{"id":53002,"date":"2016-03-16T15:08:39","date_gmt":"2016-03-16T22:08:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=53002"},"modified":"2016-03-16T15:08:39","modified_gmt":"2016-03-16T22:08:39","slug":"a-day-that-will-live-in-infamy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2016\/03\/16\/a-day-that-will-live-in-infamy\/","title":{"rendered":"A DAY THAT WILL LIVE IN INFAMY"},"content":{"rendered":"

DHARSHAN WEERASEKERA<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

The resolution converting Parliament to a \u2018Constitutional Assembly\u2019 was adopted unanimously on March 9th<\/sup>.\u00a0 With it, in my opinion, the Joint Opposition lost legitimacy as an entity capable of representing Sinhala Buddhist interests.\u00a0 It is said that all things happen for a reason, and perhaps what has happened is for the best.<\/p>\n

The Sinhala Buddhists must realize that they are on their own.\u00a0 They cannot rely on coalitions of various political parties to protect their interests:\u00a0 they must build a Movement and a political party for themselves, based on a core set of principles reflective of their identity, and their particular social and political aspirations.<\/p>\n

As the Movement gains strength, big-name politicians will of course join it, but the point is that the Movement has to be independent of those politicians in the sense that the long-term interests of the Sinhala Buddhists are not hurt if any of the said politicians leave, are imprisoned, or betray the \u2018cause\u2019.<\/p>\n

In this article (which will be my last on this subject because it is too depressing) I shall briefly repeat what I think is wrong about what happened on the 9th<\/sup>, discuss the type of Constitution that is going to be imposed on us, and what I think will happen afterwards.<\/p>\n

a) THE TRAGEDY OF THE 9TH<\/strong><\/p>\n

What is wrong with what happened on the 9th<\/sup> can be summarized as follows.\u00a0 In the Parliamentary elections of August 2015, the Sinhala Buddhists voted overwhelmingly for the UPFA thinking that under that party their interests will be safe.<\/p>\n

Nowhere in the UPFA manifesto was there a hint that if UPFA candidates failed to win a majority of seats in Parliament, they reserved a right to join their rivals in the UNP and form a Government.\u00a0 But, that\u2019s exactly what happened.\u00a0 Thus, the franchise of a majority of persons who voted for the UPFA, who as I said were overwhelmingly Sinhala Buddhist, was blatantly abrogated.<\/p>\n

A Parliament consisting of a significant number of MP\u2019s who have betrayed the trust placed in them by their voters does not have the moral authority to contemplate bringing even amendments to the existing Constitutions let alone frame a new Constitution.\u00a0 A Constitution is the Supreme Law of the Land, and as such the law to which the aforesaid voters who were betrayed will be ultimately subject.<\/p>\n

It might be argued that the voters who were betrayed will get their chance when the new Constitution is submitted to a referendum.\u00a0 That argument is valid only if we suppose the referendum is going to be genuine.\u00a0 I think most Sinhala Buddhists now realize that the referendum, if and when it is held, will be rigged.\u00a0 So, they\u2019re finished.<\/p>\n

Under the circumstances, the Joint Opposition had a duty to stall the vote until the Sinhala Buddhists could organize.\u00a0 At the very minimum, the Joint Opposition should have placed on record the injustice done to the Sinhala Buddhists at the August 2015 elections.\u00a0 But, they voted without a whimper of protest.\u00a0 So, that\u2019s that.<\/p>\n

b) THE TYPE OF CONSTITUTION THAT WILL BE FOISTED ON THE SINHALAS<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is suggested that the new Constitution will follow the Austrian model.\u00a0 I\u2019ve even heard the Icelandic Constitution being suggested as a model.\u00a0 The Prime Minister, if I\u2019m not mistaken, has shown a fondness for the Litchavi Constitution of Buddhist lore.\u00a0 Some people say it\u2019ll be the Indian model that is finally adopted.\u00a0 In my view, all this is nonsense.<\/p>\n

It is not in dispute that the country is now being run according to the wishes and needs of the U.S., U.K. and India.\u00a0 Of those three, the U.S. is in charge, because the Americans don\u2019t like to play second fiddle to anyone, and indeed don\u2019t have to.\u00a0 So, when it comes to a new Constitution, the Government will do what the U.S. tells it to do.<\/p>\n

I think most people will agree that, generally speaking, the U.S. (and its two partners) want to achieve two goals with the new Sri Lanka Constitution:\u00a0 one, to allow maximum infiltration and exploitation of the country by foreign elements including \u2018investors\u2019; and two, set the ground-work for a division of the country by giving Tamils control over the North and East.<\/p>\n

If we start with the premise that the specifics of the Constitution will follow what the U.S. more or less dictates, the question is, \u2018What is the model the U.S. will want to impose on Sri Lanka in order to achieve the two goals mentioned earlier?\u2019\u00a0 In my view, the Americans have a range of what I like to call \u2018Slave Constitutions\u2019 from which to choose\u2014Constitutions which the Americans have in one way or another helped draft.<\/p>\n

By \u2018Slave Constitution\u2019 what I mean is a Constitution designed to enslave a nation and subjugate it permanently to U.S. interests, while maintaining the fa\u00e7ade that the locals actually have some control over their destiny.\u00a0 The latest and most advanced version of such a Constitution is the Iraqi Constitution, and in my view this is what will be foisted on Sri Lanka also.<\/p>\n

I recall that the original version of the 19th<\/sup> Amendment, before some of its egregious clauses were removed, contained key features of the Iraqi Constitution.\u00a0 (See, my article, \u2018Does the 19th<\/sup> Amendment make the SL Constitution remarkably similar to the Iraq Constitution?\u2019 lankaweb.com<\/em>, 31-3-2015).\u00a0 If I\u2019m not mistaken, some of the same worthies who drafted the 19th<\/sup> Amendment are in charge of drafting the new Constitution.<\/p>\n

I shall briefly discuss four main features of the Iraqi Constitution, and then describe the extensions of those features that I think will appear in the new Sri Lanka Constitution.<\/p>\n

First, The Iraqi Constitution sets up a Federal System, and explicitly recognizes Kurdistan as an autonomous region entitled to have its own Constitution, subject to some of the overall powers of the Federal Constitution.\u00a0 I think this particular feature will be replicated in the new Sri Lanka Constitution, in this case with the Tamils being given control over the North and East.<\/p>\n

Second, there is a President under the Iraqi Constitution, but he\u2019s just a figurehead.\u00a0 For instance, he is supposed to be a \u2018symbol of national unity\u2019 and so on, but doesn\u2019t have any power to enforce anything.\u00a0 I predict the new Sri Lanka Constitution will create a President that is almost a word-for-word replication of the Iraqi model.<\/p>\n

I shall now move to the most important component of the Iraqi Constitution, namely, the Council of Ministers (equivalent to a Cabinet) headed by the Prime Minister.\u00a0 This is the unit with real power in the country.\u00a0 It is worthwhile delving into this unit in a little more detail.<\/p>\n

Under the Iraqi Constitution, the Prime Minster and the Cabinet of Ministers, among other things, plan and execute the general policies of the State, including overseeing all ministries, propose Bills, propose the general budget, recommend appointments to the highest offices of the State, and negotiate treaties.<\/p>\n

The Prime Minister is the nominee of the largest bloc in the Council of Representatives (i.e. the Iraqi Parliament) which means that he commands the support of the majority in Parliament.\u00a0 So, there\u2019s really no question of the Bills proposed by the Council of Ministers being rejected when they get to the Council of Representatives.<\/p>\n

In other words, under the Iraqi Constitution, the Executive Branch and the Legislative Branch are seamlessly blended:\u00a0 the Executive generates the policies of State and proposes the laws to carry out those policies, and the legislature dutifully passes those laws.\u00a0 If there\u2019s any dissent it is only for cosmetic purposes:\u00a0 it doesn\u2019t have any real impact on the final outcome.<\/p>\n

At the very start of the Iraqi Constitution one finds a statement to the effect that the Constitution shall be guided by the principle of separation of powers.\u00a0 But in reality there is no such separation:\u00a0 the PM and the Council of Ministers have carte blanche<\/em> to do more or less whatever they want.<\/p>\n

The only drawback for the PM is that he can lose his job if he loses the support of the majority bloc in Council of Representatives.\u00a0 That means he can be replaced at the whim of the Council of Representatives (or of any foreign power with enough leverage over members of the Council to get them to withdraw their support for the PM) without having to go for fresh elections.<\/p>\n

(It should be noted that the above is how the Americans saw to it that former Iraqi PM Nouri Al Maliki was replaced by the present chap, when it was felt that Maliki was too close to the Iranians.)<\/p>\n

In short, the Iraqi system is designed to allow maximum control of the country by a small group of people (Council of Ministers) who are in turn under the thumb of the Prime Minster.\u00a0 The PM, in turn, is under the control of any foreign power with the means and the resources to manipulate the majority bloc in the Council of Representatives.\u00a0 To make a long story short, I predict the Americans will ensure that this system is replicated in its entirety in the new Sri Lanka Constitution.<\/p>\n

I shall finally turn to the judiciary.\u00a0 The Iraqi Constitution creates a Supreme Court, which is to say the Iraqi Supreme Court is anchored in the Constitution itself.\u00a0 This is one of the few good features of that Constitution.\u00a0 Precisely because this feature is good (i.e. ordinary citizens might have at least a remote chance of challenging legislation that encroaches on their rights) it will not be included in the new Sri Lanka Constitution.<\/p>\n

Instead, the present arrangement, where the judicial power of the people is reposed in Parliament, will continue, along with the provisions of Article 80(3) which will preclude challenges to legislation after such legislation is enacted.\u00a0 That means members of the public will have just one week to challenge a proposed Bill after it is placed on the order Paper of Parliament, and after that it\u2019s all over.<\/p>\n

Along with the aforesaid elements, I also predict that a \u2018Constitutional Court\u2019 will be introduced with exclusive jurisdiction to adjudicate on Constitutional issues.\u00a0 This will be hailed as a brilliant innovation by the academics and assorted \u2018intellectuals\u2019 who will be trotted out at the right time to endorse the new Constitution, but will in truth deal a death-blow to even the limited vibrancy of Constitutional jurisprudence in this country at present (the result of the limitation placed by Article 80(3) mentioned above).<\/p>\n

The advantage to the Government of a \u2018Constitutional Court\u2019 is that once a group of political appointees are put into it (or it is packed with Tamils and Muslims under the bogus claim of increasing minority \u2018representation\u2019) the Government can ensure that the interpretations it wants are always forthcoming.<\/p>\n

So, for instance, suppose the Government wants to start a Hybrid or a Special Court to try our soldiers for war crimes.\u00a0 A member of the public or even one of the soldiers concerned challenges the proposal, and asks the Constitutional Court for a ruling on whether the proposed court is compatible with the Constitution:\u00a0 Presto<\/em> will come the answer:\u00a0 \u2018Of course it is compatible!\u2019\u00a0 It\u2019ll be the same with questions over federalism.<\/p>\n

To sum up, then, the aforesaid farce, masquerading as a \u2018Constitution,\u2019 is what is going to be foisted on the Sinhalas.<\/p>\n

WHAT WILL HAPPEN AFTERWARDS?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Given what I have described above as the disaster that is about to come down on the heads of the Sinhalas, it is natural if they were to think along the following lines: \u2018All we have to do is hang in there for four more years, when the elections come around, defeat this bunch of rascals ruining the country at present, throw their sorry excuse for a \u2018Constitution\u2019 in the trash, form a Government of our own people, enact a genuine Constitution, tell the minorities \u2018its our way or the highway,\u2019 and go from there.\u2019<\/p>\n

In my view, the above is where the Sinhalas are wrong:\u00a0 there will be no elections. \u00a0The Government will pull a \u2018\u201982 (i.e. extend its term by way of a referendum) or in some other way postpone elections.\u00a0 I believe this will happen primarily for the following reason.<\/p>\n

It appears that the Americans have made a policy decision that Sri Lanka is strategically important for them.\u00a0 This is different from the situation from even a few years ago.\u00a0 For instance, in 2007, then U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka Mr. Jeffery Lundstead is on record as saying:\u00a0 \u2018The U.S. has no significant strategic interests in Sri Lanka.\u2019[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

In contrast, the following is the assessment of Sri Lanka by a high-ranking U.S. Official\u2014in this case the U.S. Navy Commander, and head of U.S. Pacific Command\u2014in a report submitted to the House Armed Services Committee in February 2016:<\/p>\n

\u2018President Sirisena, elected in January, is serious about addressing Sri Lanka\u2019s human rights issues.\u00a0 We have an opportunity to expand U.S. interests with Sri Lanka\u2014Asia\u2019s oldest democracy, and will proceed deliberately as progress is made.\u00a0 Given Sri Lanka\u2019s strategic location, it is in America\u2019s interest to increase military collaboration and cooperation.\u2019[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

To repeat, the present reality is that the Americans have made a policy decision that Sri Lanka is important to their strategic interests.\u00a0 My point is this.\u00a0 Once Americans decide that a particular country is strategically important, they will do everything in their power to bring that country under their control, and to maintain that control over the long haul.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

To turn to Sri Lanka, the Americans are not idiots:\u00a0 they won\u2019t go to the trouble of imposing a new Constitution on the country (one that gives them everything they want) only to see it thrown into the trash-bin in four years.\u00a0 So, they will order their local puppets to postpone elections, and the latter will have no choice but to comply.<\/p>\n

What will happen once the elections are postponed?\u00a0 Only one thing can happen: a general uprising of the Sinhalas.\u00a0 In my view, this is exactly what the Americans want because it will give them the chance to order the local puppets to carry out a promiscuous slaughter.\u00a0 (I presume that in four years the Army, which has traditionally been an institution of national defence, will have been \u2018reformed\u2019 enough to be unleashed on the local population)<\/p>\n

In short, the Americans will use the uprising as an excuse to break the back of the Sinhalas one and for all, so that the Sinhalas will never again pose a significant threat to their (i.e. the Americans\u2019) plans for the island.\u00a0 The bad news is that the Americans are masters at this particular tactic.\u00a0 Their list of successes is as impressive as it is harrowing:\u00a0 the crushing of the Filipino resistance following the Spanish-American war, (conservative estimate of the native casualties:\u00a0 220,000)[4]<\/a>;<\/p>\n

The \u2018counter insurgency\u2019 in Indonesia which brought Suharto to power after the extermination of the Communists in that country (conservative estimate of casualties:\u00a0 500,000)[5]<\/a>; East Timor (American assisted invasion and occupation of East Timor by Indonesia, estimate of native casualties, 200,000)[6]<\/a>; Invasion and occupation of Iraq (conservative estimate of local casualties:\u00a0 500,000)[7]<\/a>.\u00a0 And the list goes on.<\/p>\n

To make a long story short, in my view, something like the above will happen in Sri Lanka also.\u00a0 A critic might say, But will Sri Lankan \u2018leaders,\u2019 rascals though they may be, actually allow something like the above?\u00a0 Most of these \u2018leaders\u2019 are from the Sinhala Heartland, or have connections to it.\u00a0 Is it reasonable to suppose that they will unleash wholesale violence on their own people?\u2019 In my view they will, for two reasons.<\/p>\n

One, once the violence starts, it will gain a momentum of its own because the \u2018leaders\u2019 will be fearful that if the Sinhala Buddhists ever gain the upper hand, they will put their tormentors (i.e. the said \u2018leaders\u2019) before firing squads.\u00a0 So the only way to avoid that fate is to win at any cost, which means to keep on killing.<\/p>\n

The other reason is what appears to be an endemic element of the psychology of violence, particularly of mass killing:\u00a0 when one starts down that path, it is easier to advance, rather than to cease and return.\u00a0 We are reminded of Macbeth\u2019s<\/em> words:<\/p>\n

I am in blood <\/em><\/p>\n

Stept in so far that,<\/em><\/p>\n

Should I wade no more,<\/em><\/p>\n

Returning were as tedious as go o\u2019er<\/em><\/p>\n

Such then is my grim forecast.\u00a0 I sincerely hope none of this will come to pass, but if it does, the Joint Opposition should know that its servile act on the 9th<\/sup> March is what helped set it all up.<\/p>\n

Dharshan Weerasekera is an Attorney-at-Law.\u00a0 He is the author of two books:\u00a0 The UN\u2019s Relentless Pursuit of Sri Lanka (2013), and, The UN\u2019s Subversion of International Law:\u00a0 The Sri Lanka Story (2015)<\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[1]<\/a>\u2018U.S. Aid to Sri Lanka declined since 2005, now halted,\u2019 Asian Tribune<\/em>, 24 July 2011<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Statement of Admiral Harry B. Harris Jr., U. S. Navy Commander, U.S. Pacific Command, on U.S. Pacific Command posture, 24 February 2016, www.docs.gov<\/a>. It should be noted that in the said report Sri Lanka is classified as a \u2018Partner\u2019 of the U.S., to my knowledge the first time that has been done by US pacific Command.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> It appears that elements of the apparatus to maintain control over Sri Lanka has already been put in place, with for instance the launching of the \u2018US-Sri Lanka Partnership Dialogue\u2019 an annual powwow for key foreign ministry officals and their Washington counterparts.\u00a0 (The relevant question is, \u2018Partnership\u2019 for what<\/em>?)\u00a0 In my view, forums such as this are ideal settings for the Americans to convey the necessary instructions to the Sri Lankans.\u00a0 According to the newspapers, the inaugural session of this \u2018Dialogue\u2019 was held on February 26, 2010. \u00a0See, \u2018US to support Lanka\u2019s Constitutional Reforms,\u2019 Daily Mirror<\/em>, 2 March 2016.\u00a0 Coincidentally, the Government, within less than two weeks of the said \u2018Dialogue,\u2019 rushed to initiate the vote on the \u2018Constitutional Assembly\u2019, for instance by agreeing to the amendments suggested to the related resolution by the Joint Opposition and Sirisena\u2019s SLFP\u2019ers, something that had been stalling the Constitution-making process since early January.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> www.en.wikipedia.org<\/a><\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman, The Washington Connection and Third World Fascism<\/em>, South End, Boston, 1979, p. 208<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> See \u2018East Timor:\u00a0 Acceptable Slaughters,\u2019 Joe Nunes, www.mega.nu<\/a><\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> See\u00a0 \u2018Half-million Iraqis died in the war-New Study says,\u2019 Dan Vergano, www.nationalgeographic.com<\/a>, 16 October 2013<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DHARSHAN WEERASEKERA The resolution converting Parliament to a \u2018Constitutional Assembly\u2019 was adopted unanimously on March 9th.\u00a0 With it, in my opinion, the Joint Opposition lost legitimacy as an entity capable of representing Sinhala Buddhist interests.\u00a0 It is said that all things happen for a reason, and perhaps what has happened is for the best. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-forum"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53002","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=53002"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53002\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}