{"id":106997,"date":"2020-09-25T16:23:34","date_gmt":"2020-09-25T23:23:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=106997"},"modified":"2020-09-25T16:23:34","modified_gmt":"2020-09-25T23:23:34","slug":"today-sri-lanka-needs-a-powerful-executive-president-and-not-democracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/09\/25\/today-sri-lanka-needs-a-powerful-executive-president-and-not-democracy\/","title":{"rendered":"Today Sri Lanka needs a powerful Executive President, and not democracy."},"content":{"rendered":"

By Charles S..Perera<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

What Sri Lanka  wants is not a democracy of the press, the\nfreedom to write, the freedom to criticize the government, freedom to\ndemonstrate. What we want is a democracy of the people for their right to live\nin peace and security, have the minimum of a decent living condition, right to\nhave access to water, security of employment, a good health service, bring up a\nfamily, and have good service from an uncorrupt  government.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri\nLanka is 72 years away since its Independence.  We are still talking about\na democracy. What did we have before Independance and beyond? We were ruled by\nKings and there were periods when Sri Lanka prospered under some kings. There\nwere the Nobles who helped the king in ruling the country maintaining law and\norder.  The people were grouped according to their skills, a caste system\nwhere each one occupied tasks allocated to them .  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rhys\nDavis says that the West learnt what they call democracy from the east. The\nBuddha himself had a gread  organising skill. Lord Buddha had a great\nfollowing and his disciples came from all walks of life. They had to be trained\ninto being the followers of the Buddha Dhamma. It was a   difficult task\nwhich he attended to with great perspicacity. He made known the Dhamma\nthrough  discourses  and set out rules of conduct for his disciples\nand followers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore,\nwhat we call democracy in relation to politics was not unknown to the Sinhala\npeople. Or as a matter of fact to entire nations the world over. But  it\nis only when we come to politics we speak mostly of democracy. The imported\nnotion of democracy existed from Independence  and differed from one\nruling system or government to another.  That is why now in TV political\ndiscussion the opposition to the Government compare their period of rule as a\nperiod  where there was a greater democracy compared to the government\nthey replaced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore\nthis political democracy of varying standards will continue. But what we should\nexamine is under which democracy the people were better off, more secure and\nprotected, spent peaceful lives.  When it is put through such an\nexamination, one would see that  democracy becomes meaningless if the\npeople had been neglected and left on their own to meet the rising cost of\nliving, lack of protection, fear of an underworld etc., and a drug\nmenace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri\nLanka today is not what it was 72 years ago. Today Sri Lanka under \nPresident Gotabaya Rajapakse ,is not what it was five years before under the\nSirisena-Ranil duo. But yet the rejected government of the past says that there\nwas democracy during the five years before.  Why then were they rejected\nby the people ? Because this democracy is what the educated Colombiens and the\nColombo press moguls want, it is different from what the people outside in\ntowns and villages want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever\nnotion different people have about democracy, it is since Independence there\nhad been something that had been accepted from the west  called democracy.\nIt came from the Colonial rulers who did not rule democratically. It has in\nreality  given nothing to the people. Sri Lanka continued to be a\ndeveloping country yet with that absurd democracy becoming    a\nbarrier for progressive development of the country, changing governing systems\nfrom time to time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\npresent day media specially the Capital Maharajaa Organisation, News First,\nDawasa, Satana, Face the Nation,  journalists have their own notion of\ndemocracy which they try to promote against the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.\nIn a recent political debate in Satana a journalist insisted that an invitee\nshould  accept  that compared to the periods of government before\nYahapalanaya,  there was democracy under Yahapalanaya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If\nthey were to think that there was no democracy under  President Mahinda\nRajapaksa from 2005 to 2015, they cannot deny that there was a remarkable, or\nif they want, an apparent  development of the country during that period\nbreaking away from the  path of  a developing status, to a county on\nthe path of progressive  development with highways , high-rise buildings,\nbeautification of towns, parks  and cleansed lakes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If\nthese democracy fans  insist that despite all that it was  a period\nwithout democracy, the price was worth it,  and there should be more\nperiods of governments in Sri Lanka without democracy for it to really step\ninto a developed country status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nthat sense too the 20th Amendment is welcome though it irks Sajith Premadasa,\nAnura Kumara Dissanayake and their followers wearing blinders. The word\ndemocracy\u201d , a sacred OM\u201d to the opponents  of  the government, had\nbeen introduced by former colonial masters to keep the country poor and\nundeveloped. It is getting out of the blinder that will make developing\ncountries take the risk  and forge ahead to  enter a new path of\ndevelopment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\nis enough that  we had been floundering in the darkness of under\ndevelopment  for the last 72 years making every effort to keep the crown\nof democracy on our heads.  One government rules for five years  and\ntakes the government forward according to its idea of development, and then\nwhen it is defeated another comes  to change everything that the other\ngovernment had done to introduce a new system for the next five years, the\ncircle continues and we are always where we were at the beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\nis time that it changes. China, Russia,Malaysia,  Singapore, Vietnam and\nBangladesh  are not countries holding democracy in high favour, but they\nhave developed  to a far greater extent than we have done  holding on\nto this precious democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At\nleast now we want a man at the helm,  who would not bend to pressure but\ncontinue to do what is good for the country and the people who have placed\ntheir confidence on him  to do what he thinks is correct. Therefore the President\nshould be given all the powers of an executive President .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\npseudo democrats of the Samagi Jana Balavegaya , Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna\n  say Yahapalanaya gave real democracy to Sri Lanka. But did it  give\nthe people of Sri Lanka  what they really wanted,  which was not\ndemocracy but a decent living standard, education for their children,employment\n, clean water to drink, roads,pathways and a drug and a crime  free\ncountry ?  No,  statistics show quite a different story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President\nGotabaya Rajapaksa wants to give the people what they really want. For that the\nExecutive President wants a free hand to move without ugly undemocratic\nmanifestations in the well of the august assembly of the representatives of the\npeople-the  Parliament,by the undisciplined infantile members of the\nOpposition, distorting facts in the 20th Amendment.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri\nLanka has an honest, disciplined visionary leader in President Gotabaya\nRajpaksa , who had demonstrated  his devotion to the country and the\npeople, who risked his life for them. None other political leader  even\nwith dynamos, and paternal genes had ever made such a sacrifice or risked one’s\nlife  for the Country. Sajith Premadasa the  Opposition Leader who\ndenounced the 20Amendement saying it is to give executive power to  an\nindividual had never lifted a gun in defence of Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\nindividual,  Sajith Premdasa  and his supporters often refer to is\nthe President of Sri Lanka. His personal identity is submerged  when he\nholds the high office to which the people have hoisted him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President\nMahinda Rajapkse put the country into the correct path of development, but\nungrateful people  were  forced by coercion and enticement by local\nand foreign enemies of Sri Lanka to reject him at the Presidential elections of\n2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\n20th Amendment is essential at this hour of Sri Lanka\u2019s history as we should\nthink of a different people friendly political system, as the past systems have\nfailed to give the necessary leadership to Sri Lanka with its glorious\nhistorical past to surmount  difficulties to achieve new heights of\ndevelopment.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore,\nthe President should have immunity, be free to face and stop  unpatriotic\nself interested  opposition in a  parliamentary system by even\ndissolving the parliament if it becomes necessary, to have patriotic  Sri\nLankans with even dual citizenship who  may want to  come back and\nhelp in the development process of Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\n20A does not suppress the Audit department or the Auditor General . They will\nbe there carrying out their allotted functions. Therefore there should not be\nany difficulty in  having the 20Amendment passed in parliament as a\ntemporary measure until a new Constitution is written and presented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some\nask what is the impediment to carry on the government without removing the 19th\nAmendment. The impediment is that the 19th Amendment does not fit into the new\nthinking of the new Government. The Yahapalanaya may not have had any\nimpediment in carrying on it destructive path of bankrupting Sri Lanka with the\nhastily adopted 19A, but that is the past and that 19A does not fit into the\npresent path that is being hacked, despite opposition by political\nreactionaries , towards a better , sure and  an efficient advancement\nof  prosperity to illumine  a country that has been thrown into an\nabyss of  political, financial and social darkness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\nwere two critics Jayadeva Uyangoda who admits  of a hurried reading of the\n20th Amendment, which was enough for him to  writes what he always wrote\nagainst President Mahainda Rajapaksa with added venum trying to put\nPresident  Gotabaya Rajapaksa into a garb of a Dictator.  He may have\nwritten that without reading the 20th Amendment at all.  The other Dayan\nJayatillake does more or less the same thing but with greater venom, \nhaving missed the diplomatic boat to a European destination. Most of what he\nwrites is frilled with his quotes from his intellectual reading material or\nseen & heard  in the cinema. They are both prophets of doom and not\nworth commenting on their rantings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally 20 Amendment is to the Constitution of Sri Lanka, we do\nnot want UN or Commonweal or any International interference. It would be an\ninsult to our sovereignty; independence and our Judiciary. Sri Lanka  can\nsettle its matters on its own.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Charles S..Perera What Sri Lanka  wants is not a democracy of the press, the freedom to write, the freedom to criticize the government, freedom to demonstrate. What we want is a democracy of the people for their right to live in peace and security, have the minimum of a decent living condition, right to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-charles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106997","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=106997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106997\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}