year.
A parliamentary election is approaching and we'll know the date when it will be held on Monday, Elections Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya has said. The Ceylon Workers Congress which has over the years delivered a bloc of Indian Tamil estate votes to rival parties and groups contending for national power is now a member of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP)-led alliance. The late Arumugam Thondaman had handed his nomination for the forthcoming election. Given his demise, the SLPP has nominated the late leader's son to his vacancy on their candidates list for Nuwara Eliya. This was on a decision of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa who opted for Jeevan Thondaman, Arumugam's son, over a nephew, Senthil Thondaman, who is also a contender for CWC leadership. What will eventually happen within the CWC over the leadership issue is still an open question with Senthil commanding support and influence in the union and Jeevan claiming an inherited legacy. However that be, the political interests of the SLPP, seeking a two thirds majority in the next parliament, obviously took precedence over the safety interests of the whole country in the matter of Arumugam's funeral in the present lock down situation.
This is a fact of life that we Lankans have to live with perhaps a price of democracy. Whatever political dispensation that is in office will always bat for the home side. Hopefully, the ignoring of the safety rules will have no repercussions. There was a report that a journalist covering Arumugam's death both in Colombo and upcountry had developed some symptoms but was ruled negative for Covid-19 after testing. Generations of Thondamans have wielded enormous political power in this Island during the post-Independence period as vividly recounted in a contribution to this issue by Rajeewa Jayaweera, a regular contributor to our newspaper. Obviously 'Thonda Power' flowed from the CWC's ability to deliver a crucial bloc vote to whichever side they favoured during an election. These votes obviously mattered over safety considerations.
A statue of the late Mr. S. Thondaman, Arumugam's grandfather, stands outside the old Parliament building which is now the Presidential Secretariat, where many of the political 'greats' of this country are similarly remembered. Savumiamoorthy Thondaman undoubtedly was of great service to his people who were unjustly disenfranchised by the Ceylon Citizenship Act of 1948. He shrewdly wielded the clout he commanded to deliver a plantation bloc vote to suit the swings of the political pendulum. This enabled him to serve as a minister in different governments which, no doubt, enabled him to serve his people. The junior Thondaman who's just passed away, was not a patch of the old block who commanded the respect and affection of his people for the great service he had rendered them. The dynasty continues. Whether the thousand-rupee daily wage for plantation workers that Arumugam discussed with Prime Minister Rajapaksa will also be part of a short-term package is also to be seen.
Reasons later?
Whether the five-judge bench of the Supreme Court which delivered a unanimous judgment on far-reaching constitutional issues over the country being without a parliament for the last several months as a result of the covid pandemic, did not adduce any reasons for its decision. Nor did it say reasons later as it is often done. The court is not obliged to give its reasoning on a Leave to Appeal matter as it must if the case itself was heard. Given the issues involved, the nature of the case itself and the sharp division of opinion on either side of the political divide, it is most unlikely that reasons would be given in present context. Rajan Philips, our widely respected columnist, writing in this page has offered an incisive analysis on this matter and its possible repercussions in the short to medium term which we commend to our reader.
There is no doubt that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa acted well within his powers in dissolving Parliament. This was not contested by the appellants who claimed that their fundamental rights had been violated by what followed the dissolution. Parliament is unquestionably a continuing institution and the periods in which it is in abeyance is constitutionally prescribed. A prorogation, for instance, can only be for a period of two months. A new Parliament must be elected within three months of the dissolution of its predecessor, but the current situation did not make that possible. If a presidential election intervenes between a dissolution of Parliament and an election of its successor, a period of four months from the dissolution and the sitting of a new Parliament is permitted. If the election is called at the end of a prorogation, then a period of five months will elapse between a dissolution and the election of a new Parliament. Article 70 of the Constitution provides for all these matters indicating there had been careful thought about all possibilities. But the totally unanticipated pandemic has turned everything topsy turvy.
The government, seeking a two thirds majority in the new Parliament, is anxious to have an election as early as possible on the nominations already submitted. If fresh nominations are called, the deeply divided UNP has another chance to sink its differences. But this is not to be. The court has not set an election date which remains the prerogative on the Election Commission which is firmly on record saying that it will act only in accordance with the health guidelines. It is the wish of the whole country that no liberties would be taken with these for the sake of expediency. So let us wait and see whether it is June, July or August or even later.
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