Ramanie de Zoysa

Sri Lanka is back in 2002- but only worse! In 2002, Ranil Wickremesinghe put on his tie and coat and posed for photographs with Prabhakaran in a safari jacket- to shake hands and hand over the lion’s share of the country to form an ethnically cleansed Tamil Eelaam.

In 2016, the suit is back – this time the country is being carved up into one further mono-ethno religious part- a caliphate for the Muslim fundamentalists as well as a Tamil Eelaam!

The Sri Lankan government is on a crash course; re-shaping the culture and historical ‘baggage’ of Sri Lanka, beating the hell out of the ‘native’ pride of the Sinhalese, throwing claims of ‘majoritarian’ Buddhistic heritage into the history’s dustbin while strenuously promoting, protecting and even re-prioritising the rights” of the minorities turning the perceived pyramid of ‘Sinhala supremacy’ upside down, just as the installers of the present SLG demanded.

Sinhalese desperately need to wake up at this eleventh hour- lest it’s all gone. The native Sinhelas of this country always fought and defended the country when faced with physical warfare- we have always done that throughout the history. However, every time we failed to read the fine print, we have always got caught to the trickery and we have always lost out because we will not bother until it is do or die.

I urge every patriotic Sinhalese to put their pen to paper or use their mouse and keypad to voice violent opposition to the great betrayal looming before all of us- the constitutional reform. The objections can be made on line as well as in writing at http://www.yourconstitution.lk/

Face of Sri Lanka’s future? Chairman of the Constitutional Committee Lal Wijeynayake

How urgent is this task? It is very urgent! According to the Chairman of the constitutional reform committee and Sunday Leader’s Camelia Nathaniel, it is very imminent. Camelia Nathaniel of the local Christian tattle, Sunday Leader reported on the views of Wijenayake on constitutional reform on Wednesday, June 08, 2016 in an article titled Foundation For Reconciliation Has Been Established, We Need To Solidify It –.

Q:  How long will the whole process take?

A: That is a big issue and the government wants it finished in the shortest possible period. We have been informed to submit a report within three months. There is a question that the time given would not be sufficient to check the public opinion. However there are 24 people appointed for this task. Now we can form small sub committees and send each committee to each Province. It would be better to visit each district and check people’s opinion. We are also planning to meet professionals who are in different layers in the society. We will deploy a group to meet the professionals and the trade unions then the students, next the university professors and lawyers as well. If the new constitution is created with a single party opinion it can have a short life span therefore in order to give it legitimacy it is important to inquire the opinions of all segments in the society.” (Courtesy: Sunday Leader)

Note the indecent hurry the Sri Lankan Government (SLG) is in in pushing this agenda! Just as admitted by Lal Wijenayake the Chairman above, the so-called committee had only 3 months to gather public opinion” by talking” to some provincial people”, NGOs, university professors and lawyers”, minorities and priests (any Buddhists?) and the reports have been presented.

Ranil Wickremesinghe will be soon pushing these reforms” through our parliament full of petty thieves, rogues, rapists, kidnappers, narcs, Central Bank robbers, Sathosa fraudsters, native rainforest sellers, Batalanda murderers and other beings of dubious parentage to create a more democratic, multi-ethno racial, secular Sri Lanka”.

There are three versions of the report; a Tamil, English and a Sinhala version.

There are several steps all right-thinking Sinhala people need to take:

Step 1

Who are the main beneficiaries of Ranil Wickremesinghe’s “reform”? Make a note of who is most excited about constitutional reform” in Sri Lanka.

Step 2

Look at the configuration of the committee- who are the committee members? What is the percentage of representation? Where are the committee members coming from? What views have they expressed and what political views and connections do they have?

Step 3

Read all three versions of the report”; are all three versions saying the same thing?

The so-called international community, most notably India, seems highly excited. The Diplomat, an Indian magazine covering the wider –Asian geo-political area noted in its article ‘Sri Lanka’s Circuitous Road to Reform’ that:

Sirisena’s ascension to the presidency really shook up the country’s political scene. He has the chance to do so again: by leading the way on constitutional reform; by overseeing the implementation of a comprehensive approach to transitional justice; by standing up to the military and emphasizing that a culture of impunity will no longer be tolerated; by explaining to Sinhalese why the need for accountability and a durable political solution are so important; by proving to the Sri Lankan people and the world that he’s a real democrat.” (emphasis mine)

The New Indian Express in its article of 10 June 2016 titled Sri Lankan Constitutional Reform to Start on Jan 9” written by P K Balachandran:

The Srisiena-Wickremesinghe government intends to abolish the Executive Presidency and bring into being an electoral system which will do away with the politically debilitating preferential vote system and be more democratic. Among other aims of the reform process is the promotion of ethnic and religious reconciliation and the Rule of Law.” (emphasis mine).

Secondly, let us take a good look at the faces that are reshaping Sri Lanka for posterity.  Let us look at who is spearheading this marvelous democratisation, purification, equalisation of our country.

It is the President and the Prime minister of the country that is spearheading the project and no one is in denial about the credentials of the duo.

The President has no education to speak of and has shown no integrity or noble personal goals other than that of sitting on Presidential furniture by hook or crook. It did not matter who he aligned himself with in order to get himself the top job.

The Prime Minister needs no special introduction as any reference to Batalanda, 2002 Peace Accord and his affiliation to world bodies of Anglican persuasion would speak for the person who is sitting in this position.

The warriors employed by the duo in accomplishing the task of ‘creating racial harmony’ through constitutional reform are the 20 members of the committee- the committee that has been charged with the utterly critical task of wiping out the existing constitution of the country and re-writing one to replace it.

The 20 member committee consists of:

1. Mr Lal Wijenayake (Chairman)
2. Mr. Winston Pathiraja(Secretary)
3. Prof Gamini Samaranayake
4. Prof Navaratne Bandara
5. Prof M.L.A Cader
6. Mr N. Selvakkumaran
7. Hon. S Thavarasa
8. Mr Kushan de Alwis P.C.
9. Dr Harini Amarasuriya
10. Dr Kumudu Kusum Kumara
11. Mr Sunil Jayarathne
12. Dr. Upul Abeyratne
13. Mr. Themiya Hurulle
14. Mr Faisz Musthapha P.C.
15. Dr. S. Vijesandiran
16. Mr M.Y.M Faiz
17. Mrs M.K.Nadeeka Damayanthi
18. Ms Kanthi Ranasinghe
19. Mr. S.C.C. Elankovan
20. Mr Sirimasiri Hapuarachchi

There are 3 Muslims and 4 Tamils (ie 15% and 20% respectively) within the committee; the names are well known in Sri Lanka’s petty racial politics and there is absolutely no doubt that this 35% are there to take down every Sinhala Buddhist pillar out of the Sri Lankan culture and replace it with their own Tamil/ Islamic ones.

What can we expect from the Sinhala names that are thrown into the mix? Whose rights are they concerned with?

Curiously some of the names have come up in the news during the yahapalanaya election time as a group of Kandy academics” who sent an open letter to the then President Mahinda Rajapaksa to warn him that the country is on a path of destruction”. The letter was signed by Prof. A.M. Navaratne Banda, Prof. Ranjith Amarasinghe, Dr. Michael Fernando, Lal Wijenayake, Ranjit Wijekoon, Dr. G. Weerasinghe, Dr. Jayampathy Wickremaratne, and N.M. Saifdeen.

These were some of the views expressed by the group at the time.

People are beginning to believe that the government has opted for a military solution to the ethnic conflict. The main cause for this situation is the important place given to the propaganda that simplifies the democratic traditions to war against terrorism.”

Is the committee” beginning to look a bit hand-picked” for the task?

In the above Sunday Leader article, Ms Nathaniel reports on what the Chairman of this Constitutional committee has to say about why Sri Lanka needs constitutional reform- please read carefully:

Following are excerpts of the interview:-

Q:  Why do we need a new Constitution?

A:  If you look back at the last ten years we see that the rights of the people have not been upheld. State power ruled and human rights violations were wide spread. Some with political power took the law into their own hands and no action was taken against them at any point. There was a complete breakdown of democracy. Taking into consideration all the events of the past, we realised that there was no protection for the people under this constitution. Therefore we need a new constitution that will offer protection to all communities in Sri Lanka and not just a few of the affluent and influential.

The independence of the judiciary was lost and even the Chief Justice was thrown out. The public service and the police service saw corruption far beyond any level of acceptance. That was why we needed a new constitution that would guarantee the independent functioning of all these areas. What we needed was the democratisation of the state. For that we need a new constitution one that manifests the close coordination between the people and the government.

The Constitution is an agreement between the government and people on the manner on which the people will be ruled upon. In the past this has broken down and that’s why the people felt threatened. This also led to the interracial tensions which turned into a national problem. Similar to the deterioration of democracy inter racial harmony and trust was also destroyed. Although the war was won, the government could not win the confidence of the Tamil people. This led to a great deal of tension among the minority Tamil and Muslim communities.

Therefore we need a new constitution that will include equal rights for all the minority communities as well and create a better country for all to live in peace. During the elections too we did not promise the people materialistic benefits but instead what we promised them was to establish a proper legal system and democratic rule, and the people gave us their mandate. People from the North to the south gave us that mandate irrespective of race, cast or creed. This was probably the first time that all communities voted together for a Sinhala president. This is a great opportunity to create better racial harmony and co-existence between communities. Today even the president can walk freely in the North without any security or fear. For the first time a Tamil leader attended the swearing in ceremony of the president and even attended the Independence Day celebrations. Who would have thought that would be possible, but it happened because we won the trust of the Tamil people. Now we have established a foundation for reconciliation and we need to solidify that foundation through the constitution. We should not let this opportunity pass.

 Q: Adequate devolution of power to the provinces (especially the North and East) is one of the main aims of the constitutional reform. But there are conflicting views on the extent of devolution with the TNA at one end of the spectrum and the Joint Opposition Group led by MP Mahinda Rajapaksa at the other end. Do you think the differences can be reconciled?

A:  Now there is no question of the people of the North asking for a separate state. In fact the majority of the Tamil people are not in extreme positions. Therefore we need to also take a moderate stand and even the constitution should be one that accommodates the interests of the Tamils and the other minorities and should be acceptable to them. If we come up with a constitution that is not acceptable to them, it will also not get the mandate of the people and will be a failure. In a referendum if the people of the North do not support it, then without their consent, the constitution cannot be approved either. Therefore we need to come up with a consensual constitution that is accepted by all communities. Both parties might be on the extreme ends, but they must be able to come to an understanding and compromise in order to include the minority community’s interests in the constitution as well. The minority communities were deprived their rights for a long time now and they should be compensated for the injustice that was meted to them by making sure these same mistakes are not repeated.  Their safety needs to be secured and their property too. If they can be assured that their rights are protected, then they will not seek a separate state or additional powers for self-rule. They basically need to be assured that the central government is taking care of their rights too. They should be given proper representation in the central government too. Even in the past there were Tamil politicians but not necessarily did they represent the Tamil people. Therefore now the Tamils should be included in the governing process of the country as well. This is what we are trying to do with the new constitution. This is the only solution to the ethnic conflict.

The Tamils have now extended their hand in support of the current leadership and want to be part of the governing process. Therefore we must not push them away but we must encourage them to be part of the decision making process of the country.

In the past the constitution was drafted and thrust upon the people, yet this time the views of the people will also be sought and included accordingly. All ethnic and social groups will be part of the process of formulating the new constitution and this will be one that will be endorsed by the people.”

So far, what we are lacking is any one speaking for the Sinhala Buddhist majority. What do they want?

What are is being changed by this process:

• Nature of the State
• Form of Government (Presidential / Parliamentary)
• Basic Structure of the Constitution
• Citizenship, Religion, Fundamental Rights and Duties, Language Rights, Individual and Group Rights, Directive Principles on State Policy
• Legislature (Unicameral/ Bicameral)
• Supremacy of Constitution or Parliament
• Separation of Powers
• Independence of the Judiciary and the Courts Structure
• Constitutional Court
• Power Sharing, Devolution and Local Government
• Sharing a Power at the Center
• Constitutional Council and Independent Commissions
• Public Service
• Electoral Reforms
• Judicial Review of Legislation
• Powers of President Under Parliamentary System
• Election of President Under the Parliamentary System
• Public Security
• Finance
• Any Other Matters

It is time to look at what recommendations are on the table under each item.

Continued…..

Ramanie de Zoysa