Constitutional reform- Dismantling the last few Buddhist countries- the National Flag & the Anthem
Posted on June 23rd, 2016
Ramanie de Zoysa
The Constitution of Sri Lanka is being changed to reflect the findings and recommendations of PRCCR committee that received public opinions from less than .017% of Sri Lanka’s 21m population. Of this miniscule sample of 3655 submissions received, at least 70% were signed by Tamils and Muslims – among them well known foreign funded NGOs that worked tirelessly for regime change. The participation sample size is even smaller when you consider that quite a significant number of respondents did not seem to be bona fide citizens of the country but global Tamil Eelamist organisations and global wahabi fronts, pushing agendas with self interests that are harmful to Sri Lanka and are internationally funded. Many among the fronts are not even citizens of Sri Lanka. These alien views have weighted the process unduly in favour of the dismantling of the Sinhala Buddhist identity of the country.
What are missing are the views of the remaining 99.983% of the population which comprises of ordinary Sinhala masses and minority citizens who are not politically motivated.
First items on the chopping block are the sacred trinity of the country; namely, the National flag, National Anthem and Citizenship.
The National Flag
According to the report, the committee has come up with three alternative recommendations on what the National Flag of Sri Lanka should look like:
- the flag needs to stay clear of depicting any ethnic identity, (proposed by committee members Harini Amarasuriya, Navaratne Banda, Elankovan, Kusum Kumara, Vijesandiran and Selvakkumaran); or
- must reflect ethnic unity (Thavarajah); or
- keep the National flag in its current form (rest of the committee)
The majority of the committee members seem to have decided to go with the third option of keeping the flag in its current form, perhaps with the knowledge that such an action will eliminate a violent reaction from the non-participating 99.983% of the population- the real citizens. However, there is no guarantee that the majority view will prevail when PM Wickremasinghe pushes these reforms through the Parliament. Minority backed Yahapalanaya has proved beyond the slightest doubt that they have no respect for majority rule which is the core principle of democracy.
Let us ponder on this issue of the National flag. Why does Sri Lanka have a National flag? Why does every other country have a National flag? The answer must be that a country needs a flag as a visual representation of its origins, ethos and the culture that distinguishes it from other nations. It instils pride in our hearts. Since time immemorial, flags were heralded by armies going to war with an enemy; not because the flags were helpful as weapons or because it could save your life from the enemy arrow (or the bullet). People carried the flag as a visible motivational tool that also proclaimed their strength of conviction. The flags allowed warriors to be conscious at all times what they were fighting for and what they may die for! The flag also showed the enemy who you were and sent the message that you were up to the task and prepared to die fighting for your flag- your identity and your country.
Sri Lanka’s flag from the time of ancient Sinhala kings was the lion flag; that is a history that spans thousands of years.
An incredible number of Sinhala people died defending the lion flag throughout that history. The flag is just a piece of cloth only for those who have never had to fight for it, never shed blood or tears for it and those who are genetically pre-disposed to treachery. To a true citizen of a country the National flag is as warm and as precious as the blood of the warriors that was shed in order to protect it. That is why countries around the world respect safeguard and uphold their flags; not tinker with it for frivolous reasons. Minorities may come and go – but you will not see any self-respecting country change their flag to wipe out the symbols that represent those who died fighting for it or add new symbols to depict every immigrant that enters the country. For instance, the UK and US flags do not include any symbols to represent the vast number of ethnically diverse immigrants on their flag. If such an ‘equalisation’ process was carried out on every country in the world today the National Flags of all countries will look exactly the because no country is mono ethnic 100%. Every country has a predominant or a founder race and religion, and minorities of all sorts. The United Nations will be flying 193 flags which look exactly like each other.
This is never going to happen- no self-respecting country will change their flag to appease minorities.
Different countries have different evolution patterns and histories. Some countries have a very long history of standing up to invasions and surviving more or less intact; like Russia, Japan and China- and of course our little Sri Lanka.
India (or what is left of it) is a country that did not survive the constant invasions. It first lost out to the moghuls. Beginning in the 12th century, several Islamic states were established in the Indian subcontinent. This process culminated in the Mughal Empire, which ruled most of India during the mid-16th to mid-19th centuries. The British conquest of India ended up in the division of the country into three: creating two new countries, East & West Pakistan. The remaining lands were pieced together to form a federal India.
India is living proof that carving out land to form new countries to appease aggressive minorities does not solve ‘problems’- in fact it is just the chopping off of your head to cure a headache. Having lost land to create two separate countries for the pre-independence Muslim minority, India today is still left with a burgeoning Muslim minority because not all the ‘unhappy’ Muslims left their stake in India and go populate the new country that they clamoured for. When you allow what India allowed to happen what you end up with is a huge melting pot of racists and religious bigots all congregated in the newly created neighbouring country carved out of your land, while you are left with a whining minority (who did not leave when the new country was partitioned off but remained within country no 1) that supports the racists and religious bigots next-door while living within the country and constantly claiming discrimination.
Then again, to the south, India has the other minority problem; over 70 million strong Tamil Nadu factor waiting for opportunities to carve out another piece of the subcontinental geography for the Tamils. This is where India looks to Sri Lanka for redemption. If they can carve out Sri Lanka for the creation of an Eelam, India can gradually purge the Tamil sovereignty aspirations southwards to Sri Lanka via a quickly built sethu samudram bridge. What is noteworthy is that even after the decimation of the subcontinent, India did not change her flag that features the Ashok chakra- or her National Anthem sung in Bengali.
In countries such as the US, Australia and New Zealand the arrival of people mainly from Britain saw the creation of new countries totally different in demographic content. In the US and in Australia a near total annihilation of the natives resulted while the natives of New Zealand fared a lot better. Out of these three countries only New Zealand has an Anthem which consists of verse each sung in English and Maori, primarily because there were enough Maori left after the arrival of white men to sing a National Anthem; this was not the case in the other two countries. The history and the background of these countries are such that their countries are ‘new’ and the rulers are the newly arrived immigrants- not the original inhabitants. New Zealand’s Anthem in two languages attempts to assuage the fears of native Maori that they have not been completely outwitted from the ‘ownership’ of the country. There is absolutely no commonality in the New Zealand situation with that of Sri Lanka.
Out of all the countries, it has always been Sri Lanka that has tinkered with the flag. In 1972 the Sirimao Banadaranaike government carried out the spineless act of inserting two stripes to the Sri Lankan flag – to represent the minority Tamils and Muslims.
If the changing of a flag to appease minorities ensures that the minorities feel ‘represented’ and start respecting the country’s flag and working for the betterment of the country, our minorities would be the happiest in the world! But, what happened? With half of the new flag now ‘depicting’ their identities, Sri Lanka’s minorities got even more unhappy since the 1972 changes to the flag. So unhappy since this show of ‘inclusiveness’ by Mrs Bandaranaike, that one of the minorities organised a meeting in Thimpu and signed the now infamous Vadukkodai Resolution during the same year, vowing to militarise themselves and wage war on the country! Now, Sri Lanka’s minorities want the lion and the four Bo leaves to be wiped out of the flag or as an alternative to include competing ethnic minority symbols in the flag. Appeasement only makes people more unhappy- not less. Once you start appeasing it is a case of wanting more, and more, and more; where does greed end? How long is a piece of thread?
It is a well-known, well accepted rule in life that one needs to earn one’s stripes; this applies to the minorities equally. Minorities should literally be given stripes (in the flag) only when minorities show allegiance and love for the country and its culture, protect it and defend it. Minorities that arm themselves to attack the country’s public installations, innocent civilians and the armed forces are not being good citizens- they should not be given stripes. Minorities that demand their own laws such as Thesavalamai and Sharia for their own ethnic/ religious groups and refuse to abide by the law that prevails in the country are not good citizens. Minorities that disrespect the National Flag, the National Anthem and refuse to learn the language of the country are not good citizens. Minorities that import alien cults from the places like the middle-east and destroy the existing culture of the country to install primitive, alien, desert lifestyles are not good citizens. Those who destroy national rain forests to create alien colonies stealthily settling illegal aliens to create hostile colonies are not good citizens. These minorities do not become good citizens because we bend over backwards to accommodate them.
When other countries hand out citizenship to aliens they take an oath- of allegiance to the National Flag, the National Anthem and the country. When will this ever happen in Sri Lanka? In Sri Lanka we have never enforced discipline and patriotism on the immigrants.
The National Anthem
Here is something else you never hear from anywhere in the world. The PRCCR report makes its recommendations regarding the National anthem from the position that the Sri Lankan State has already declared that the national anthem should be sung in both languages. Here is a ‘government’ that breaches its own country’s constitution. No government in any other country will get away with this type of treachery because the people will never allow it. But, in Sri Lanka the majority Sinhala have this unfortunate genetic disposition that we will put up with any disrespect anyone shows on the belief that by doing more and good to those who do bad things to us will ultimately lead to them realising the error of their ways and it will be the beginning of a beautiful friendship from then onwards! This is the cursed disposition that earns the Sinhala the description ‘idiots‘ (modayas).
The options discussed by PRCCR were whether the anthem should be sung in both Sinhala and Tamil and in what manner. Should there be two versions, one verse in Sinhala and one in Tamil, In Tamil areas the Tamil verse is sung first and in Sinhala areas the Sinhala verse should be sung first.
PRCCR made the following recommendations:
- Consider the clause on the National Anthem formulated in the Constitution Bill of 2000.
- Consider the clause on the National Anthem formulated in the Constitution Bill of 2000 while recognising the right to sing it in Sinhala and/ or Tamil.
What is the Constitution Bill of 2000 that the PRCCR report is referring to? It was a bill contemplated by Chandrika Kumaratunga in 2000 who attempted to bring this change at that time. Remember this was the time great defeats suffered by our armed forces through the mismanagement of the war by Kumaratunga and the morale of the people and the forces were rock bottom. The Tigers were winning. The Bill says:
(1) The National Anthem of the Republic shall be “Sri Lanka Matha”, the words and music of which are set out in Part I of the Fourth Schedule.
(2) The Tamil language translation of the National Anthem shall be as set out in Part II of the Fourth Schedule”
So, this is the fruitioning of old frustrated Perumal agendas of cessation that are seeing the light of the day thanks to yahapalanaya, after all! Both Wickremesinghe and Kumaratunga are re-living the past and achieving what they failed to achieve in the past because the enraged people kicked them out. It is indeed time for the people to re-enact the past and put both these two traitors out of action for good!
What is the rationale here? The national anthem is not a song; it is a solemn acceptance of the sovereignty and authority of a country and a declaration of unfettered love and affection for that country. It is created by a suitably skilled artist of high standing and is sanctioned and protected by the constitution. It is not a baila or a sing-a-long to be translated into many languages or to have one or two verses sung in another language; it cannot have a kundumani, or a ‘muraga vadivela’ verse or two for heightened fun. You stand up to sing the National Anthem as it is prescribed in the constitution and/ or salute or have your hand on your heart while singing it! Racist Tamils in general have always refused to sing the National Anthem, disrespected the Sinhala language and poured scorn on our Flag! They have in fact been disrespecting this country and all what it held sacred for a long time. Apart from a totally unusual character like Mr Kadiragamar, the general Tamil public have rarely shown allegiance to the country. If any fool thinks that further appeasement of this uncivilised, ungrateful sons of Tamil Nadu are going to change their stripes just because we give away all we have got one by one, that fool deserves to sleep with Velu in Nanthikadal!
What the Tamils always have shown and what the Muslims are now beginning to show (since their population is reaching 10%) by rejecting the National Anthem, the National Flag and the Sinhala language is nothing more than civil disobedience. It is not a question of whether they don’t feel included in the flag because all their ‘symbols ‘ are not on the flag or whether they can’t understand the meaning of the National Anthem. There is nothing very difficult about learning the language of the majority. When our Tamils and Muslims live in Canada they learn French, when they live in Germany they learn German, when they live in Norway or Denmark they learn Nordic languages or Danish and those in the UK, learn English. Sinhala is the only language these people have trouble learning despite living, owning, earning in Sri Lanka for several generations! Whose fault is this? It is the fault of the Sinhala and their apathy that allows people into the country without an oath of allegiance and not having laws that discipline the citizenry regarding discharging their responsibilities and showing respect to the country.
Take a very simple example. Both the Tamil and Muslim minorities are predominantly traders and business people. They sell to the majority Sinhala. How many shops in this majority Sinhala country do you see with signage displayed only in Tamil and English? This is not, and never has been a coincidence; it is by design. These businessmen are making a public statement. We hate your language; we spit on you! Take an example – Ranjanas, a shop selling sarees and other paraphernalia in the Fort for the last 60-70 years or more- the shop has always been carrying its signage in Tamil and English only- the newly opened several story shop in Bambalapitya is the same. However, these shops are teeming with Sinhala customers who understand neither Tamil nor English- spending their hard earned money, fattening up these very businesses that spit on them. Why? Because the Sinhalas do not respect themselves. We are prepared to wipe off the spit from our faces and crawl sheepishly in to a shop that disrespects us in order to buy a ‘nice’ saree or some trinket. Then again, we do not want to buy the same thing from the Sinhala trader because ‘he is so arrogant’; in other words we don’t want to see him getting richer than us in our own neighbourhood…”
Continued….
Ramanie de Zoysa
June 23rd, 2016 at 7:32 pm
The surprisingly strong support for BREXIT from the EU shows that even the patriotic people of Britain don’t want to be dominated by other Europeans, and that they wish to preserve their British way of life. It threatens to CONFOUND the global economic pundits chanting the siren song of economic prosperity over that of national sovereignty.
Many British people don’t want to trade their independence and sovereignty for the much touted economic trinkets from membership in the EU. These Britons rightly believe that union with a TOP-HEAVY nameless and faceless EU bureaucracy in Brussels will not yield them superior economic benefits. They believe that they can do better on their own with unfettered trade with all countries of the world, devoid of the destructive immigration policies of the EU that will permanently change the very character of Britain.
Irrespective of the FINAL RESULT on the BREXIT VOTE due tomorrow, nearly HALF of the British people have opted to maintain and preserve their ancient sovereignty and British ways.
Likewise, we SRI LANKANS must love, treasure, protect and defend our independence and sovereignty from those who would enslave and yoke us to their economic and political agendas. We MUST retain the freedom to choose in the BEST INTEREST of our Motherland as the winds of global politics wax and wane.
In particular, just as nearly half of Britons are doing now, we should CATEGORICALLY REJECT economic union and creeping political annexation by India with a SRI LANKAN EXIT!
REJECT the ETCA which is the thin end of a vast political conspiracy to gradually annex our country.
Restrictive TRADE, ECONOMIC and POLITICAL unions are UNNECESSARY with powers who have INVADED and COLONIZED our Motherland in the long history of our country.
Like Switzerland, which remains outside the EU and trades freely with all nations of the world without TRADE AGREEMENTS, but enjoys a robust economy and the highest standard of living in Europe, let us remain a proud independent sovereign nation that is FREE TO CHOOSE AT WILL our trading, economic and political allies IN THE BEST INTEREST of our nation.
In DOING SO, let us preserve and defend our ability to FOSTER the lives and interests of OUR CURRENT CITIZENS and THEIR DESCENDANTS yet unborn, far into the future, keeping out illegal immigrants and new LEGAL immigrants enabled to settle in the country under agreements such as the ETCA.
FAILURE to control our borders against the influx of more immigrants, both illegal and legal, will INEXORABLY CONDEMN our people to becoming a MINORITY in their own Motherland, thus destroying FOREVER our Motherland as the Sinheladvipa, the homeland of the Sinhala people!
June 23rd, 2016 at 9:22 pm
Ananda, your assessment is correct. Brexit is almost certain. Interestingly, it will call for another Scotland referendum. Although England voted to leave, Scotland (62%) voted to remain. If Scotland is an independent country, it will remain in the EU. As part of Britain, Scotland will be forced to leave contrary to what they voted for.
Excellent point about migrants to Sri Lanka and UK. Sadly we are not given a choice to shut out ETCA and Indians. If given more than 70% of the people will reject any deal with India and to repatriate all Indians in the island too.
June 23rd, 2016 at 9:25 pm
However, UK will not get to see the reality of minority aggression soon enough as Arabic migrants will be limited. Britain as the most hypocritical country will be able to make wild appeasement demands on us as their problems from aggressive minorities will be far less than otherwise.
June 23rd, 2016 at 9:26 pm
Ramanie, an excellent and informed analysis.
Although the Cabinet approved the lion flag with Indian stripes in late 1940s, it was never the official flag until 1972. Indian stripes (saffron and green as in the Indian flag) were added in 1972 and the country name was formally changed from Ceylon to Sri Lanka (another Indian term for the island).
On the face of it, a Tamil version of the national anthem seems innocent as Tamil and Sinhala are completely different and a Tamil singing it might not know what he/she is singing. However, the words and meanings are mostly of Sanskrit origin and common. Tamils understand it far better than the Indian national anthem! So looking deep into the matter, it is absurd to have two versions of the national anthem.
Had we continued under the British Privy Council jurisdiction, none of the absurdities that followed (including 13A) would not have happened. By becoming a republic, we fell from being a British colonial subject to an Indian subject (much worse) at the height of the Cold War.
As the writer correctly says, the minorities were so appeased that just 4 years later they made the Vadukoddai Resolution and Kaddafi declared in Colombo that Muslims must outbreed others.
I totally agree that it is the lack of understanding and lack of entrepreneurship of Sinhalas that led to South Indian immigrant communities (Tamils and Muslims) to dominate business (especially the crooked import industry). If it is not going to change anytime soon, it makes sense to get down large Indian retailers to Sri Lanka to wipe out these local businesses run by minorities. They stand no chance if an established Indian seller open doors here.
June 23rd, 2016 at 11:15 pm
Dilrook,
I made the same comment as you regarding the path Scotland may take in the future. Please see Charles’s article.
June 23rd, 2016 at 11:42 pm
The ramifications of the BREXIT could extend beyond the UK and extend to other 28 member nations of the EU of whom 18 nations form the common currency euro zone.
In particular, polls indicate that 61% of French people and 72% of Greeks want to leave the EU while about 50% of Spaniards want to leave as well.
As such, BREXIT has the potential to completely unravel the European Union.
I attribute this dissatisfaction primarily to EU’s immigration policies rammed down the throats of unwilling member nations by the German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Merkel must assume a large share of the responsibility for this turn of events.
June 24th, 2016 at 5:10 am
We do not need provincial councils which only promotes separatism. The provincial councils only duplicate the already existing system of ministry, district secretary, divisional secretaries, grama niladhari system which has functioned for decades. In addition, there are the municipal, urban councils and pradeshiya sabhas who elect their officials to ensure that there is local government representation and to ensure that local matters are dealt with. The ministry, district secretary, divisional secretaries, grama niladhari system is how government plans get implemented at the district, divisional and the grama niladhari level. The only thing the provincial councils do is duplicate this already existing system and is totally unnecessary. Since Sri Lanka is a small country. Therefore what is agreed at the parliamentary level in terms of plans can be implemented islandwide via the ministries. If anyone in any province wants to suggest anything innovative, they can do so via their MP at the parliamentary level. A small country such as Sri Lanka needs a strong central government and just one plan for the entire island to move forward. For this the existing ministry, district secretary, divisional secretaries, grama niladhari system is sufficient. At the local level there are the municipal, urban councils and the pradeshiya sabhas to take care of local matters.
June 24th, 2016 at 12:30 pm
Does BREXIT sound the death knell of the EU, or will the EU reduce its bureaucracy and immigration policies to preserve the union?
Ask not for whom the bell tolls Angela Merkel, it tolls for thee!
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The big question looming over the markets after the Brexit bombshell
Yahoo Finance By Nicole Sinclair
Global markets sold off sharply on Friday, as Britain’s unexpected vote to leave the European Union (EU) Thursday caused the pound to sell off to its lowest levels in 30 years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also fell over 500 points mid-day.
Unlike some EU member countries, the UK has its own separate currency rather than the euro. It also has its own central bank, the Bank of England, removing some of the disruptive risk potential tied to the Brexit, according to JPMorgan’s Adam Crisafulli.
But there’s still a big question looming over the world markets: Will the Brexit have a ripple effect that spurs other countries to leave the EU or otherwise spurn globalization?
“Is the Exit decision a uniquely British one?” Crisafulli wrote in a note this morning. “Or does it reflect a worldwide electorate so distraught and economically frustrated that similar outcomes should be expected going forward?”
A slew of barometers to test the effect of a Brexit will come soon in the form of elections coming up across the world — including an election in Spain in just two days. Australians go to the polls on July 2, Japan on July 10, Italy in October and the US on November 8. France and Germany hold national elections next year.
Already Friday morning, politicians in several European countries called for referendums similar to the one just held in the UK. The anti-immigrant, anti-euro Front National party in France has been especially focused on breaking free from the EU.
“Victory for freedom!” said FN chief Marine Le Pen, who has been gaining support. “We now need to hold the same referendum in France and in (other) EU countries.”
Meanwhile, the right-wing, anti-immigration Dutch leader Geert Wilders also praised the Brexit “leave” vote. “The Netherlands will be next,” he said. “We want to regain control over our country, our own money, our own borders, our own immigration policy.”
Italy’s anti-immigrant Northern League leader Matteo Salvini said the group will petition for a referendum on whether the country wants to exit the European Union, its leader said on Friday.
In the UK, more uncertainties still remain even after the the Brexit vote — especially given Prime Minister David Cameron’s resignation. Some analysts say calls will only grow in Scotland and Northern Ireland to leave the UK, given both regions voted strongly for “remain.” In 2014, Scotland held an independence referendum in which voters decided to remain in the UK — but that sentiment could change with this recent news.
“The principal risk going forward is the risk of copy-cat type events in the rest of the Europe,” Neil Dutta of Renaissance Macro wrote in a note to clients. “Will other nations hold referendums to exit the EU? Will Scotland vote to leave the UK? These questions cloud Europe’s outlook.”
These global considerations and the reaction by central bankers across the world largely depends on how long the shock in financial markets persists.
The bottom line: The Brexit vote reflects rising nationalist sentiment that prevails across the world that has been, in many ways, underestimated. Former White House Chief of Staff to Bill Clinton Mack McLarty said in an interview with Yahoo Finance that the popularity of the “leave” camp in the UK fits in with a broader aversion to globalization across the world.
“These feelings about insecurity and the future and change are … a global phenomenon,” he said. “I think it’s incumbent on our leaders, both in the government and in the private sector, to really address those needs, concerns and anxieties.”
June 25th, 2016 at 3:54 pm
Best solution to bring real reconciliation and to unify the country is to remove the two meaningless green and maroon coloured strips from the flag. These two strips have created division and promoted divisive forces within Sri Lanka.
All citizens of Sri Lanka should be made to feel like lions under one flag seeking common goals and prosperity in peace with each other. Giving way to separatist viviparous tendencies have brought Sri Lanka to current sad situation and impasse.
Tamils are trying to carve out a separate country for themselves while Muslims are trying to displace the Sinhalese to take over the rest of Sri Lanka.