{"id":117898,"date":"2021-09-07T22:32:36","date_gmt":"2021-09-08T04:32:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=117898"},"modified":"2021-09-07T15:09:40","modified_gmt":"2021-09-07T22:09:40","slug":"an-open-letter-to-president-gothabhaya-rajapaksa-on-the-proposed-new-constitution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2021\/09\/07\/an-open-letter-to-president-gothabhaya-rajapaksa-on-the-proposed-new-constitution\/","title":{"rendered":"An open letter to President Gothabhaya Rajapaksa on the proposed new Constitution."},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr. Sudath Gunasekara Retired Secretary to PM Sirimavo Bandaranayaka, <\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Part 1<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Sudath Gunasekara Retired\nSecretary to PM Sirimavo Bandaranayaka, Past President Sri Lanka Administrative\nService Association (1991 Nov 1994 nov) and President Mahanuwara Sinhala Baudha\nJestha Purawesiyange Sanvidhanaya <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Preamble<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 (The\ntask before you is to give a new lease of life, to the ashes of a 2500 year old\ngreat civilization that was murdered in 1815 by the British, burned in 1818 and\n1848 and buried 10 feet below, by the same British in 1948, by a vicious fraud called\nthe Soulbury Constitution, fathered by Jennings and delivered by D.S.Senanayaka,\nthe midwife, to perpetuate the grip of the colonial hold indefinitely on this\nIsland , without allowing the Sinhala Buddhist Nation to raise its head from\nthat grave of the dead, is a Herculean task. But you too can do it, MY SON\u201d, like the Phoenix that rose from the\nashes of an Arabian Desert graveyard;<\/strong> if you have the will and the\ndetermination to do it and if you have the patience to read this article\nwithout prejudice, and finally if you get this proposed Sinhale New Constitution\n2022\/3 enacted and declared, which four Presidents and thirteen Prime Ministers\ncould not do for 74 years, since the so-called Independence supposed to have been\ngiven by the British and blindly embraced by our leaders in 1948. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                                                                         \n        Mother Lanka\u201d).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. President, your decision to have\na New Constitution to this country in this backdrop is most commendable and welcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is an excellent decision on your\npart to initiate action to solve a long overdue national problem, going back to\n1948, of not having a proper Constitution that safeguards the birth rights of\nthe Sinhala people (Bhoomiputras) of this country since they were savagely\nrobbed by the British over a long period of 133 years and which they still\ncontinue to do directly and indirectly, not allowing Sri Lanka to raise its\nhead.  This is a historic opportunity god\nhas bestowed on you to give a New Constitution to this nation based on their indigenous\nsystem of state craft, legal traditions and customs to usher in a prosperous\nera of peace and development that left unresolved for 73 years after we got\nrelieved from the repressive clutches of British colonial rule and exploitation\nin 1948.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore it is history re-making,\nMr. President, and if you do it, you will go down in the annals of history of\nthis Island nation as the hero of this land who liberated the Sinhale and its\npeople from 206 years  (133+73) of\nBritish  rule under their own laws and\nsystem of government that continues even after they left. It also marks the end\nof 73 years of negligence and time marking by our own native leaders turned the\nfaithful proxies of the British, who became a pack of local political betrayers\nthereafter, instead of playing the role of national heroes of liberating the\nMotherland and the  Sinhala nation from\n133 years of direct colonial destruction and exploitation by the British and\nconverting it again to be the Granary of the East and the Pearl of the Indian\nOcean, as it had shined in its glorious days, at least from 307 B.C. to the end\nof the 13th Century. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is this onerous responsibility and\nduty of enacting a New Constitution to liberate this country and the Sinhala nation\nthat has fallen now upon your shoulders by destiny. Once you fulfill that responsibility\nit will go down on record as the third post Independent landmark adding to the\nother two highlights of this country\u2019s contemporary political history, namely\nthe declaration of the Independent Republic of Sri Lanka on 22nd May 1972 under\nMrs B and defeating the LTTE in 2009 under MR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to achieve this goal I\npropose a two way approach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 1<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First method to enact a new\nConstitution removing all faults of the two previous and the present within the\nsame existing Constitutional framework making all changes that could be done to\nmake the people happy and to make this country a prosperous and vibrant land\nwhere law and peace will reign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This package has to be completed\nwithin the provisions of the existing Constitution first, with what you can do\nwith a simple majority and Step2 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, with what you can do with a\n2\/3 majority without a referendum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step3<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having done that as the next step\nshould be to go for an overall change in the entire system by getting a New\nConstitution enacted based on the indigenous cultural matrix of this Island\nnation with suitable adaptations from modern Constitutions to fill the gaps where\nthe indigenous system is silent, to establish the lost Kingdom of the Sinhala\nBuddhist nation in 1815.  (This has to be\ndone by a New Committee that should be appointed after dissolving the present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For this you need to go for a fresh\nmandate from the people in order to fulfill the wishes of Mother Lanka stated\nabove. This you can do either at the next election or even before after\ncompleting step 1 and 2 as given above, provided you can get the 2\/3 within the\npresent Parliament for step 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 3<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is of cause a third way of\ndoing the Step 3 which is faster than the second approach. ?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is with the detailed manifesto\nin hand you suspend this useless alien Parliament set up under the colonial\nBritish Westminster system, that has ruined this country for 73 years and\ndeclare Presidential rule for a period of 05 years and then go for a public\nreferendum seeking a public mandate for a completely New Constitution to be\nmade on the foundation of the 2500 year old cultural matrix of this Island\nnation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once that New Constitution is in\nplace, the golden Key of your dream Kingdom of Prosperity and Splendor\u201d will\nbe in your hand, Mr. President. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever approach you select it\nshould end up  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 First in giving a new form and new life\nto a dead and buried Great nation and <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 Second giving it a Constitution by\nremoving the faults of the 1947, 1972 and 1987 Constitutions and <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3 Finally give them completely a New\nConstitution enacted on the pillars of its own civilization in keeping with the\naspiration and dreams of the Sinhala nation, with suitable adaptations from\nmodern Constitutions where the indigenous system is silent, to establish the\nlost Kingdom of the Sinhala Buddhist nation in 1815. This entails restoring all\nwhat we have lost to the  British in 1815,\nfor example, the vacant possession of the land free of foreign labour brought\nby the British to work on their projects and plantations, our religion,\nLanguage, name of the country, legal system and values, full freedom,  sovereignty and our own system of Government<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Mr President a word of wisdom, I wish to\nremind you the trust and the faith 6.9 million people in this county covering\nthe whole Island   had in you when they voted you in to power and\nI request you to keep in mind the message conveyed by them to you on 16th<\/sup>\nNov 2019, as shown in the following map right throughout this noble mission by\nyour Motherland and the Sinhala nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presidential Election results 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

 Have a closer look at this map<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please have a closer look at the\nbehavior of the electorate as shown in this map right through out, as\na guiding search light as to who are the people who have voted you and who have\nnot and why they are against you and the Sinhala nation and what the 6.9 m\nSinhala people aspire you to do.  The map\nclearly shows that the majority who voted against you are mainly Tamils and\nMuslims and ironically they are the only areas won by the Premadasa camp lead\nby Sajith. That also clearly reflects the UNP communal vote base as Premadasa\nrepresents the old UNP. However there is a large number of voters within this\nareas as well, who are within the 6.9 m, who have voted you. My\nconviction is the 6.9 million want you to make the whole map orange\npermanently.. It is nothing new. It is only re-making what it had been there for\n2500 years since 543 B.C. I have no doubt that all Sinhala people who have voted\nthe dead UNP will also fully approve your Constitution based on the indigenous\nmatrix. Thereafter our dream of forming a government without political parties,\nthe bane British have introduced to this country to divide mother Lanka in to\npieces could also be easily realized. Please treat what I have expressed in\nthis article as a message to you from all those 6.9 million people living all\nover the Island who have made you the President of this country.  Thereafter I expect communal politics to\nvanish from this country<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This map speaks million words on the\nburning aspiration of its people in mute terms to its Head of State, the\nPresident and why they have elected you and what they wanted you to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Mr. President, before starting on\nthat historic mission of Constitution making the following basic issues have to\nbe clarified first, as it is going to be the supreme law of the country, around\nwhich the unified Lankan nation will gather up as one family and take the\ncountry to political, economic and social stability and prosperity once again\nmaking it the granary of the East and the Pearl of the Indian Ocean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a) What is the country for which it\nis going to be made? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

b) Who are the people to whom it is\nmade and what is their cultural legacy? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

c) What are the main objectives of\nthat Constitution that will lay the solid foundation for the future destiny of\nthe nation as the supreme law of the land and finally, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

d) What is the best way to do it? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These problems have to be carefully sorted\nout first. Thereafter having prepared the terms of reference you have to select\nthe best expert scholars in the country who are thoroughly conversant in the\nhistory, religion, system of government, the law, State craft and geopolitics (local,\nregional and International), traditions, customs and social values of the country\nand its people, from the beginning of history to date and their future\naspirations to entrust with that yeoman responsibility. In addition to these\nexperts  three  other experts who know the failures and weaknesses\nof the 1947, 1972 and 1987 Constitutions and modern Constitutional Law and\nInternational Law also have to be included in this Committee in order to make\nit a perfect Constitution that will usher in an era of peace, order and prosperity.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also suggest that you entrust the\ncompiling of all the three Constitutions to the same Committee.  So that there will be uniformity and\nconformity without clashes between objects and interests. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In preparing the terms of reference I\npropose the following format<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having first decided on the format of\nthe Nation\u2019s New Constitution as outlined in a, b, c and d, above the next thing you should do\nis direct the New Committee to make a thorough study of the following subjects\nand prepare a comprehensive document on the following subjects as a\nprerequisite for drafting the Constitution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1The legacy of our state craft from\n543 B.C. to 1815 A.D.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 The ancient legal system in Sri\nLanka <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3The Administrative machinery and\nhierarchy of Officials<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4 Defense and Foreign relations <\/p>\n\n\n\n

5 Religions and Education <\/p>\n\n\n\n

6 Economic, Social and cultural and\nspiritual development <\/p>\n\n\n\n

7 Agriculture, Industry, Ports, Trade\nand shipping, Land, Forests & Irrigation and Environment with special\nreference to the welfare of Animals<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8 The Land, Sea and Air space <\/p>\n\n\n\n

9 Policy regarding citizenship and\nForeigners<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10 Their strengths and weaknesses <\/p>\n\n\n\n

11 What should be adapted from modern\nConstitutions?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(The Committee should be directed to\ngive a list  of items that should be\nincluded from modern Constitutions in the New Constitution as an annex).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Selecting the Members of the\nCommittee<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thereafter having prepared the terms\nof reference you have to select the best expert scholars in the country who are\nthoroughly  conversant in things like its\nhistory, religion, system of government, state craft and geo politics (both\nlocal and International), traditions, customs and social values etc from\nbeginning of history to date. In addition three experts in the 1947, 1972 and\n1987 Constitutions, modern Constitutional Law and International Law also have\nto be included.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then dissolve the Experts Committee\nalready appointed by you to prepare the draft<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a)      For\nnot handing over the draft in time as directed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

b)      As\nit is ill-constituted and it does not have the expertise to prepare a draft of\na Constitution that will meet the requirements of the country and the\naspiration so fth epeople and as such it cannot prepare a draft to meet the\naspirations of the 6.9 million people who voted you<\/p>\n\n\n\n

c)      As\nthere is a greater possibility of rejecting their draft by the people <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For these reasons there is no point\nin proceeding with that Committee wasting public funds.  This is why I request you to dissolve it and\ntell the country that a new Committee to study and draft a new Constitution will\nbe appointed soon as the people want and their draft will be ready before the\nend of next year<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then what\nhappen to the Committee already in place<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Committee you appointed in Sept\nlast year and expected to have the draft by March this year has already\ndefaulted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore considering\nthe inordinate delay in submitting the draft of the Constitution by the\nCommittee already in place, it is very unlikely that it will be ready by\nOctober this year as envisaged by you to put it to the Parliament. Even if it\nis going to be ready by mid-2022, I can assure you that the Constitution\ndrafted by the Present Committee will be definitely rejected by the 6.9 people\nwho had voted you and the government as it will never meet the aspirations and\nthe needs of the people, I vouch for this statement publicly and openly for the\nfollowing reasons.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Why the present Committee cannot do the\nexpected job<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 This Committee will never be able\nto produce a Constitution that will remove the ills of the 3 previous Constitutions\n(1947, 1972 and 1987), which is the top priority of the people, including\nmyself, who voted for you and the Government in to power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 This Committee will never be able\nto produce a Constitution acceptable to the majority, I guess around 80% or\neven more, people since it will not include any provision that meet their\naspirations. For eg the abolition of the 13th A and the Provincial Councils and\nthe Rajiv\/JR Accord of 29th<\/sup> July 198, that was the source of the PCC\n and all other divisive provisions like\nthe Traditional Tamil home land which have  put all of us in to a no return political\nBermuda trough. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3 As this Committee will also  definitely include many Provisions that will\ngo against the Sinhala majority to satisfy the International Community, India,\nTamils and Muslims who cry for separation and self- determination, while\nbetraying the Sinhala majority who voted for \nyou. Because, they are the true Bhoomiputras of this Island. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now look at what happened  on 21st<\/sup>  April 2019 and what is being done in the\nEastern Province and many other places all over the Island like Mawanella, Danakirigala,\nKuragala and many other places in the Eastern Province and what religious and\ncommunal lunatics like  Hisbulla, Dr Lafir\nof the Kurunegala Hospital,  Asad Sali,\nRishard Badurdeen and Rauf  Hakiim  have done. See what happen in Afganistan and even\nin New Zealand. The whole Muslim world is either ISIS or Thaleiban. They want\nto kill all others and create one Muslim world. It is even worse with Tamil who\nare supported by LTTE Diaspora all over the world and India ignited by\nTamilnadu. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The situation within the country is\neven worse. Look at the behavior of men like Sambandan, Vignesvaran, Sumantiram,\nweekly shuttling between the American, .Indian and British Embassies and India carrying\ntales against the Government asking for separation and self-determination and\nparceling out this country belonging to the Sinhala nation. In this backdrop\ndon\u2019t you think it is sheer                                                                      \n madness to include a Tamils and a\nMuslim in this Committee? Don\u2019t you think it is like putting the poultry yard\nin charge of a pack of cunning foxes to take care of the chicken? Now that we\nare a fully independent country, a Republic of our own since 1972, we must\nemphatically and categorically make it very clear that the time of Portuguese,\nDutch and English or their chak golayas<\/em>\nand Tamils and Muslims made Constitutions to this country should end forth\nwith. No should the Tamils and Muslims who are only transitory minorities who\nare looking for greener pastures elsewhere, as the conditions in their own\ncountries like Tamilnadu and Arabian deserts are far from satisfactory. They\nshould opt to either live among the Sinhalese as minorities or get back to\nthose places, from where the hell they have migrated here without trying to rob\nthis heavenly Island, the Traditional Home land and the abode of the Sinhala\nnation for more than 25oo years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a Sinhala Buddhist country\ncertainly anyone who wants to live here should not exceed his or her legitimate\nlimits. We have tolerated and accommodated them throughout history. Not only we\nhave allowed them to live here, we have given the land, our women and\neverything  without any discrimination,\nthough they have never being grateful. Like in any other country in the world,\nthey should behave only as minorities. The Sinhalese are a civilized nation. They\nare always prepared to tolerate anyone so long as they don\u2019t become a headache\nfor them. Both Tamils and Muslims want to be separate nations on our land.\nTamils want to make this country, a Tamilnadu and Muslims want to make it an\nArab country. Therefore obviously if you put a Tamil in this Committee he will\ndefinitely want provisions to meet that end and in the same way a Muslim will\nalso ask for the same provision in the supreme Law Book of the Land of the\nSinhala people. Therefore we hold no Tamil or a Muslim should be appointed to\nthis Committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4 This Committee will also not\ninclude any special provision to protect the birth rights of the Sinhala\nBuddhists in this country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5 This committee will also definitely\npropose additional safeguards to Minorities aimed at reconciliation and human\nrights as they would argue, eroding whatever birth rights of the Sinhalese, the\nBritish forgot to remove before they left the shores of this Island. Let the whole\nworld know that this had been the Home Land of the Sinhala Buddhist and they\nhad been the legitimate Bhoomiputras of this Land who owned it from the\ninception of history or at least for 2500 years from 543 BC. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

6 Above all, in sum, their proposed\nConstitution will be only another sour and salty pickle of the three old\nConstitutions, with few silly changes made here and there to suit the terms of\nreference and advice coming from the Minister of Justice Ali Sabry (imagine a\nhard core Muslim and a National list MP in this Buddhist country) as if\nGothabahya could not find even a puppet Sinhala Buddhist from among the 140 odd\nMPP in his party.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Since all Lawyer Committee\nmembers, both as students and practitioners of that Law are familiar only with the\nRoman-Dutch and English law and it is so even with the other members we can\u2019t\nexpect them to make a Constitution to suite the indigenous Sinhala Buddhist cultural\nmatrix of this country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This outcome is unavoidable, as none of the Committee members is\nconversant with the law of the land. They all are only loyal students of Roman\nDutch Law that had its origin in a far corner of the Occidental European\nContinent. It is neither your fault nor the fault of the Committee members<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The original\nblame for this situation should first go to those who meekly and blindly\naccepted the Soulbury Constitution and all others who followed the same beaten\ntrack as if we were a set of uncivilized aborigines who had no previous\ncivilization.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore I\nthink this is the best opportunity to make a radical change; a complete change\nthat is acceptable to the Boomiputras as they are the real owners of this\ncountry. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this\nbackdrop I would like to make an alternative proposal here for your serious\nconsideration, for the good of the President, the government the country and\nits people at large. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile under the prevailing Covid\n19 pandemic, the economic depression, sky rocketing cost of living and on the\ntop of all that the ongoing other festering problems like numerous\nanti-Government demonstrations organized by various trade unions and the JVP who\nare suspected to have some links with the US strategy of dislodging China from\nSri Lanka, (the way they destroyed Afghanistan by dislodging Russia from it in\n2001), obviously, you want be able to give priority for constitution making\neither. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact it is already a back seat\nissue in the government\u2019s agenda as I see it. But a new Constitution is a\ncrying need to rescue this country from the miserable political and economic abysmal\ndepths in to which it had been pushed by all politicians since 1948.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

New\nConstitution to be written by a New Committee<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore action should be initiated\nfor drafting a new Constitution for the nation as promised in your election\nmanifestoes of 2019 and 2020 as soon as possible, as it will take a long time\nto put out the final draft. . <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have already stated above under a,\nb, c, and d the issues that have to be clarified and a comprehensive document after\nan in depth study of items listed from 1 to 10 under New Committee Above has to\nbe carried out before the New Committee of Experts start to draft the\nConstitution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A completely new Constitution enacted on the native cultural\nmatrix with suitable additions adapted from modern Constitutional\nliterature  to meet the present day needs\nof the  new world  is what the people in the country want.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

However in adapting new legal concepts it must be said that we\nhave to update it without killing the spirit of the native system. But it had\nto be one law for the whole country. The Thesavalamei and all branches of Muslim\nlaw should be immediately abolished. There should also be only one court system\nfor all the people irrespective of one\u2019s religion or ethnicity.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I now give you here a brief description of the evolution of\nthe Sinhale Kingdom from the beginning for the benefit of the makers of the New\nConstitution.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The evolution of the Sinhale Kingdom<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This country as you know\nwas a Sinhala Buddhist Kingdom for 2122 years, in spite of trials and\ntribulations of short lived Indian invasions from time to time both in\nPre-Christian (BC)  and Post-Christian\n(AD) times that were precisely defeated at war by our Kings , this country had\nbeen a Sinhala Kingdom of great fame in the ancient world at least from 543 BC\nto 1815 AD, until the whole country was annexed to the British Empire, for the\nfirst time in its long history, by intrigue manipulated by John Doily\ndocumented as  the Kandyan Convention of\n2nd March 1815. It was an International Agreement signed between two\nIndependent Sovereign countries, the Great Briton on the one hand and Sinhale\non the other. This country never had a written Constitution up to that date or\neven up to 1948, though there were occasional royal edicts, made by the Kings engraved\non rock slabs (Mihintala Sellipiya), stone pillars (Badulu stone pillar) and\ncopper plates (Panaakaduwa) and gold sheets (Vallipuram Gold Plate) in the\nyore. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 543 BC the Sinhale\nKingdom was governed by traditions, customs and conventions molded on the\nprinciples of Vedic traditions, pre- Vijayan traditions and principles of\nBuddhist teaching (after 307.BC) adopted by popular consent. The King in that\nKingdom according to Mahavansa was one with the religion and the people. The\nMahasangha played the role of the guide and preceptor of the nation, guiding\nthe King, Ministers and the people for the good of the country and the people\nand even the animals and the environment \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The country was divided in\nto villages by using geo graphical (natural) features like mountains and rivers\nas boundaries in 427 BC by King Pandukaabhaya. Since 427 BC the village became\nthe basic administrative unit in the Kingdom and the whole country became a\nvillage Kingdom, in other words a conglomeration of villages governed as a\nvillage Kingdom with its capital at Anuradhapura. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thereafter the Island was\ndivided in to three sub-kingdoms called Rhunu, Pihiti and Maya, using Mahaweli,\nDeduru and Walave as the boundaries of the three Subkingdoms, which underwent\nminor changes from time to time. The two Subkingdoms were governed under two\nSub-Kings who came under the control of the King in Anuradhapura as the King of\nthe Island nation.  In 307 Buddhism was\nintroduced to the Island with the advent of Arahat Mahinda during the reign of\nKing Devanampiyatissa. Under his reign the whole country became a Buddhist\nKingdom, the first of its type outside Jambudveepa as India was called at that\ntime) after Asokas Buddhist Kingdom in India and the nation became the Sinhala\nBuddhist Nation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In each village a Buddhist\ntemple was established. It was presided over by a Buddhist monk who became the\nleader, and preceptor of the village folk ever since, both over their spiritual\nand mundane affairs. Not only that, he was also the teacher, physician,\nastrologer and advisor in all matters to his village folk. This social system\nprevailed all over the country until 1815, the year British got the Island\nceded to the British Empire by intrigue. After 1815 Even the British promised\nto rule the country under the Sinhala law and customs and under sec 5 of the\nKandyan Convention they agreed to protect Buddhasasana and all institutions\nconnected with it, being the religion of the native people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However they abrogated this  agreement unilaterally on Nov 21st 1818 by\nRoyal Proclamation on the wake of the first freedom struggle by the natives\ncalled the Uva Uprising (1817-1818) and had their own hegemonic rule thereafter\nup to 1948 under Royal Proclamations and enactments passed in the Legislative\nCouncil 1833 and the Executive Council 193i under the direct control of the\nBritish Parliament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 It has been said that we got Independence in\n1948. This in my opinion is a first class myth. The Soulbury Constitution under\nwhich the Island was governed up to date is another British fraud and a\nwell-designed colonial trap to perpetuate their control eternally over the\naffairs of this Island under the same old British Westminster system of\nGovernment, deceptively designed by Ivor Jennings. The foundation of this\nsystem of government is the Greeko-Roman and Germen  traditions to which we are now accustomed to\nbe governed for the past 69 years as a nation. The Law that prevailed in this\ncountry during this period was the Roman Dutch Law and it has come to stay as\nthe Law of the land for all purposes. As such a sudden change over from that\nBread and Butter\u201d of the legal world is almost unthinkable for our Westernized\ngeneration. So naturally they will revolt against this proposal. In order to\nrebut that argument I give here a bit of a revelation to show how small the Roman\u2013Dutch\nlaw looks in our context when compared with our great and long native\ntraditions of the yore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The myth of the legitimacy and supremacy of the Roman Dutch\nLaw        in Sri Lanka <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roman Dutch Law under\nwhich we are governed at present (a Law based on Germanic customs and Roman\nLaw) was introduced to the Maritime Provinces of the Island by the Dutch in\n1652 with their taking over from the Portuguese who occupied it from 1505.\nBritish took over the Maritime Provinces in 1797 from Dutch and declared Roman\nDutch law as the Law of the Maritime Provinces for the first time in 1799 by\nRoyal Proclamation by Governor Francis North.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kandyan Provinces were ceded to\nGreat Briton in 1815 by intrigue and deception hatched by D\u2019Oyly by the Kandyan\nConvention between the two countries by which British agreed again deceptively\nto govern this country Sinhale (Ceylon, as they named it in their language,\nsimply meaning \u2018the Land of the Sinhala people\u2019) according to the law of the\nLand with special provisions to protect Buddhism and institutions connected\ntherewith (under sec 5). But this convention was unilaterally abrogated by\nGovernor Brownwrig by a Royal Proclamation issued on 21st of November 1818 in\nthe wake of the first Freedom struggle by the Sinhalese under Keppetipola\nDisava and thereafter the country was governed under Royal proclamations one\nafter another and Orders issued by British Governors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However Roman Dutch Law was\nintroduced to the Kandyan Provinces only in 1852 in the wake of the 1848 second\nFreedom Struggle (Matale Rebellion as they called it) under order No 5 by the\nGovernor George Anderson.  Thereafter the\nIsland was governed by the British under laws declared in Royal Proclamations\nby Governors and a Legislative Council set up in 1833 and an Executive Council (1931)\nup to 1948, under their full control to suit their hegemonic  rule of the Colony. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 History of Roman Dutch\nLaw in Sri Lanka<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore actually the\nRoman Dutch Law has been used in our legal system all over the Island only\nafter 1852. As such the total number of years it has been in use up to date\n(2021) is 169 years only. This in brief summarizes the short history of Roman\nDutch Law in Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how silly it is to\nargue that a 169 year old legal system is more sacrosanct and irreplaceable than\na 2122 year old native system that was in force on this land. Ours has deeper\nroots and it was an inherent part of the Sinhala Buddhist Civilization in our\nwhole social fabric. What is more important is it is firmly and deeply\nestablished in our hearts and minds as a nation for two millennia and has its\nroots in Buddhist Tri Pitaka sometimes much older than the Greek and Roman\ntraditions as evinced from the following quotation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marquess of Zetland Viceroy\nof India in his introduction to the Legacy of India has stated as follows<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some interesting quotes\non Democracy in Buddhism\u201d,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is indeed to the\nBuddhist that we have to turn for an account of the manner in which the affairs\nof early examples of representative self-governing institutions were conducted.\nIt may have come as a surprise to many to learn that in the assemblies of Buddhist\nin India two thousand years and more ago are to be found the rudiments of our\nown parliamentary practices of the present day. The dignity of the assembly was\npreserved by the appointment of a special officer the embryo of our Speaker in\nour House of Commons. A second officer was appointed whose duty was to see that\nwhen necessary a quorum was secured-the proto type of Chief Whip in our own\nsystem. A member initiating business did so in the form of a motion which was\nthen open to discussion. In some cases, this was done once only, in others\nthree times anticipating the practice of the Parliament in requiring that a\nbill be read a third time before it becomes law. If discussions disclosed a\ndifference of opinion that was decided by the vote of the majority, the voting\nbeing by ballot\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how can you say Roman\nDutch Law is irreplaceable and much more important than our own system that was\nin full force on this soil for 2122 years under which a glorious Kingdom that\nwas in par with the Roman Empire in the past, more than 2 millennia ago. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those who argue against\nour indigenous systems are doing so, I think for four reasons. First, their\nignorance of the existence of a native  legal\nsystem; Second again their ignorance on the value of our own traditions and\nLaws. Third, their servility and superiority notion attached to the European\ntraditions which most post -colonial generation people are accustomed to and\nfourth, their apathy and laziness to dig in to our past and finally their\nhabitual underestimation of four own traditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following evidence\nfurther confirms the recognition accorded to ancient Lanka and its traditions\nand Laws among other nations. In the reign of King Bhaatikaabhaya (38-68 Ad)\nhis envoy who was sent to Rome was seated next to Augustus Ceaser the  Roman Emperor, on his right, when the two\nBritish Kings Karadock and Karattakak in exile as war prisoners were parading\nin front of Augustus Ceaser at the public square. (Source Plyni) This shows the\nhigh recognition accorded to Sri Lanka by Rome in its glorious days. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore I invite you\nto read the five lectures by Prof K.N.Jaaytilaka on The Fundamental Principles\nof International Law and Buddhism\u201d delivered at the Hague Academy in 1967, to\nunderstand how old and how deep our legal system had been.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 In addition I would also like the New\nCommittee to make a deep study of works of earl Modder, Armour, John D’Oyly,\nand Sawyer  and T.b.Panabokka and\nLamamesure and Legal Philosophy of Medieval Sinhale by Harischandara Wihetunga.   I have no doubt that these sources will help\nthe New Committee to dig out what is buried under sand. It is the conviction\nthat matters here. I would like to remind the Sinhala Adage \u2018Hita Atnam pata kudada<\/em>\u201d in this context.\nLet us think great of our own heritage and strive forward with\ndetermination and fortitude and work hard day and night until we reach the\ndesired goal. That is how all great nations are found in world history. Let us\nstop degrading and despising ourselves. Isn\u2019t it like spitting while you are\nlooking up?  It falls on your own face. Isn\u2019t\nit?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. President although I\naddress you this note please treat this message as a one coming from all those\n6.9 million who have voted and worked hard foryou.  In conclusion I would like to remind you of a\nfamous saying Mao Tsetung has once said it is with the same hands that put you\non the thrown that the people will again lift and throw you on the ground\u201d This\nhappens to all politicians who don\u2019t listen to people who put them there and\nwho don\u2019t keep their promises. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even if you also evade or\nneglect this golden opportunity for personal or other reasons, as all the\npoliticians who are supposed to have ruled this country since 1948, I am\nconfident that someone will do it someday, either through Constitutional or\nunconstitutional methods.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But as a person who was\ndreaming for your victory day and night still I like to see you do it so that I\nalso can die happily as a man who has contributed in my own way for that noble mission..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. Sudath Gunasekara Retired Secretary to PM Sirimavo Bandaranayaka, Part 1 Dr. Sudath Gunasekara Retired Secretary to PM Sirimavo Bandaranayaka, Past President Sri Lanka Administrative Service Association (1991 Nov 1994 nov) and President Mahanuwara Sinhala Baudha Jestha Purawesiyange Sanvidhanaya The Preamble  (The task before you is to give a new lease of life, to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-117898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dr-sudath-gunasekara"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117898","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=117898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117898\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}