{"id":106711,"date":"2020-09-16T16:22:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-16T23:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=106711"},"modified":"2020-09-16T16:22:00","modified_gmt":"2020-09-16T23:22:00","slug":"constitution-reforms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/09\/16\/constitution-reforms\/","title":{"rendered":"Constitution Reforms"},"content":{"rendered":"

N.A.de S. Amaratunga<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

The 19th<\/sup> A is being replaced by the 20th<\/sup>\nA and a new constitution is being planned. \nA Committee has been appointed for the drafting of a new constitution\ncomprising some of the leading intellectuals in the country. That would be the\nfourth new constitution for the country since independence. And there had been\n19 amendments too. It is interesting to ponder why the country could not draft\na constitution that could last at least 25 years without radical changes.\nAlmost all the amendments had been radical. 13th<\/sup> A had introduced\nsome almost federal features. 16th<\/sup> A had precluded Sinhala Language\nbeing used in the courts in the North and East provinces. 1978 constitution\nbrought in a hybrid system with a mixture of \nparliamentary and presidential arrangements. 19th<\/sup> A was full\nof contradiction and confusion lacking in clarity in the most important\naspects. 20th<\/sup> A seems to be a total rejection of the 19th<\/sup>\nA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not to say a constitution should be rigid, some\nflexibility is required to bring about change when and if necessary. But these\nchanges need not be radical which would be the case if the constitution has\nbeen well constructed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This lack of lasting quality and a degree of permanency\nand a semblance of consistency in constitution making in Sri Lanka is a reflection\nof the complexity of the issues that need to be addressed. Some of these\ncomplexities are due to the nature of our state and its inhabitants while some\nare created by the politics within as well as without. It is prudent to take\ninto consideration these several factors when thinking about constitution\nreforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that the people has given the new government a 2\/3rd<\/sup>\nmajority it is up to the government to construct a good constitution once and\nfor all which could take the country to peace and prosperity with secure\nsovereignty and territorial integrity. It must be said that even a 2\/3rd<\/sup>\nmajority victory is possible even in a full PR system when the people are\ndesperate for a change including an overhaul of the constitution. The\ngovernment must respond to this phenomenon with sufficient seriousness it\ndeserves and not treat it frivolously as all governments do with regard to\npeople’s will. People’s burning problems must be addressed with commitment and\nvigour and constitutional reforms is one such issue that needs to be undertaken\nwith people’s interest at heart and not political expedience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leave History aside<\/p>\n\n\n\n

History of the country and its civilization have not\nbeen clearly understood and is being very often misinterpreted for political\nexpedience. Extremists of both sides of the divide make claims and counter\nclaims about original inhabitants, superiority of language, religion and race,\nhomeland concepts, historical kingdoms etc. They do not, in the process,\nhesitate to distort history. Recently a leading politico from the North after\ntaking a vow at the LTTE memorial, to fight for Tamil aspirations, claimed in\nthe parliament that Tamil language had been in use in Sri Lanka before the\nSinhalese language. His argument is based on the fact that Tamil is one of the\noldest languages in the world. He did not explain why there is no epigraph or\narchaeological evidence that Tamil had been in use in this land prior to\nSinhalese.  Similarity between  Tamil spoken in the North of Sri Lanka and\nTamil Nadu is greater than the similarity between Tamil spoken in Karnataka and\nTamil Nadu proving that Tamil in the North of Sri Lanka had not been evolving\nindependently for a long period of time but had been imported from Tamil Nadu\ncomparatively recently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let us leave history aside for we will not get anywhere\nby hanging on to dubious theories. Tamils as a minority in the country must\nhave their rights fulfilled irrespective of whether they were the original\ninhabitants or arrived here in the 12th<\/sup> Century as Karthigesu Indrapala\nconcluded in his research. So must Muslims who were settled in the East in the\n17th<\/sup> Century by the Kandyan Kings and any other minorities for that\nmatter. Their rights regarding language, religion, education, employment,\nculture must be guaranteed in the constitution and all necessary institutions\nand space for that purpose must be made available. They must be treated as\nequal citizens in every respect and constitutional provision made for that\npurpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Language<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Language is a defining feature of a people, their\ncivilization and their identity and therefore needs to be given its rightful\nplace in the constitution that pertains to those people. Sinhalese is the\nlanguage that the people of Sri Lanka developed as part of their civilization on\nthis land. Epigraph and archaeological evidence show how Sinhala developed on\nthis land. Other languages spoken and  in\nuse in Sri Lanka were imported from abroad. At present it is the mother tongue\nof more than 70% of the people in Sri Lanka. A nation must have a language\nunique to it and which facilitates its cultural development. It must contribute\nto the development of national pride and patriotism which are vital for the\nindependence, sovereignty and economic development of a country. Therefore Sinhalese\nmust be made the National Language of Sri Lanka and this must be stated in the\nconstitution in clear terms.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tamil is spoken by about 20% of the people though it is\na language that did not develop in the country. Tamil speaking people are\nfairly well distributed in the country and their contribution to the economy\nand culture are substantial. They need a language to communicate with the\ngovernment and do their business. Their language must receive state assistance\nfor its development. Therefore Tamil must be made an official language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

English is the lingua franca of the world and our\ndependent economy must have the support of a world language. Further English\ncould be the link language among the different communities. English too could\nbe an official language in Sri Lanka.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Religion<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secularism may be suitable and necessary for some\ncountries but not for Sri Lanka. Buddhism has been its lifeblood from early\ntimes and has been the font of its civilization. Buddhism has been the heart\nand soul of its people and the rallying point at times of peril.  The King, Sanga and the People comprised the\nancient  governing system in Sri Lanka.\nAt present more than 70% of its people believe in Buddhism. Theravada which is\ndoctrinally the closest to Buddha’s original preaching has been preserved in\nSri Lanka due to the state patronage it \nreceived through out history. Buddhism is protected by the people and\npeople in turn are protected by Buddhism. For these reasons Buddhism must be\nmade the State Religion. All other religions must be given their due place,\nfreedom and space for their practice and development  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

State<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka has always been a unitary state in its 2500\nyear long history. Political power was centralized and when ever there was a\nthreat to that power domain people and the Sanga rallied to protect it. There\nmay have been provincial  rulers but they\ncame under the rule of the central Kingship. The so called  Jaffna Kingdom in the North was nothing but a\nmanifestation of foreign occupation by South Indian invaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since those times of unitary rule nothing has happened\nthat could necessitate a change in the unitary nature of the State of Sri\nLanka. The war waged by terrorists was a construct of local separatists and\nregional and global hegemonic powers. The political power that Tamils demand\ncannot be granted at the regional level without jeopardizing the single\nsovereignty and rights of other communities but could be done at the centre via\na power sharing mechanism within a unitary state. Decentralization of\nadministration could be achieved more efficiently at district level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

13th<\/sup> Amendment and Provincial Councils<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka is too small to be divided into nine\npolitical and administrative areas  Each\narea becomes too small for optimum utilization of resources for<\/p>\n\n\n\n

economic development and too expensive and unnecessary\nburden on the poor people even under best of conditions. Such a division along\nethnic boundaries is not possible as a large majority of the ethnic minorities\nare distributed widely in the country. Neither is it desirable for it would\nstrengthen the ethnic consciousness and centrifugal forces instead of\nfacilitating reconciliation and peace among different communities. Peace cannot\nbe achieved by treating the majority community unfairly with regard to their\nright for sovereignty over the whole island. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several Provinces have existed without their Councils\nwith no breakdown of essential services to the people for more than two years\ndue to elections not being held. Though it is argued that not holding elections\non time is a denial of democratic rights not holding elections for redundant\ninstitutions which in fact are a white elephant and a burden on the tax paying\npoor people could be considered a blessing in disguise. PCs were created as a\nsolution to the so called ethnic Tamil problem but the silence of Tamil politicians\non the issue of delay in elections to the Northern PC is deafening to say the\nleast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If they can do without their PC there cannot be an\nethnic problem of enormous magnitude which necessitated a protracted war of 30\nyears and the introduction by force of the 13th A by India. People of this\ncountry did not ask for the 13th A, it was forced on us by a hegemonic\nimperialist India partly to pacify Tamil Nadu politicians, and to prevent other\ninterested global powers getting into the fray for geopolitical reasons. Our\npoor people have to pay for global geopolitical vagaries and local communal\ndubious ‘aspirations’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover 13th<\/sup> A has clauses which when fully\nimplemented assume federal proportions eg police and land powers. Also the\ndanger of a North and East merger and finally a total separation is ever\npresent when the 13th<\/sup> A is in the statute.  Sri Lanka and its people specially the Tamils\ncould do well without the burden and the potential danger of the 13th<\/sup>\nA and PCs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Electoral System<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The electoral system is another vital matter that has\nbeen repeatedly changed and tampered with for political needs. As a result\ntwice the number of members than what was intended, including the defeated, got\ninto local government bodies at the last elections. An electoral system that\nensures the election of a stable government and which reflects the will of the\npeople is required. A ‘first past the post’ system would serve this purpose.\nMinority representation could be accommodated with a PR system electing a suitable\nproportion of members. In this regard Dinesh Gunawardena Committee\nrecommendations could be adopted  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presidential powers and Independent Commissions<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democracy is enhanced with the separation of power into\nthe three arms of governance; the executive, the legislature and the judiciary\nbut if there is concentration of power in any one of these institutions the\npurpose is defeated. On the other hand the president should not be bereft of\npower he needs to perform the duties of the executive that the people by their\nvote had wanted him to be. An executive president has to be the head of the\nstate, head of the government and head of the cabinet and he also must have\ncontrol over the forces and the  defense\nportfolio under him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Independent commissions aim at reducing the\nconcentration of power but if they are to serve the purpose they have to be\ntruly independent which was not the case when ‘yahapalana’ was in office. This\nwas mainly because the opposition comprising the TNA and JVP colluded with the government\nin appointing these commissions. This may not happen with the present\ngovernment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway the independent commissions have to be appointed\nby the people’s representatives ie the president and the parliament. However\nthere is no harm having in the Constitution Council religious leaders, one from\neach major religion practiced in Sri Lanka nominated by a recognized religious\nbody. This would further depoliticize the committees and make them more\nindependent. The independent commissions must have sufficient number of members\nand a quorum for meetings and a system to arrive at decisions by vote rather\nthan 100% consensus  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

N.A.de S. Amaratunga<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

N.A.de S. Amaratunga The 19th A is being replaced by the 20th A and a new constitution is being planned.  A Committee has been appointed for the drafting of a new constitution comprising some of the leading intellectuals in the country. That would be the fourth new constitution for the country since independence. And there […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[127],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-n-a-de-s-amaratunga"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106711\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}