CLASSIFIED | POLITICS | TERRORISM | OPINION | VIEWS

American Independence in Relation To The Independence of Other Countries

By Ramani D.Wickramaratne

2007 July 4th marks the 231st anniversary of American independence. Our local newspapers have been full of information about the many achievements of the United States of America when 13 states signed the Declaration of Independence to assert their independence. For their achievements, we congratulate heartily.

From the time of the first settlers who traveled by ship from The Continent to The Americas with their slave trade when the original inhabitants were Indians, to the 21st century, America and the Americans have developed into what they prefer to call themselves " the only super power in the world." For the achievements in science and technology we give due credit to the USA but for the arrogance that achievements have brought on the Americans, we can only offer our sympathies due to the insensitivity and selfishness with which they treat other "independent nations." How and what they have been doing to destabilize other independent nations through the activities of the CIA, their arms industry as well as their foreign policies, are not records of achievements which a nation can be genuinely proud of. Those records have only brought misery and suffering to other nations. Never has the USA helped a nation altruistically without having strings attached to it- the motives have always been "to give an inch and gain a mile" as the saying goes!

An article "The US Constitution: America's Most Important Export" written by Albert Blaustein in The Island of 4th July is extremely interesting just as much as " it is revealing." A Constitution of any country must be drawn according to the specific needs of that country based on their own cultural, historical and geographical characteristics- there can never be one Constitution that will be a panacea for all countries. We need to quote a few extracts from the article to understand the underlying meaning of this article.

"The US Constitution is America's most important export. From its very inception, its influence has been felt throughout the world. And even where that influence has not resulted in democracy and freedom, it has still brought hope- in President Abraham Lincoln's words- of government of ,by and for the people."

"The story of that influence is a tale worth telling. America's Founding Fathers fashioned a constitution that was unique breakthrough in the continuing struggle for human freedom. They believed in the principle of constitutional government which they hoped might have relevance beyond America. Thomas Jefferson looked upon the Constitution as standing monument and a permanent example for other peoples. "It is impossible," he wrote, "not to (sense) that we are acting for all mankind." President John Adams was convinced that American political ideas would profoundly affect other countries. Alexander Hamilton thought that it had been reserved to the American people to decide the question whether societies themselves are really capable of establishing good government. James Madison, president and contributor to the Federalist Papers, believed that posterity would be indebted to the Funding Fathers for their political achievement and for th sound governing principles provided for in the USD Constitution."

"The American Constitution also found admirers in Africa. Liberia, which had been settled by freed slaves from the United States, adopted a constitution in 1847 which was written in major part by a professor from the Harvard Law School."

"American colonialism led to further constitutional development at the turn of the century. Cuba, Panama and the Philippines were all to adopt American-style national charters. Such colonialism is also apparent in the pre-World War 1 constitution of Haiti, reputedly written by then Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt."

"With the end of World War 11, American influence was dominant in the preparation of the new basic charters of West Germany and Japan."

According to this article countries such as France, Poland, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Holland, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Liberia, Switzerland, Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Panama are countries that were influenced by the American Constitution which has only one single document. The exceptions to this rule apparently are The United Kingdom, New Zealand and Israel which are democratic nations which are committed to the parliamentary supremacy, the constitutions of these countries have numerous legislative enactments.

When we look back at the above mentioned countries, it is clear that the American model seems to have faired better in the European sub-continent than it has faired in the Latin American, African countries. or The Philippines. These developing countries have continued to have conflicts and problems throughout modern history until the present day.

The Sri Lankan Context and Constitutional Changes of J.R.Jayawardane:

During 50 years of post-independent governance in Sri Lanka, two major stages of change in the Sri Lankan Constitution were experienced in 1972 and 1978. The first, was when the then Coalition Government of the late Sirimavo Bandaranaike when an effort was made to sever British control of our country and we became a Republic with a Figure Head President and introduced a Parliamentary System with the Prime Minister as the Executive Head of State who was answerable to Parliament. Administratively, most of the system introduced by the British Westminister system was in place.

The second, was under the late J.R.Jayawardane and his UNP Government who won the General Elections in 1977. Constitutions or Constitutional Reforms within any given country must necessarily be formulated to suit the specific requirements of that country based on its own geographic, historical, cultural, economic and religious identity and therefore, something imported from one country may or may not work out in another country. In Sri Lanka, we know through a history of 30 years(1977-2007) that the Constitution drafted and legalized by the late J.R.Jayawardane who "cut and pasted" some aspects of the French and American model to introduce the Executive Presidency (for him to get absolute power) to Sri Lanka and the District/Provincial Council system of administration and the "preferential voting system" introduced for electing parliamentarians have brought disaster to Sri Lanka through which we have managed to nurture "uneducated warlords" as our legislators into parliament. As never before in our history, today we see utter disrespect for the August House of Parliament when our politicians who mostly know only thuggery and the use of "brawn rather than brains" behaving like idiots! Little wonder that this country is in a mess right now. Through the Constitutional changes brought about by the late J.R.Jayawardane, he confiscated the powers of the voter who under the previous Westminister System of governance, had the power to decide on who the voter wished to elect to serve his electorate! With the introduction of the Provincial/District Ministers, the overhead expenses of The State increased drastically and bribery, corruption, misappropriations and most of all- mismanagement of the entire country coupled with disrespect for law and order became the norm of the day. What we see today, are the results of short-sighted self-serving politics of the then UNP government who wished to remain in power until eternity! Through their mismanagement, they turned a blind eye, to the terrorist atrocities and continued to remain in power for 17 years through which time, most unfavourable phenomena in our society became a canker difficult to uproot and cure.

The Current Constitutional Reforms Under Consideration:

The incumbent Government in Sri Lanka is in the process of considering Constitutional Reforms which would hopefully change "certain areas" into a more positive and constructive method of governance taking into consideration of "the terrorist factor" which has destroyed the social fabric of this country through 30 years.

There has been much discussion regarding the reforms submitted by the APRC under Minister Mr. Tissa Vitharane who has attempted to ignore the earlier mentioned factors in relation to Sri Lanka where the historical, cultural, religious, social, economic and political aspects have been diluted to cater to the needs of the terrorists and minorities rather than the majority of whom due consideration must be taken when considering Constitutional Reforms of Sri Lanka. No doubt, there have been many hidden hands which have prompted Mr. Tissa Vitharane into drafting these reforms which if implemented could very well be a total "sell out" and disaster to the entire nation. Therefore, the GOSL must necessarily take serious consideration of all factors involved before, they go ahead to safeguard the sovereignty and independence of Sri Lanka.

The American Factor in Relation to Sri Lanka:

On the occasion of American Independence which was celebrated on 4th July 2007, in the special supplements extra emphasis has been made by the American Embassy to highlight "the US Constitution" to the Sri Lankan readership, obviously with the express intention of hoping to influence our GOSL into considering their model as reference when Sri Lanka finally makes a decision regarding our own Constitutional Reforms. This is all but too obvious to the readers. What does one understand when an article titled "The US Constitution: America's Most Important Export" is published in a local newspaper except to get the message- "follow us, we are the greatest!"

When considering the track record of the American Government and its foreign policy towards other independent nations, we note policies that have been implemented by them which are in contravention to what they profess in their Constitution(to safeguard their own country) and have interfered in too many internal affairs of other countries especially the developing nations. Most often than not, they have "put their interests" ahead of the interests of those countries and messed up the peace and harmony that prevailed until their involvement.

The following extract from the newspaper article in The Island "…Thomas Jefferson looked upon the Constitution as standing monument and a permanent example for other peoples. "It is impossible," he wrote, "not to (sense) that we are acting for all mankind." President John Adams was convinced that American political ideas would profoundly affect other countries. Alexander Hamilton thought that it had been reserved to the American people to decide the question whether societies themselves are really capable of establishing good government."(end quote) is very interesting indeed! It shows how Americans like Alexander Hamilton have decided that they must police other societies and that they have a right to do it! This unfortunately contravenes all international covenants regarding independence, human rights, equality and freedom for other countries to decide for themselves what is most suitable for their own countries based on their own history and heritage. Sri Lanka is by no means an exception in "the eyes of the American Government or the American officials" who we have noticed, commenting and dictating with impunity, what we should be doing in our country. Can we consider this to be an ethical and decent attitude?

Looking back to the World Wars, Japan(use of nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki), Vietnam War and North-South Vietnam issues(use of Napalm bombs on human targets), North and South Korea, Taiwan and China, Afghanistan, Israeli-Palestine Problem, China-Tibet issue, Laos, Cambodia, Indian-Pakistani issues, Iraqi-Irani issues and the interference inside Iraq, dismantling of The Soviet Union, Poland and East Europe, continuous efforts to destroy Cuba and Fidel Castro, continued efforts to control and destabilize countries in Latin America, Thailand, Myanmar and Aung Sun Suki issue, Nepal etc. we are fully aware of the American interference and aggression and one wonders whether the "rights" that American leaders are fond of dictating to us have ever been taken into consideration when they arrogantly and insensitively interfere, dictate and instigate to destabilize these countries.

American Religious Aggression in Non-Christian Countries Including Sri Lanka:

In more recent years after the President-ship of Bush (Snr) America has been using "freedom of religion" as a bargaining point in exchange for economic aid through which they are attempting even to destroy the right of citizens of any country that is non-Christian, to maintain their religious identity. In other words, no other country in the world has the "right" of anything which America or the American Government does not wish! Even the Olympics which is to be held in the People's Republic of China in 2007, is a target for their Evangelical aggression as has been seen in the news media.

In relation to Sri Lanka, we have known how the American Government has been twisting the arm of our GOSL in relation to religion where they promote insensitive invasion of Christianity in the form of Evangelical onslaughts on our country. These Christian sects have become a menace to the Hindus and Buddhists of this country. Mercenary campaigns conducted by Evangelical sects operating in this country have been interfering and destroying the sentiments of religious tolerance that we Sri Lankans have been practicing for years throughout the country. Conspiracies to destabilize Hindu/Buddhist Temples, conduct character assassination campaigns against Buddhist Monks around the country are all part of the American aggression against "religious conscience" within our own soil. Sri Lanka has every right to protect our country, religion and cultural identity against this kind of aggression.

Just as much as the American Constitution safeguards American interests, let the Sri Lankan Constitution and Constitutional Reforms safeguard Sri Lankan interests without American interference. Is that asking too much for the so called "greatest democracy in the world?" Mutual respect -not aggression, is what democracy is all about, isn't it? At such a time America learns the policy of "live and let live" then it can be accepted that America is a tolerant and benevolent country. They must learn to understand and accept different cultures.

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