By Maheesha Mudugamuwa Courtesy The Island

‘Good Governance’ had been coined by the IMF, World Bank and the US Treasury, as a political conditionality for the enslavement of indebted countries such as Sri Lanka, former Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Office at Geneva Tamara Kunanayakam said on Wednesday.

She said it had not been invented by Ranil, Chandrika, Sirisena or Mangala.

Speaking at the launch of ‘Eliya’ at the Golden Rose, Boralesgamuwa, former Sri Lankan diplomat said today Sri Lanka was under a kind of US tutelage, a global power whose strategic objective was to maintain its global hegemony.

‘Eliya’, an inclusive movement would be a new platform to discuss the crisis of constitutional changes in the country. Former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Ven. Madagoda Abhayatissa,Dr. Dayan Jayatileke, Maj. Gen. (Rtrd) Kamal Gunaratne, Dr. Sarath Weerasekera were among the speakers at the event.

Expressing her views on the new constitutional reforms initiated under the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe unity government, former diplomat Kunanayakam said, with the new constitution, the Yahapalana regime was trying to convert Sri Lankans into Washington’s little soldiers who would defend a hegemonic vision based on invisible threats.

Formulating a new constitution has been the talk of the town during last two years since the unity government was appointed in 2015 but during the National Conference on Constitutional Reforms held at BMICH in June, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe said the government had not yet decided whether it would go for a brand new constitution or adopt provisions that did not necessitate a referendum.

Even-though a draft of a new constitution had not yet been published, ‘Eliya’ was totally against for the formulating of a new constitution just because of the people who had initiated the formulating process.

Former Diplomat Kunanayakam highlighted that the issue was not whether a new Constitution was needed or not. It was the fundamental and inalienable right of the people to determine the economic, social, political and cultural system in which they chose to live. But that choice would be theirs only if it was made freely, not with a gun pointed at their heads.

She stressed that as Sri Lanka was subjected to the 2015 Human Rights Council resolution and the notorious IMF/World Bank conditionalities, rewriting the constitution under such conditions could only advance the US, not Sri Lankans.

The initial plan of the government to abolish the executive presidency has been transformed into a full-blown reform of the Constitution at the behest of the US, she claimed.

Kunanayakam said that even though the US interference in Sri Lanka began long before the resolution was adopted, it was the yahapalana regime that gave it wings and also its international legitimacy.

The demands of the US were so fundamental that they couldn’t be implemented without changing the republican constitution. The demands, she said, a hybrid war crime court, devolution of power, conversion of Sri Lanka armed forces into an auxiliary of the US armed forces.

Speaking at the event former Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Ajith Nivard Cabraal said a country would not establish good governance be mere words and governance in Sri Lanka had worsened over the past two years, and may worsen further if mere devolution was granted.

Cabraal said decisive and quick government responses were needed to tackle serious global challenges and delay in responses would pave the way for more social issues including unemployment and youth unrest.

Referring to the public debt, former CBSL Governor said the discussion on economic reforms in constitution making must not be limited to politicians and a few others only.

‘Eliya’ was a very refreshing approach to prepare the ground for establishing a new government to strengthen the country’s economy.

Highlighting the constitution reforming process of the country, former Sri Lanka Ambassador to France Dr. Dayan Jayatilleke said the government had failed to reveal the most important factor of the constitutional reforming process which was the concept. It had not yet revealed what was the concept for making a new constitution. Even though the government had not revealed the concept, it could be clearly seen by the statements made by the TNA politicians. As once TNA MP Sumanthirana said that it did not a matter whether the word unitary was in the constitution or not, but the two main parts of federal government system should be included to the draft constitution.

Federalisation was not separatism, but when it came to Sri Lanka a federal system would lead to separatism, Dr. Jayathilake added.

A new constitution could not be formulated by a government like the one at present as it had failed to identify the real opposition party in Parliament where it declared that TNA as the Opposition which had only 16 seats instead of the Joint Opposition which had more than 50 seats. Such a government could not formulate a proper constitution for a country, he said.

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, former Speaker of parlaiment Chamal Rajapaksa, former cabinet Ministers including Basil Rajapaksa, Dullas Alhapperuma, Dinesh Gunawardena, Bandula Gunawardene, Gamini Lokuge, Kumara Welgama, Rohitha Abeygunawardene, Pavithra Wanniarachchi and many other members of joint opposition, former Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva, artists, lawyers, doctors, engineers and other supporters of former President Rajapaksa were present.