Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Sri Lanka: You are wrong — President to the Speaker

Is President Sirisena planning to Declare the Emergencylike India in mid-70s ?

( November 15, 2018, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) In his response to the letter by the Speaker of the Parliament Karu Jayasuriya, President Maithripla Sirisena has accused him of overruling the Parliament tradition and standing orders as well as violating the country’s constitution.

Sirisena who boycotted the Parliament today was informed by the Speaker about rulings including the passed No-Confidence Motion against the appointed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. A much-awaited response came after 23.00 hours in local time in Colombo, where President Sirisena has rejected and condemned all the steps taken by the Speaker during the Parliamentary session today ( Nov. 14).

Meanwhile, it is yet unconfirmed but widely expressing concern that the President Maithripala Sirisena is planning to declare the state of emergency by using the power vested upon him as the President to dismantle the storming protests against his decisions under the pretext of public order.

“To ensure his plan there will be premeditated actions by certain parties in the government to show the instability and insecurity of the public order and safety in the country,” reliable sources in the Ministry of Defence said while revealing the plan to declare the state of emergency.

Sri Lanka Guardian reliably learns this was initially discussed during the National Security Council meeting chaired by the President Maithripala Sirisena held on last Monday night.

However, one of the senior officials on foreign relations was in the meeting has expressed the negative impacts of such plan, while there were at least two senior defence officers supported the President Sirisena during the meeting.

“The Indian Emergency in the mid-70s declared by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, upon advice by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, came into the discussion in nutshell,” reliable sources said.

However, Sri Lanka Guardian attempted the contact the President Media Division to verify the story but was unable to reach for comment; therefore we decided to keep our invitation open.

Here is the President Sirisena’s response to the Speaker;

Judiciary and Legislature, the supreme pillars of Sri Lanka How Sri Lanka’s drop from frying-pan-to-the-fire was averted

“The trouble with conspiracies is that they rot internally.”
~Robert A. Heinlein

2018-11-15

At the time this column is being penned, the Supreme Court of the land has already issued a stay order on the now infamous decree to dissolve Parliament. The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision to revert the President’s, the Chief Executive’s, order calls for enormous amount of inner strength on the part of all Justices of the Supreme Court on the one hand while on the other, delivers an unequivocal message to the world that Sri Lanka is still a land where the rule of law is at the core of her makeup. An enormous weight has been set aside, a sigh of relief and satisfaction is being exhaled; the ordinary people, for whom these nuanced arguments and debate about validity of Presidential decrees and sovereignty of Parliament are as alien as a glass of whiskey to a teetotaler, would unknowingly carry on with their daily chores; they were hardly aware that they had just managed to avert a fall into a cataclysmic abyss.

AG made his obligatory submissions before a three-bench SC
Political power being invested in one individual is simply not acceptable
MR’s walking away when NCM was submitted was a clear sign of him losing badly

Attorney General of the country, the chief law officer of the ‘Crown’, made his obligatory submissions before a three-bench Supreme Court. His arguments for upholding President Maithripala Sirisena’s ‘political’ decision to dissolve Parliament without allowing the Speaker of that ‘noble house of the people’ to decide whether President’s decision of replacing one Prime Minister with another (in this case the one who was soundly defeated at the last Presidential Elections in 2015) could be validated via a ‘floor test’, was not held by the Supreme Court. By the time the reader reads this column Parliament might have already voted whether the status quo of October 25 still stands. The inherent disadvantage of a columnist restricts him from giving the reader a more up-to-date live account of a day’s accelerated paced-life. That is entirely up to the full-time reporters engaged by the Newspaper.

Yet, I refuse to put my pen down. Such treachery would amount to journalistic cowardice. Whichever way the decision in Parliament goes, it might lead to unprecedented chaos in the country. A total breakdown in the very trust and faith the ordinary man has in the three pillars of our democracy, namely, the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary, would be incalculable. The resulting socio-political chaos will reign supreme. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court managed to restore some modicum of sanity in the overall system of governance. Whether Yahapalanaya has become another slogan or not, whether transparency and accountability are mere words which have failed to explode beyond the narrowing confines of their phonetic measures or not, people must realize that a day of reckoning has dawned.

Political power being invested in one individual is simply not acceptable. Standing Orders were suspended.

A no-confidence motion submitted by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) when Parliament met today and Speaker Karu Jayasuriya decided to accept it and was put to a vote, a ‘floor test’ and the Mahinda Rajapaksa and his unruly gang failed to secure the sufficient number of votes to survive the no-confidence motion. There were further crossovers from MR-cabal to the United National Party (UNP). Yet the mainstream media’s persistence on validating the MR-led parliamentary group is confounding. Wasantha Senanayake who crossed over from the UNP yesterday decided to resign from his Ministerial post. He further said that his crossover was based on his misbelief that the MR-cabal had a majority in Parliament. Having realized that it was not so, he decided to resign from his Ministerial post.

It is always natural that the losing side tries to spin their own stories. That political spinning machine of the MR-cabal is still engaged in that despicable job of turning a loss into a ‘conspiracy’ of the West. But numbers and numbers alone will tell the story and its color, substance and veneer did not look favorable to the MR-Cabal. Who wants democracy and who wants anarchical rule is now evident beyond a shadow of doubt. The country is at crossroads. The Supreme Court spoke and it spoke in no unclear terms. Later, Parliament, the House of the People spoke. A defeated political cabal consisting of corrupt, dictatorial and conspiratorial men whose intentions and actions were more than evident could not secure a majority of MPs. A macabre conclusion of an ill-willed and ill-intentioned journey came to an astounding end.

Politics has shown its both sides. The ugly countenance of politics was so vividly exhibited by the MR-cabal. The other side, the noble side of politics, a means for service of man and upholding the rule of law, was also predominant and pleasingly so. Democracy is not to be taken so easily. It is the most acceptable means of government; its magnificent character of majority rule with sublime sensitivity to minorities cannot be discarded by some politicians who have chosen to behave like common thugs and hooligans.

But the rights and wrongs of the original decision, arguments for and against that decision by President Sirisena cannot be foreclosed. Having being in power for 20 long years, from 1994 to 2015

The President’s original decision to name MR as Prime Minister is intrinsically wrong; its inherent quality is evil; it is anti-people. Such decrees do not substitute for the rule of the majority. Today Parliament, in no uncertain terms, showed that MR-cabal did not have their numbers. A joke of a Cabinet and Prime Minister so decreed by President remains such- a joke. A decision arrived with ulterior intentions and sinister objectives met its logical end today. Now the ball is back in the President’s court.

How would he decide now? By the time you read this that decision may have already been made. But the rights and wrongs of the original decision, arguments for and against that decision by President Sirisena cannot be foreclosed. Having being in power for 20 long years, from 1994 to 2015, and then for the shortest time on our history for about two and half weeks, the MR-cabal has gone crazy; they simply cannot live without the luxuries of power and money. As per Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s comments at the press conference of the JVP, a government and a Prime Minister were formed in moonlight at about 7:00 pm on October 26, 2018. His most logical and lucid explanation about the chronology of events, the way in which those events were conspiratorially executed was par excellence. How much this country does miss such brilliant speakers?

The Speaker of the House of Parliament and the Supreme Court held with the people. Of the three pillars on which a ‘Democratic State’ rests, two sided with the people. The Judiciary and the Legislature chose to uphold the rule of law; both were adamantly allegiant to the service of the people. In this context the role played by the other pillar, the Executive, is bizarre and unequivocally wrong. Now the decision goes back to that pillar of the State.

The Executive has another chance to undo his wrong; he has another opportunity to show humility and greatness by accepting the overwhelming wish of Parliament. Go back to the status quo of October 25, 2018. Restore Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister and ask him to form his new Cabinet in terms of the 19th Amendment. MR too has the same opportunity. He may have another chance to restore whatever dignity that is left of him. His walking away from the proceedings of Parliament when the no-confidence motion was submitted was a clear sign of him losing badly. A list of signatures containing 122 MPs was later submitted to the Speaker. It’s Game, Set and Match. Match over, so MR, please resign from your post of Prime Minister so unconstitutionally conferred on you.

Such greatness of humility and sensitive demeanor could still be assumed by those who conspired against the people of Sri Lanka. Anarchy can be averted; chaos can be forestalled and peace and harmony can be restored. Avarice for power may be too much for a mundane person to reject; yet greatness is not achieved by avaricious men and women; it is attained by those who refuse such allurements and renounce the obvious magic of such power.

Mr. President, once again, the ball is back in your court.

The author can be contacted at vishwamithra1984@gmail.com

JVP to present 20A in Parliament again

Disna Mudalige and Amali Mallawaarachchi-Thursday, November 15, 2018

JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that his party would present the 20th Amendment to abolish the Executive Presidency, to Parliament again.

Speaking at a press conference at the Parliamentary Complex yesterday soon after the adjournment of the House, the MP said the events that took place in the country in the last few days amply illustrated that too much power concentrated in the hands of one person was dangerous and detrimental to democracy.

The UPFA, UNF and JVP convened back-to-back press conferences in the committee rooms in Parliament following the tensed sitting of Parliament yesterday. The JVP Leader, speaking to the media, called on President Maithripala Sirisena to take appropriate action as per the Constitution, adding that the Maithri–Mahinda conspiracy has been defeated.

“What we experienced in the past two weeks can be considered as one of the greatest lessons about the Sri Lankan political arena ever.”

“We have to learn some lessons practically, not by reading books and this is it. Now we know what can happen when governing powers of fundamental importance become centred on a single person.”
“I think this is the most suitable time for moving the 20th Amendment to the Constitution again and we will do it soon,” the MP said.

Dissanayake further said the JVP does not hold the view that President Sirisena should be impeached at this moment. “He still can act according to the Constitution and bring the current political turmoil to an end. We hope he would look back and realise what he did to the stability of the country.”

“Therefore, at this moment we do not think that he should be impeached, although there is an opportunity to move an impeachment against him for bluntly violating the Constitution,” he said.

He said that President Sirisena now has a duty to appoint a new Prime Minister and a Cabinet.

“Today (14), the majority of members of Parliament decided that they do not have confidence in Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and the newly appointed Cabinet. It means there is no government in the country right now.”

“The President should make arrangements to appoint a PM and a Cabinet according to the Constitution now,” Dissanayake said.

He also stressed that yesterday’s business of Parliament was legal and correct, adding that due process was followed in passing the no-confidence motion by suspending the Standing Orders of Parliament.

He pointed out that the UPFA did not try to defeat the motion to suspend the Standing Orders and also the NCM because they knew they lack the majority.

Constitutional gridlock and petitions against a Parliamentary election

By C. A. Chandraprema-November 14, 2018, 9:51 pm

With the suspension of the gazette notification dissolving Parliament till the 7th December, the political uncertainty in the country is set to continue for three more weeks. When one looks at the petitioners who went to the Supreme Court against the President’s decision to dissolve Parliament and hold fresh elections, we cannot help but notice that they were the same political parties that colluded with one another to change the local government elections system in August 2017 in order to delay holding elections to local government bodies that had been dissolved more than two years earlier in March 2015. As the pressure to hold the local government elections which had been delayed by two years and four months mounted, the government made changes to the local government electoral system creating constituencies and then delayed the local government elections further by citing delimitation disputes. The manner in which the local government elections system was changed was also unprecedented.

Instead of gazetting a Bill to change the system of elections and then giving the people an opportunity to have its constitutionality examined by the Supreme Court, the entirely new system of elections was brought as committee stage amendments to a Bill that had been gazetted and then introduced in parliament to correct some technical glitches in the local government elections law. Thus, the Bill that was gazetted and introduced in parliament and even read the second time, was not the Bill that was finally passed by parliament after the committee stage, but something totally different. Having changed the local government elections system in this devious manner, the then government appointed a delimitation committee and delayed the local government elections further by citing delimitation disputes. After having run around in circles for several months and after dodging persistent questions from journalists about the delay in holding local government elections, the government then got some of their supporters to file action in courts against the delimitation of wards in a large number of local government institutions so as to delay the election further.

The only reason why we had a local government election in February this year was because the head of the Elections Commission Mahinda Deshapriya announced that they would go ahead and hold elections to the 93 local government institutions in respect of which there were no delimitation disputes real or contrived. At that point the government caved in and decided to have elections to all the local government institutions because the damage would be done anyway even if elections were held for a limited number of local government bodies. The cases that had been filed against the delimitation report were then miraculously withdrawn to enable the local government elections to be held. That made it only too obvious that the judicial process was being abused by that government to delay elections. One month after the local government elections system was changed in the manner described, the government also moved to change the system of elections to the provincial councils as well. There was an urgent need to change the system of elections to the provincial councils because the Sabaragamuwa, North Central and Eastern provinces were to stand dissolved in late September and early October 2017.

Once those provincial councils stood dissolved, the process of holding elections would start automatically without the need for anybody to initiate the process. When a provincial council stands dissolved, the elections commissioner has to fix the dates to call for nominations within a certain period. Then the returning officers in the districts where PC elections were being held will have to fix the date of the poll, once again within a specified period. So if the intention of the government was to postpone elections, they had to move fast and change the system of elections so that a delimitation committee can be appointed and the elections process stalled. Sure enough in September 2017, just a day or two before the Sabaragamuwa, North Central and Eastern provincial councils were to stand dissolved, the government changed the provincial councils elections system. Once again the method in which this change was effected was by bringing sweeping committee stage amendments to a Bill that had originally been gazetted and introduced in Parliament to increase women’s representation in the provincial councils.

Horse trading to dodge PC elections

On the day that Parliament was to make changes to the system of elections to provincial councils, at around 5.00 pm the Attorney General by virtue of the powers vested in him under article 77 of the Constitution informed the Speaker that the Bill to increase women’s representation in parliament which had now been changed completely to become a Bill to change the system of elections to the PCs, could not be passed without a two thirds majority in parliament. When the AG said that the government would need a two thirds majority in parliament to get that Bill passed, the government which was desperate to stop the provincial councils election from taking place at any cost, filibustered in parliament until they were able to collect enough MPs to make up a two- thirds majority. Even when the two-thirds majority had been assembled, that was not the end of the story. Some of the smaller parties made that an occasion to extract their pound of flesh. They demanded that the proportion of candidates elected on the basis of the constituencies and proportional representation be changed from 60%-40% to 50%-50%.

This major change to the elections law was made at the last moment literally on the floor of the house in order to prevent the smaller parties from voting against the proposed amendments. Thus we have the anomalous situation where the proportion of constituency-based seats and proportional representation seats is 60%-40% at the local government level and 50-50 at the provincial council level! So shameless was that government’s headlong scramble to avoid holding the provincial council elections. To this day no provincial council elections have been held and now six provincial councils are without functioning provincial councils. The manner in which the PC elections have been stalled is somewhat different to the manner in which the local government elections were postponed. At the LG level, the delay was executed by manufacturing delimitation disputes. At the provincial council level it was by delaying the delimitation process itself.

According to the Act that was passed in September 2017 changing the provincial councils elections system, the delimitation report had to be completed within a period of four months and then tabled in parliament by the Minister in charge of the subject. Within one month of it being tabled in Parliament, the delimitation report had to be passed with a two- thirds majority. Even though the delimitation report was tabled in parliament in March this year, it was not passed within the stipulated period of one month. Thereafter, there was a long delay of several months. When it seemed as if the Joint Opposition was about to go to the Supreme Court to get a ruling that the amendments made to the Provincial Councils elections law were now defunct, the government suddenly placed the delimitation report on the order paper and after a debate, even the Minister who presented it to Parliament voted against it to buy further time.

Under the amending Act of September 2017 if Parliament does not pass the provincial councils delimitation report, the next step in the process was for the Speaker of Parliament to appoint a Review Committee comprising of the Prime Minister and four other members which would make recommendations within a period of two months to the President and the latter was to gazette the delimitation report with any changes made by the Review Committee. There was no provision in the law to extend the two month period. This period expired on the 28th of October and no report has been submitted by the Review Committee to the President. Under the provisions of Section 6(2) of the Interpretation Ordinance, if an amendment brought to an Act is, for some reason, inoperative then the previous provisions of the law before amendment continue to apply. Thus, the so called independent Elections Commission had the power to call for nominations to the delayed provincial councils, any time after the 28th of October but nothing happened.

EC Member allergic to elections The Supreme Court in the 1998 case of Karunatilleke and Another Vs Dayananda Dissanayake, Commissioner of Elections made it quite clear that the task of the Elections Commissioner was to hold elections and not to collude with the government in postponing polls. That judgment also stated the extent of the Elections Commissioner’s discretion in this regard. There was no need for the Elections Commissioner to go before the Supreme Court to obtain a ruling as to whether the Act that sought to change the system of elections to the PCs was inoperative. They could have if they wanted to, simply started the process of having elections according to the old system and told anyone who was against holding an election to go before the SC if they so wished. However another option available to them after the 28th of October was going before the Supreme Court to obtain a ruling on the matter. However very significantly, not one of the three members of the Elections Commission ever went before the SC in that regard.

However, when the President dissolved Parliament and declared a general election, one member of the Elections Commission petitioned the Supreme Court against the dissolution of Parliament and the calling of an election. In doing so he was joining the very same political parties the UNP, the TNA, the JVP and two Muslim political parties that colluded with one another to change the local government elections system and the provincial council elections system in violation of all the provisions in the Constitution and the Standing Orders of Parliament so as to delay elections. Thus the Elections Commission has been complicit with the UNP, TNA and JVP in delaying elections. When an election is declared, they go to courts against it, but do not go to courts against the indefinite postponement of elections! Such is the situation that Sri Lanka finds itself in today. When the yahapalana government was formed after the August 2015 general election, they divided up the government and opposition positions among themselves with the JVP and TNA taking over the opposition and the UNP and UPFA taking over the government and they appointed a Constitutional Council consisting only of yahapalanites.

The partisanship of some members of the Elections Commission is only too plain. The reason why that government delayed holding the local government elections is because of the fear that it would lose. When it was finally held they did lose. The reason why they have postponed the provincial council election is also because of the fear they would lose. The reason why they went to court to challenge the dissolution of Parliament and the calling of a general election is also because they believe they will lose. All this while, the conventional wisdom in this country was that no political party should postpone elections because the people will turn against them when an election finally comes along. If that is so, what is the harvest that the present lot can expect to reap after having made it so painfully obvious that they are against the holding of any election? What kind of a political party would go to courts against the holding of an election and when the court issues a stay order temporarily suspending the dissolution of Parliament and the elections process until the end of the hearing, hail that as a victory?

We were given a demonstration of the extent of the yahapalana reluctance to hold elections when in August this year, the yahapalana government voted against their own PC constituencies delimitation report just to buy an additional two months time. So that is the kind of people who have petitioned the Supreme Court against the Parliamentary election. Once a government paints itself into a corner where it is unable or unwilling even to think of holding elections and will go to any lengths to avoid having one, where do we go from there?

The Joker Who Got A Jackpot

By Razi Mohmamadh –NOVEMBER 13, 2018

Raazi Mohmamadh

Never had there been a Political mayhem in the post independent history of Sri Lanka as we are witnessing nowadays. Watching the breaking news on television since 26th of October is as if you are watching a horror movie in a 3-D theater, sitting on the edge of the seat bamboozled as to what is going to happen next, making yourself ready for the vertiginous shock.

Then a Twitter notification chirps. You are flummoxed and high as a kite, sometimes shaking in your shoes just to open the tweet. Then you read who joined whose camp, what the price for ones defection is and what bomb is in which parcel.

It is really unfortunate to witness an artificial, self created dogfight between the values of democracy, Rule of Law, Constitutionality and Power hankering, perfidious, egotistical politicians like Mahinda Rajapaksa and Maithripala Sirisena.

All what happened so far is nothing but a set of obnoxious misdemeanors that has brought this country almost to the brink of political extinction, rupture of Rule of Law and guillotine of democracy by Mahinda and Maithri made sword.

Sri Lankan civil war had been the main subject in the election propaganda of all political parties since 1970. No presidential or parliamentary election campaign in Sinhala populated area would conclude without the mentioning of Civil War-how it has shattered the country and a pledge to end it if the speakers’ party is elected to power. Defeating the LTTE, upholding the unitary status of the country, eliminating the elements that challenge the sovereignty of the Island had long been persuasive arguments in Sinhala populated areas during elections when delivered with stage blowing oratory with hypertensive vocabulary.

As soon as the Civil War was over, tactical arrows for election propaganda ran out of the quiver for big shot politicians who had been dreaming for presidency and playing with LTTE factor as election strategy. “I defeated the LTTE”had been a convincing catchphrase of Mahinda Rajapaksa for some time that made every Sinhalese feel that he/she owes Mahinda Rajapaksa his/her vote as a loyal tribute for defeating terrorism. He was elected second time as president with a sweeping victory using his apophthegm “I defeated LTTE”

When days pass memories fade away. Mahinda Rajapaksa could not hold on to his argument of “I defeated LTTE” for a long time. When the LTTE factor dried up Mahinda Rajapaksa needed something to shoot at people to win their votes. There came Muslim Factor. Emergence of BBS during his tenure was another catastrophe. Sinhalese and Muslims who had been living as neighbors for centuries started to look at each other as their enemies.BBS with Mahinda’s blessing has left a permanent scar that can be erased by any cream.

His pro-China stand, Controlling of 80+ percentage of countries economy by three of his brothers, killing of journalists, human Rights violations during the last days of the Civil War, deep-rooted corruptions, High rocketing debt brought the country to rack and ruin.Sri Lankans were subject to -in the past years -mind boggling wretchedness in their daily lives during the callous reign of Mahinda Rajapaksa.The tenure of MR Has changed the cause of history in Sri Lanka. but regardless of the havoc he caused to this country, Rajapaksa set his heart on a third term, a clear example of desperate longing for puissance.

Way forward for the Govt.

Thursday, 15 November 2018

The President, and all political leaders represented in the Legislature, collectively pledge to form a bi-partisan representative National Council of not more than 25 Cabinet Ministers (no Deputy nor State Ministers) selected from all parties to govern the country over the next 14 months, and further agree to place the long-term interests of the nation and its people as the first priority in the governance during such period, as well as arrange Presidential Elections and Parliamentary / Provincial Council Elections to be held in January 2020 on a single day, and for that purpose pass any required resolutions in Parliament.

The Council of Ministers will all be without specific portfolios and specific functions.
The respective Ministries are to be run under the directions and control of the respective Ministry Secretaries, on policy directives of the Collective Council of Ministers.

The main tasks of the new cabinet council of ministers will be to take all essential and priority steps to:

Re-establish and demonstrate that an effectively functioning Government is in place, and all steps taken herein after will strictly conform to the provisions of the Constitution and international conventions and commitments, with effective good governance, ensuring peace, harmony, rule of law and justice.
Have in place a national budget that ensures equitable distribution of national resources, allocated on a fair, reasonable, and essential need basis, in line with expected economic outcomes that significantly impact on poverty eradication and meeting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with special safety nets for marginalised groups.
Have in place an effective and risks-mitigated national plan to manage the National Debt, with emphasis on external debt, balance of payment stability, international rating improvement, and control over exchange rates and inflation.
Agree on consistent, long-standing socioeconomic policies, which will attract investment, technology/skills transfer, and full employment.
Ensure sustainable long-term impacting resolution of the national question, demand for devolution, and the conflicts linked to transitional justice issues, which will foster harmony, and lower ethnic divides.
Re-establish the international acceptance and international support for Sri Lanka as a non-aligned sovereign nation.
Effectively empower the law enforcement authorities and Judiciary to totally independently deal with all violators of the law, bribe takers, the corrupt, and those responsible for money laundering and state assets misappropriations.
Strengthen the independent public institutions and regulators, and empower effective good governance.
Ensure effective and efficient delivery of education, health, and infrastructure services at optimum costs, to meet the demands of the market and households, so as to assure full employment and sustainable and liveable household incomes, and the welfare of the marginalised segments.
Protect the environment, ecology and natural resources.
Embed a new leadership culture that will result in persons of integrity, capability, and acceptable values being selected and elected to office in governance and the Executive, and to extend this culture to all generations of young and elderly, who will develop such work ethics and societal values that will prevail and lead to oneness as citizens of Sri Lanka.

When ‘Spring time’ comes a tad too early

Sri Lanka’s ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe talks with party deputy leader Sajith Premadasa inside the parliament at a news conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka November 14, 2018. REUTERS

2018-11-15

The victory that the grieved petitioners were handed by the Supreme Court ruling regarding the dissolution of Parliament was akin to the end in most movie scripts; the good triumphing over the bad.

It seems the efforts of the democratic forces during the past few days haven’t been in vain. But like walking out of a movie theatre and stepping into reality again, we now have to fathom that we have three difficult customers to deal with; Ranil Wickremesinghe, Maithripala Sirisena and Mahinda Rajapaksa. This in fact is the bitter reality.

The present court ruling gives some respite to Sri Lanka
the democratic forces who are working overtime do believe in a ‘Sri Lankan Summer’
People in the country have the habit of shelving their good-naturedness and taking on a confrontational attitude when the topic switches to politics
Those who love democracy and fair play can’t relax now and must double their efforts

The problem with the three is that they are power hungry and love themselves more than the country. Another common characteristic about the trio is that they have been the least influenced by the opinions of others. In other words they have to take responsibility for the positions they have put themselves into in the field of politics. Right now it’s only Rajapaksa who has some future in politics (Going purely on the people’s acceptance of him). Wickremesinghe and Sirisena have proven beyond doubt that they are spent forces in politics. But Rajapaksa’s ruthless past and the negativity with which the outside world looks at this man makes it real hard for him to have the same clout he had during past elections.

The present court ruling gives some respite to Sri Lanka because the recent developments indicated that the nation was slowly moving towards becoming a ‘pariah’ state. As many as eight Western diplomats shunning a scheduled meeting with the Dr.Sarath Amunugama a few days ago underscores that the international community wasn’t in favour of Parliament being dissolved in an undemocratic manner.

‘Lawyers for Democracy’

A lawyers collective operating by the name ‘Lawyers for Democracy’ voiced the biggest warning and stated that qualities of a civilised country in loving democracy, basic law, sovereignty of the people and decency in governance have been showed in the gutter. This they said was due to the dissolution of Parliament by undemocratic means.

What’s alarming is that a nation that lit crackers and served milk rice on the streets to celebrate the dissolving of Parliament and appointing Rajapaksa after sacking Wickremesinghe as Premier didn’t show enough enthusiasm to welcome this historic court ruling. It seems that a good number of the county’s citizens find it hard to understand that the rule of the law is the only hope when politicians bungle after assuming power, thanks to the people’s votes. UNP Leader Wickremesinghe was quick to point out that ‘one can’t play around with the Constitution’ adding ‘the president is not above the law’.

The people in this country start believing when someone goes on repeating untrue information like a mantra. It’s alarming as well to note that people are quick to comment on untrue facts appearing on social media, without bothering to verify the content. Politics often takes centre stage and one can observe the fantasy worlds they live in, believing their favourites would rule the island when in reality they don’t have half a chance nor the legal clearance to be granted nomination at elections.

But on the other hand the democratic forces who are working overtime do believe in a ‘Sri Lankan Summer’ saying hello soon despite it being a cold November that we are at present experiencing.

There is much talk within the UNP that it is mulling over the prospects of appointing of a new leader. Sajith Premadasa’s name has come up at several forums as the possible candidate for the party leadership. Political analysts point out that the only avenue for this opening up is if Wickremesinghe moves away and assumes a consultancy role in the party, paving the way for the next generation of UNPers to take over and contribute to the decision making process. But nothing of that sort could have been even dreamed of if not for the staunch efforts of Karu Jayasuriya who maintained that he was compelled to accept the status quo prior to October 26. The same must be said about the Asgiriya and Malwatte Chapters of the Buddha Shasana in Sri Lanka who have maintained a stark silence regarding the dissolution of Parliament and the appointing of a new premier. This silence could be interpreted as their dissatisfaction regarding the new turn of events in politics under the Sirisena-Rajapaksa ‘alliance’.

Internationals community

Regardless of what opinions patriotic people of this country express, the internationals community is fully behind Wickremesinghe. This (The outside world) is a force and must be considered as a force to be reckoned with. If Sri Lanka doesn’t revert back to a democratic way in which it governs the country, the international community imposing sanctions on Sri Lanka is not far away.

People in the country have the habit of shelving their good-naturedness and taking on a confrontational attitude when the topic switches to politics. This is a subject where people would go to any extremes in order to defend their views. So much hate is spread on social media during arguments about whether Sirisena did the right thing dissolving parliament. For some people dissolving Parliament, having an election and electing an efficient Government is above the law and democracy. For them Wickremesinghe stating that ‘the court ruling in favour of the people’s franchise was a victory for decent politics’ amounts to rubbish.

Those who love democracy and fair play can’t relax now and must double their efforts. They can’t be caught napping. Those who rule the island now have the habit of springing surprises on the people. The forces behind the Sirisena-Rajapaksa duo have vowed that they await the Supreme Court ruling on December 7 and add that they would fight hard to go for elections.

December marks the arrival of the festive season. That much looked forward to month is just days away. But what’s happening now has made the political environment rather unpleasant. The tussle between the good and the bad has never been so decisive for the islanders. Sri Lanka’s democratic forces are screaming for ‘spring time’ despite the present environment we live in making us bitterly cold!

More theatrics on the political stage

Thursday, November 15, 2018

The political turmoil following the dismissal of Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister and the subsequent appointment of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa as his replacement continues, as Sri Lanka grapples with a constitutional crisis of epic proportions.

The drama began with the October 26 dismissal of Wickremesinghe, who was informed by letter by President Sirisena that he was being relieved of his duties. Rajapaksa was sworn in as Premier shortly afterwards because, it was President Sirisena’s opinion that he commanded the confidence of a majority of MPs in Parliament.

Thereafter, there was a scramble to demonstrate a majority in Parliament with both Wickremesinghe and Rajapaksa confident that they commanded the support of the House. In that exercise, there were a few crossovers from the United National Party (UNP), the most notable among them being Wijayedasa Rajapakshe and Vasantha Senanayake who were sworn in as ministers.

New Cabinet

A new Cabinet was also sworn in. Accommodated in the new Cabinet were stalwarts of the Joint Opposition (JO). It was the first time President Sirisena accommodated the JO in his government and signalled a rapprochement between the Sirisena and Rajapaksa factions of the United Peoples’ Freedom Alliance (UPFA).

Meanwhile, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya met with parliamentarians. Jayasuriya stated that a majority of MPs submitted a letter stating their request to convene Parliament. Based on this, Jayasuriya issued a statement to the effect that nothing had eventuated to change the status quo in Parliament.

Significantly, among the political parties that opposed the removal of Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister were the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). However, these parties went to great lengths to emphasize that while they were not offering an endorsement of Wickremesinghe as Premier, they vehemently opposed the manner in which he was removed.

“I wish to emphasize that I am compelled to accept the status that existed previously until such time that… the new political alliance prove their majority in Parliament”, Jayasuriya said in his statement but stopped short of recalling Parliament for which the authority lies with the President.

However, it was evident that not all in Parliament shared Speaker Jayasuriya’s views. Senior parliamentary staff speaking to media indicated that as far as they were concerned, they would abide by the gazette notifications issued by the government.

As the guessing game as to who commanded the majority support in Parliament continued, more ministers were sworn in. Among them were some high-profile JO politicians: Chamal Rajapaksa (Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine), Dinesh Gunawardena (Megapolis and Western Development), Vasudeva Nanayakkara (National Integration, Reconciliation and Official languages), Bandula Gunawardane (International Trade and Investment Promotion), Wimal Weerawansa (Housing and Social Welfare) and Udaya Gammanpila (Buddha Sasana and Religious Affairs).

Gazette notification

When the stage was being set for Parliament to be reconvened on November 14 (yesterday), the drama took another turn. Last Friday, in a gazette notification that was not entirely unexpected, President Sirisena dissolved Parliament. The gazette notification set the period of nominations for the general elections from November 19 to 26 and scheduled the general election for January 5, 2019.
It is noteworthy that the gazette notification cited Article 33(2)(c) of the Constitution, read with Article 70(5) and Article 62(2) of the Constitution as the basis for the dissolution, the key clause being the first.

Article 33(2)(c) of the Constitution states that “In addition to the powers, duties and functions expressly conferred or imposed on, or assigned to the President by the Constitution or other written law, the President shall have the power to summon, prorogue and dissolve Parliament”.

Legal experts for the government argued that the powers derived by the President under Article 33(2) were over and above Article 70(1) which stated that “The President may by Proclamation, summon, prorogue and dissolve Parliament, provided that the President shall not dissolve Parliament until the expiration of a period of not less than four years and six months from the date appointed for its first meeting, unless Parliament requests the President to do so by a resolution passed by not less than two-thirds of the whole number of Members (including those not present), voting in its favour”

There has been much debate about this issue. Government loyalists argue that the words “in addition to the powers……assigned to the President” implies that the power to summon, prorogue and dissolve Parliament is over and above the restrictions placed on the President under Article 70(1), which precludes him from dissolving Parliament for four and a half years that would take the life of this Parliament well beyond the next presidential election.

The dissolution caught the UNP and other opposition parties such as the JVP and the TNA by surprise. Their MPs who were gearing themselves for a tussle for supremacy in Parliament where they would be called upon to show a majority suddenly found themselves as ordinary citizens, as Parliament was dissolved.

Intense discussion between the UNP, JVP and the TNA followed, leading to the parties deciding to collectively and separately challenge the dissolution of Parliament in the Supreme Court. This occurred on Monday, with ten petitions challenging the dissolution being heard in the highest court in the land. Among the petitioners was S. Ratnajeevan Hoole, a member of the Elections Commission. The bench constituted for the purpose comprised of Chief Justice Nalin Perera and Supreme Court Justices Prasanna Jayawardena and Priyantha Jayawardena.

Even as the country’s top legal eagles were stating their case in the Supreme Court on Monday, there were other political developments. Most notably, many parliamentarians from the UPFA obtained membership of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), relinquishing their membership with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). Among them was the newly appointed Prime Minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Both the SLFP and the SLPP insist that this is not an indication of parting of ways between the two parties but a move to establish their own identities in preparation for the general election. The modalities of how they will accommodate each other has not yet been finalised.

Dissolution of Parliament

At the end of Monday, petitioners against the dissolution of Parliament had concluded their submissions. The Supreme Court took up the matter again on Tuesday, when it heard submissions from the Attorney General. Although the decision of the court was expected at 5 o’clock, it was past 6 o’clock when it was finally announced to a courtroom packed with politicians and the media.

The three-judge bench of the Supreme Court issued an interim order temporarily suspending the gazette notification issued by the President on the dissolution of Parliament. The Supreme Court also issued an interim order on the Elections Commission preventing the holding of a general election. The stay orders have been issued effective until December 7. The petitions have been fixed for argument on December 4, 5 and 6.

This meant that the general election has effectively been put on hold. Political parties were evaluating their strategies on Tuesday night in the wake of the Supreme Court decision. While the opposition hailed the decision as a victory for democracy, the government maintains that what has been delivered is only a stay order and not a final decision.

At the time of writing, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya had announced that Parliament would reconvene as per the President’s proclamation. That would undoubtedly create potential for more theatrics on the political stage. What is certain though is that this drama is far from over.

At the time of writing, Parliament has just concluded a stormy session where a vote of no-confidence against Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has been adopted, with 122 voting for the motion.

In addition, three MPs loyal to the government- veteran A.H. M. Fowzie, Piyasena Gamage and Manusha Nanayakkara have joined the opposition while Minister Vasantha Senanayake has resigned his portfolio. State Minister Vadivel Suresh has also signalled his intentions to resign.

In the aftermath of the vote of no-confidence, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya has announced that Parliament has passed the vote of no confidence against the government although the government disputes this. Parliament is scheduled to reconvene today (Thursday). That would undoubtedly create potential for more theatrics on the political stage. What is certain though is that this drama is far from over.

THE COUP DE GRACE ON THE COUP D’ETAT?

Featured image by Amalini De Sayrah

ASANGA WELIKALA- 11/14/2018

Since 26 October, virtually every gambit and calculation of the instigators of the Sri Lankan constitutional coup have failed. Initially, they relied on the element of surprise to cover up the illegality of removing the serving Prime Minister enjoying the confidence of the House. They calculated that ‘the return of the strongman’ narrative would, through a mixture of discontent, financial inducement, and fear, open the floodgates of crossovers, so that a new majority could be shown in short order. When this did not happen as quickly as they had probably hoped, they prorogued Parliament to buy themselves some time, while the financial stakes could be raised and quite possibly other tactics be deployed to induce sufficient crossovers for a parliamentary majority. Despite rumours of unprecedented sums being offered, the anticipated floodgate remained firmly shut. In one of the more intriguing episodes in Sri Lankan politics, it seems the prospect of massive financial gain was weighed against other factors by MPs, but quite what these weightier countervailing pressures were, we are yet to discover.

As the hours stretched into days, and days into weeks, the plotters knew the game was up and that recalling Parliament would simply affirm their lack of numbers. So, like the surprised thief who commits an unpremeditated murder, they compounded the illegal transfer of power with an even more clearly illegal act, by purporting to dissolve Parliament without having the constitutional authority to do so. This was challenged in the Supreme Court, which indicated that a prima facie case of illegality had been made out by granting the petitioners interim relief in the form of a stay order on the presidential proclamation of dissolution, until early December when the matter could be heard in full. This decision of the Supreme Court has placed an unavoidable question mark over the legitimacy and legality of all the ill-advised presidential actions since 26 October, not merely the narrow question of the impugned dissolution. Since the Supreme Court cannot be dismissed in the way political opponents or protesting citizens can be, this has multiplied the already severe political embarrassment of having failed to show a majority in Parliament.

Within less than 24 hours after this setback, Parliament reconvened today, where the Speaker and the leaders of the parties constituting the majority in the House acted swiftly and decisively to suspend Standing Orders and take a vote of no confidence in the pretender to the office of Prime Minister. There is explicit sanction for this in the Standing Orders (135 and 136), as well as the conventions of inherent authority of the Speaker in upholding the powers, rights and privileges of Parliament. Reduced to crude if futile tactics of disruption in the absence of numbers, the unconstitutional government has refused to recognise the vote.

In this as in everything else since the start of the coup, their stock in trade has been outright lying and disinformation, selective, hypocritical, and ultimately farcical attempts at deploying legal authority to defend the legally indefensible, and a big dose of both physical and verbal threat and intimidation. The problem is, this seems to be a counterproductive political strategy in Sri Lanka nowadays. Rajapaksa’s fabled golden touch has deserted him, and he looks increasingly like yesterday’s man in the post-2015 new Sri Lanka: the moth-eaten lion of ethnonationalism utterly out of place in a changing society with increasingly democratising instincts. The consequence is that their coup tactics serve to remind those who have forgotten what their deplorable governing style was like before 2015, they unite various factions of moderate opinion in the country that would not otherwise unite against them, they re-galvanise those who voted for systemic change in 2015, and they revive those who were disenchanted and demoralised by the poor performance of the reform government since 2015.

In short, their behaviour is showing them up for what they actually are: a nasty and brutish gang of political thugs and constitutional vandals led by a clan of has-been warlords, who are desperate enough to do anything, and anything at all, in order to grab and maintain power at any cost, and who have been let in through the door by a hopeless yokel fortuitously placed in the office of President.

In terms of the law of the constitution and the conventions of democracy, the stiff resistance shown by the legal Prime Minister and his united Cabinet and parliamentary coalition, Parliament, the Supreme Court, civil society, political parties, and inspirationally, by ordinary Sri Lankan citizens of all walks of life and all political persuasions, the defeats in the Supreme Court and Parliament should really be the coup de grâce on the coup d’état.

But this is unlikely. Graceful exits are not in the playbook of people like Rajapaksa and Sirisena. They have bent and broken the rules, and lost the game, but they will never accept defeat. Like grotesquely spoilt children, they know that they can raise the levels of unacceptable behaviour to a high bar by exploiting the concern of the adults in the room to avoid others getting hurt. This deserves our contempt and opprobrium, but there is a reason why we should think of de-escalating at this crucial moment.

Moral victories have been won, both Parliament and Supreme Court came down on the side of constitutional democracy. But unless a way out is made out for cornered animals, we can all get killed. This is why there should now be a concerted effort to get a political agreement among all parliamentary parties including the SLPP and UPFA to agree to a dissolution of Parliament and an agreed date for fresh elections. That agreement will enable Parliament to vote for the dissolution by the necessary two-thirds majority and restore constitutional due process. And it will be the safety valve that can ensure the anger and bitterness created so unnecessarily by the attempted coup can be channelled constructively towards a fresh beginning in a new Parliament. Every other scenario entails merely the continuation of a suppurating and poisonous canker at the heart of the state.

Editor’s Note: Read more about the current political situation here.

Sri Lanka: Rajapaksa cannot make a statement in Parliament as Prime Minister

(November 15, 2018, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said Mahinda Rajapaksa will not be able to make a statement in Parliament as Prime Minister.

He also said that Appointed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and the cabinet have been dissolved as the Speaker accepted the no-confidence motion in Parliament today.

Speaking further, he noted that a Prime Minister is not required to resign as per section 48 (2) of the Constitution.

The Prime Minister’s post will be invalid if an Appropriation Act or a no-confidence motion is defeated in Parliament, he said.

[ Featured image: Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa leaving the Parliament after the No Confidence Motion against him passed, yesterday, November 14, 2018 ]

Give Back Our Sovereignty & Free Us From Oligarchs

By W. Vishnu Gupta –NOVEMBER 14, 2018

W. Vishnu Gupta

Judging by the political games played by Ranil, Mahinda, Karu and President Maithripla since October 26th, it is obvious that oligarchies lead by Ranil and Mahinda have hijacked the sovereignty of Sri Lanka from the people. In addition to stealing our national wealth, assets and birth rights they have been acting as sovereigns under the cover of distorted democracy in the country. Alleged invitations extended by (Ranil and Karu) to international community and consultations with the foreign representatives clearly indicate that there were eleventh-hour attempts to protect sovereign status assumed by the sacked Prime Minister. RW’s claim to sovereign status has been challenged by MR. It is not surprising for the oligarchs to operate above the law; usually they make sure law of the land is altered and twisted to protect longevity of their grip on power. Contrary to the claims made by the cohorts of oligarchs, it must be obvious to the people of Sri Lanka that the 18th and 19th amendments to the constitution of the land have been introduced to ensure the “assumed sovereign” status of MR and RW.

Pawns and Sri Lankan version of democracy

Karu and Maithripala are the pawns in this political game played by RW and MR in order to achieve their personal goals, as expected it can be either “by hook or by crook”. Sri Lankan vile politicians supporting these two camps must be a story of international intrigue, romances, corruption, graft, and political assassinations. It is not obvious to the majority of voters as this game is played behind the scene and the use of cleverly planned diversionary tactics. Main diversion is activated on the rabble by burdening them with a carefully implemented survival game. Rabble is preoccupied in the survival game and also they have been advised to be patient by their religious leaders; instances such as where estate workers have to beg the oligarchs to get an unbelievable pitiful daily wage of Rs.1,000, Malnutrition reported in villages, child committing suicide in Kilinochchi for not having a school uniform. The misery imposed on the citizens through the survival game continues to grow. In contrast, core group and henchmen linked to oligarchy; about 7% of the population, are confronted with the dilemma of choosing luxuries of European, American or Japanese origin to maintain their hedonistic life styles at home and abroad. Sri Lankan version of democracy is a story of two groups mainly consists of atheistic-materialistic families playing a psychological warfare to decide which group would win ultimate control of the wealth, natural resources, national assets and man-power of the entire nation. This story has not change since the demise of Hon. DS Senanayake.

This psychological war game has reached the final stage but it will not be over very soon. Both oligarchs have tyrannical ambitions; consequently the nation has brought to somewhat standstill position by the duplicity nature of the constitution of the land. Attention of the highest court of the land is now drawn to settle the bickering of two oligarchs. Incomplete amendments have been drafted and implemented by these two groups to deny the people the opportunity to enjoy real democracy; “Rule by the people” not by two individuals acting as “sovereigns”. Sovereignty of a nation based on true democratic principle belongs to the people. The solution is to end this foul game that oligarchs have been playing at the expense of future of the children. These two totalitarian-minded groups have imposed their ideas on rest of citizens through various instruments including multi interpretations of the constitution, religious institutions, fake commissions, civic groups, NGO’s, media circuses and unwanted international community involvement. Evolving story since October 26th is sensational and shocking, but it is of no value to the people of Sri Lanka. Suffering and denial of a decent life for the Sri Lankans will continue irrespective of the final winner.

The Most Venerable Maduluwawe Sobitha Thero