Sri Lanka political situation: Let us ask ourselves some questions
Posted on November 7th, 2018
All types of people have suddenly become constitutional experts, legal pundits, democratic veterans, angels of law & order but let us stop & first ask ourselves some questions & see how best we can find the answers
- What type of democracy prevails in Sri Lanka? Is the head of State – the President, the Prime Minister or the Speaker?
- In 2015 January did Sri Lanka have a Presidential Election or a Parliamentary Election?
- If Presidential, then have the people voted for a President or a Prime Minister?
- If people voted for a President in January 2015 how did the President appoint a Prime Minister? Was there provision in the constitution for him to do so?
- Was the sitting PM removed before appointing Ranil as Prime Minister & gazetted too? If not is this appointment legally valid?
- Is it constitutionally possible to appoint Ranil as PM in January 2015 (note only the 18th amendment to the constitution applied at this stage)
- Ranil had only 46MPs in Parliament in January 2015, on what legal & constitutional basis was he made the Prime Minister?
- What is the legal & constitutional provision of a National Government mentioned in the 19a and the National Unity Government that comprises the parties led by UNP?
- If there is a National Government why did only UNP & SLFP sign a 2 year MOU? What was the position of this national government & 2 year MOU when that term expired in August 2017? Did the national government legally stand?
- Can only the SLFP & UNP sign a 2 year MOU because both of them did not contest independently but through alliances, why was an MOU not signed with all alliance heads?
- Everyone speaking of following the democratic process were silent in April 2015 – when Parliament was supposed to be dissolved & elections held which did not happen? Can someone explain how this did not fit into the democratic process violation?
- The President is elected by the People directly – how democratic was it to help draft 19a that transferred the power given to the People and hand it to Parliament which reduced the President’s term to 5 years and reduced his ability to dissolve Parliament
- Isn’t 19a deciding on a reduced Presidential term of office a violation of Article 3 of the Constitution that gives inalienable sovereign rights to the People? If People elect the President the People should also decide if there is to be a change of years in office not the Parliament.
- How legal is it to also allow Parliament to decide how many times a President can contest? Shouldn’t that too be the decision of the People? A contestant has a right to contest & the People have the right to reject or elect that contestant. Isn’t that true democracy?
- The National Government was only mentioned for the 100 day program such a set up was not in the election manifestos of the UNP or SLFP in August 2015 – on what basis was this National Government continued – there was no national crisis? (even during the military operation the Opposition did not wish to support the ruling government by forming a national government)
- What has this National Government done in the ‘National Interest’ of the country?
- How legal & constitutional is it to allow defeated candidates to enter through the National List? Where are all the proponents of democracy opposing this?
- Why are those speaking of MP ‘buy-overs’ & corruption now silent in 2014-2015 when MPs of the Rajapakse govt crossed over to topple him & 26MPs were enticed from the SLFP in March 2015 to form a 77 member government?
- The President is elected by the People – the Prime Minister is not, why has the 19a limited scope for the President (powers given to him by the People) to remove the Prime Minister as could be done previously?
- Why are all those preaching democratic process now silent when the assurances made to the people was a 25member cabinet which rose to 30 and then by April 2015 ended up with 45 cabinet Ministers, 55 non-cabinet & deputy ministers. Why this selective democracy outcries?
- What legal right does the Parliament have to pass 19a that usurps the executive powers given directly by the People to the Executive President & transfer those powers to a Prime Minister not elected directly by the People?
- On 26 October 2018, the President decided to remove Ranil Wickremasinghe as Prime Minister & hand over the Premiership to Mahinda Rajapakse. What is the unconstitutionality in this? Please quote necessary clauses from the constitution for violations.
- The appointment of new Prime Minister was made after all the SLFP MPs in the National Unity Government exited thus making null & void the unity government as the MOU was signed between only these 2 parties. What is illegal or unconstitutional in this?
- Whereas the sitting PM was not removed before appointing a PM in January 2015, not only the sitting PM was removed but a gazette notification of the said removal & another gazette notification of the PM appointment was made in October 2018. Where is the unconstitutionality if any?
- There have been plenty of governments that have run as minority governments and 113MPs is not necessary to run the government.
- Where does it say that the President can only appoint as PM the person who has the most MPs in Parliament?
- Doesn’t the constitution say that the President can appoint as PM the person HE FEELS has the most confidence in Parliament?
- Can the President remove the Prime Minister? Doesn’t 48(1) give 3 opportunities to dissolve cabinet including sacking the PM & under other reasons” 47 (2)
- Isn’t Sri Lanka’s Executive Head & 1st citizen, the President? Yes
- Isn’t the President the Head of the Government? Yes
- Isn’t the President the Head of the Cabinet? Yes – 42(3)
- If the President has all these powers why can’t he change the Prime Minister who is not elected by the People?
- If anyone feels that any constitutional provisions have been violated why are they not going to Supreme Court to get a determination? Making the Speaker hysterical & a laughing stock is not the solution.
- What are the provisions available for the President to dissolve Parliament?
- Is the sovereignty in the hands of the People or Parliament? Certainly People
- If the sovereignty of the people is being violated, can the President use his executive powers & take action under Article 62
- Has the 19a tried to usurp the powers of the People and give it to Parliament?
- How come all those crusading against illegalities & demanding democratic process was silent regarding the unceremonious removal of Chief Justice Mohan Peiris. He was simply not allowed into his chambers. His term is included in Wikipedia as the 43rd ‘defacto Chief Justice’ how morally & legally right is this?
- How legal is the FCID & all other corruption units set up directly under the supervision of the PM?
- How legal & ethical was it to appoint a finance minister in 2015 who was facing a case for money laundering?
- How legal was it to transfer the Central Bank, Exchange & Securities Commission & Statistics directly under the PM? Was this not to facilitate the Central Bank Bond Scam?
- Is it also legal for a foreigner to be appointed as Governor of the Central Bank & was this person not responsible for the Bond Scam & will that foreign citizenship factor affect legal action to be taken for the economic chaos that has arise as a result?
- All those crying foul & issuing statements on upholding democracy were not to be seen or heard when the Ranil Wickremasinghe government did not hold a single election from August 2015 to February 2018 – why?
- How legal has it been to ask people to come to give statements & then order their arrests & refusal for bail? How legal was it to even open magistrates office late in the hours to imprison people arrested?
- How legal are the investments, land sales, national asset sales taken arbitrarily via bills that have been passed ad hoc & by a Speaker who has shown his open bias?
- How legal has been the reparations bill compensating LTTE when LTTE remains banned in Sri Lanka still.
- What is the legality in co-sponsoring the Geneva Resolution which is arguably legally questionable too given that all UNHRC Resolutions & Investigation stemmed from a personal report commissioned by the UNSG which did not have the mandate of the UN General Assembly or the UN Security Council?
- How legal is it to shelve the COPE report & BOND COMMISSION report which should be released to the public
Answering some of these questions will help any to understand the precarious situation the Ranil-led government has put the country in. Allowing unnecessary foreign meddling into the internal affairs of a sovereign country, opening internal systems for foreign perusal & adjustments which no government is bound to do, which has only compromised our internal security systems & exposed our weak points for them to manipulate at will.
None of these countries are concerned about democracy – they probably don’t even understand the word leave alone wanting to abide by it. They preach to us about human rights & rule of law & then sell arms for profit which are devastating Yemen & leaving these innocent people in starvation & hunger. Countries who can do this have no moral right to be coming preaching to us or any other country.
Sovereignty is in the hands of the People & it is the People of Sri Lanka who must decide not foreign nations or the UN and it is time people elected by the People stop going crying to foreign countries for help, it only shows they are incapable of leading without being spoon-fed by them on how to rule according to their agendas & dictates.
An important lesson for all is NOT TO BELIEVE the campaigns & pseudo experts now emerging to make a big noise & tell you that what is happening in Sri Lanka is unconstitutional.
You decide if anything is unconstitutional not because others says so but because you search & find answers to questions which help you decide whether it is unconstitutional or not.
Therefore, please go through these questions & seek the answers yourself & you come to your own conclusions….
All the time look at the larger picture… always think and ask yourself whether a Govt’s decision is affecting the national security, the safety of the people & their future … this should always be in the back of your mind.
Whoever governs – we must have a safe country to live in & that land must belong to all of us.
Shenali D Waduge
November 7th, 2018 at 9:07 am
Well said Shenali..!
This is hypocrisy at its best by the West, and their parasites and stooges in Sri Lanka. It is no secret that the West – supported by Tamil Diaspora, hate their nemesis MR, ever since he wiped out Tamil terrorists ten years ago.
They know that MR and his supporters will never give into the West and its hidden agendas, unlike their stooges such as Ranil, Mangala, and the Speaker. So, they will go all out, with the help of their biased media, to discredit MR, and the country.
Democracy, HR’s, rule of law, good governance are just buzz words the West is using to control the developing countries like SL, while completely ignoring massive HRs violations, lack of rule of law, democracy, by the totalitarian dictators like MBS in Saudi Arabia, and other such totalitarian states.
Their hypocrisy and double standards are truly unbelievable, to say the least…
November 7th, 2018 at 2:55 pm
Thank you Shenali for the endless list given. It continues further.
• How come the then Foreign Minister opted to co-sponsor the American resolution without a mandate from the Parliament, against the state and its guardian forces for defeating a ruthless killer terrorist gang?
• How come this so called National government enter into a free trade agreement with Singapore without the Cabinet approval prior to signing it?
• How come this rouge National government offered the Opposition Leader position to TNA with 16 seats while there was a JO with more than 75 seats?
List goes on and on…
The bottom line is, how to come out of this rut?
We have an escape route created by the West worshiping and boot licking Speaker of the Parliament. He is telling after meeting the new women Ambassador to US, that he does not accept the new PM appointed by the President and the Parliament will take the form as it was pre- 26th October when they meet on the 14th.
This is a good point for quoting the safety of all the 225 legislators and dissolving the parliament since there can be violent acts happening in the Parliament (considering the uneducated hooligans among the legislators). President can quote the bomb incident during JR’s time and dissolve the parliament and call for a fresh election.
MR and the Pohottuwa will get a 2/3rd majority and the rogue SLFP ministers will have to go home, especially Mahinda Amaraweera and the bold bastard who rented a building for his ministry by paying millions of rupees without using it for his ministry. I can’t remember the useless fellows name.
And also the useless cunning bastards like SB will go home. Yesterday he was appointed a minister. what a disaster.
MY3 did not do this for the love of the country of love of the citizens. He has failed with KJ and SP before approaching MR. He did this for his own survival and his own team’s survival. Now all his SLFP fellows will get a secured job and by siding with MR, they will get a guaranteed re-appointment.
MR should push for a dissolving the parliament and call for a fresh election.
November 7th, 2018 at 4:05 pm
Thank you Shenali for enumerating the long litany of frauds, felonies and other extra-legal doings of the Jadapalanaya. Now what is left is the big canvass that needs to be unrolled depicting the future, people of Sri Lanka demands.
Sri Lanka has been at the receiving end of minority politics for the last 70 years and going even further backward. In my view, the reason Sri Lanka is in the current impasse is Sinhalese disunity brought about by the bifurcation of the Sinhala polity in 1951. Leave aside the politics of that time, one has to be honest to understand what actually that took place since that division among the Sinhalese. This obviously led to minority politics that held the nation to ransom by Shylocks of these interests who have always asked for their pound of flesh in conducting the affairs of state. This state of affairs led to a 30 year war which ended at Nangi Kadal, but others are brewing in the absence of national unity – mainly Sinhala Unity .
At the current moment, leaving aside the affiliations of the parliamentarians, for the Sinhala people there are no essential unbridgeable differences between those affiliated to either the SLFP or the UNP. Moreover, all people, be they Sinhala, Tamil or other, be they Buddhists, Christian or Muslim are equally affected by the manner in which the current politics of this country are conducted. Sri Lanka has remained a pauperized nation at the receiving end of all passers-by, including our closest ‘relation’ – India!
In the current imbroglio there is an opportunity for people of all hues belonging to UNP, SLFP, TNA, Muslim Congress or other to unite behind one party and take the country forward towards prosperity. It is time country left cannibalistic politics of trying to devour each other and divide the nation, to unite. I believe this was the idea when the original UNP – the United National Party was formed – All nationalities united behind one political party. Today that party is Pohottuwa simply because that is the only reality on the ground!
I hope my other compatriots will join to take this conversation forward. The alternative is to go the way of Libya, Iraq and Syria – unending war! Powerful enemies of humanity and waiting like wolves to pounce on this small nation to destabilize, to make it a failed state and dismember. I hope sanity will prevail in the coming days and months.
November 7th, 2018 at 7:41 pm
Another question should be where were all the democratic process pundits when with just 16MPs TNA was appointed Opposition & its Leader made the Opposition Leader- how democratic was this?
November 7th, 2018 at 7:45 pm
A key aspect missed is the non-appointment of ministers to some ministries. As a result, their work has come to a standstill as far as new decisions go. They can continue with existing decisions only. This is affecting the people and the nation. These ministries are kept for UNP crossovers! Since they are the kingmakers, they can do anything even within days and there is nothing Mahinda or Sirisena can do.
Even strong supporters have now started to demand ministries threatning to become independent. Chamal, SB and Pavithra were given good ministries kept to bait UNP crossovers.
This is a ridiculous situation affecting the nation. The president has disrupted the legislature and part of the executive (Cabinet). These branches are supposed to work together for the people. Now they are at each other. If the matter is taken to the Supreme Court then the court will also be at loggerheads with the rest.
There is only one winner of this crisis – Tamil Eelamists. This is their perfect time to get their demands and show to the world how dysfuctional Sri Lanka is. Please note that the parties to the crisis are Sinhala groups only. Others float no matter who comes to power. This is a true tragedy. The nation is held as a human shield by all politicians.
November 7th, 2018 at 10:42 pm
Golden statement There is only one winner of this crisis – Tamil Eelamists. and I want to add Jihadists to it.
Ranil deserved to be sacked, no question about that. But next step would have been to appoint a PM who has support of the parliament. That would have been very democratic. If that resulted in Ranil as the PM, president should have been resigned calling for a Presidential election.
I can only think of India conspiracy since this happened after visit of born again eelamist Subramanium Swamy and Mahinda visiting India. I have no doubts now.
November 8th, 2018 at 2:27 am
What UNP, JVP, TNA, SLMC expect will not happen. It is best to keep quiet, just like Mr Basil Rakapakse. Just deliver the goods. We thank Basil for intervening and saving the nation. He is a top Professional. More Goodies to come!!!
November 8th, 2018 at 2:36 am
I hope Sirisena did what Mahinda did after being elected by India’s support and Indian Colonial Parasites’ block vote abstaining from voting.
They failed again with Fonseka.
2015 India won with Sirisena.
I hope Sirisena has kicked India like Mahinda.
We have to wait and see.
November 8th, 2018 at 2:56 am
“Sri Lanka has been at the receiving end of minority politics for the last 70 years and going even further backward. In my view, the reason Sri Lanka is in the current impasse is Sinhalese disunity brought about by the bifurcation of the Sinhala polity in 1951.”
Thanks Ratnapala, This the truth about our nation or country which in fact an Indian Colony like other Indian Colonies from Fiji to Guyana.
The so called British Empire in fact was a British-Indian Empire.
The Indians run our country from 1792 and they have prospered and our economy is in their hands.
It is the Indian Parasite merchants’ Cabal that financed most of our politicians, in particular the Socialists from the time of start of our democracy.
This Indian Merchant Cabal included all kinds of Indian Parasite: Tamils, Malayalis, Boras, Parsis to name a few.
Some Indian Parasites looked after individual Sinhala politicians and the Cabal financed, managed and even was involved with making policies.
The best examples are Captain and N M Perera, Gnanam and Phillip. Banda and Hidramani.
The Cabal has not changed and they still carry on with their agenda.
I might be a lonely man saying these anti India things.
November 8th, 2018 at 12:48 pm
I was privileged enough to meet a politician of the government here in UK and he asked me as to what’s happening in SL.If there’s a conspiracy by the West he shouldn’t me asking me that question. Soon after reading this I asked a very close official of my MP who has an interest in Asian region, he just laughed saying that if one is on the other side of the conflict will say that the Chinese are behind….
Why should they get involved as our recent history have proved that any of our politician could be bought, which ever party they are from.
Past events in our political history has proved that all our politicians put themselves before the people of the country, will make any illegal deal even with the devil to make money,without ever consulting the people. Truly shameful and they have cheer leaders to praise them, some are induced and some living abroad, enjoying the good life of the Western countries, spread misery to our island by taking political sides without knowing the ground realities in the island. I live in UK but yet I have a commitment to my people back home with real hard earned honest investments in the island which I pledged to Sirimavo.B.