{"id":84347,"date":"2018-12-24T08:25:03","date_gmt":"2018-12-24T15:25:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=84347"},"modified":"2018-12-24T08:25:03","modified_gmt":"2018-12-24T15:25:03","slug":"ms-wrapped-up-in-contradictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2018\/12\/24\/ms-wrapped-up-in-contradictions\/","title":{"rendered":"MS wrapped up in contradictions"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Shivanthi Ranasinghe\u00a0Courtesy Ceylon Today<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

Maithripala Sirisena\u2019s speech, made after re-appointing Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister, on 16 December and thereby ending the 51-day impasse, was hailed as great by many of the Rajapaksa supporters. The reason being, the severe dressing down of the newly re-appointed premier received. However, those with a keener hearing were not as impressed. Throughout the speech, MS assumes a portrait of innocence, as he pushed all the ills of the Yahapalana Government onto RW\u2019s lap. In doing so, he even contradicted himself.<\/p>\n

MS claimed that during the Yahapalana Government\u2019s tenure, numbers of worthy objectives were achieved. One of these he listed was the re-establishment of democracy through Independent Commissions through the 19th Amendment. Afterwards, however, he spent a considerable time in the over 40 minute tirade to list the issues wrought on by these Commissions.<\/p>\n

Constitutional Councils<\/strong><\/p>\n

He noted that from the appointment of the Judges to that of the IGP must now be done through the Constitutional Councils, but whose independence, apolitical and fairness is questionable. MS observed that he had come under attack from the Judiciary for bypassing the senior-most and deserving to Judiciary posts to appoint juniors. However, he explained that all those names he is being accused of having overlooked had been sent to the Councils; for their recommendation. It is therefore the Councils that had rejected the names, to recommend only those who they prefer.<\/p>\n

The methods these Councils have adopted to make their recommendations are thus, questionable as to whether those are moderate.<\/p>\n

This is a very serious allegation with grave implications, which were subsequently revealed when MS explained his reasons for the 26 October and the decisions he took in the subsequent 51 days. It was very clear, he noted, that a deep political dispute was brewing in the country. Therefore, on the advice of renowned President\u2019s Counsellors in our country, he took the actions he did. He stressed that none of the actions leading to 26 October or afterwards, was taken haphazardly or impulsively by him.<\/p>\n

His intention was far from violating the Constitution, but to reaffirm the people\u2019s mandate to govern, he insisted. Even from within the UNP emanated the call for a General Election to send home those who are corrupt in the Yahapalana Government. Given this growing dissent, MS explained that he wanted to give the decision over to the 11 million voters, but the Courts restricted it to the opinion of a mere 122 lawmakers.<\/p>\n

Therefore, it is clear that the Constitutional Councils that were created by the 19th Amendment has given rise to a parallel governing body that is not answerable to the people. This has effectively isolated the legislature from the country\u2019s governing machinery. The legislature comes to Parliament with a mandate from the people. However, the members of these Councils are neither responsible nor answerable to the people. Majority of these members are appointed to the Councils by the Premier and the Leader of the Opposition.<\/p>\n

Theoretically this seems ideal as institutions, especially the Judiciary and the Police, becomes free from political interference. However, during these last 51 days, as well as in many other instances during the Yahapalana Government, the official Opposition was very much in cahoots with the government. Both worked towards a neo-liberal, separatist agenda.<\/p>\n

Opposition\u2019s role<\/strong><\/p>\n

TNA as the official Opposition of the Yahapalana Government must be the only Opposition in the world that has worked so hard to reinstate an ousted government. Earlier, TNA is on record beseeching Narendra Modi to protect the Yahapalana Government. If one thought this as a very strange request from the Opposition, the past 51 days would have made clear that the Yahapalana Government was without a recognised Opposition, which is in contravention of democracy that demands both a government and an equally strong Opposition.<\/p>\n

Without a recognized true Opposition, the checks and balances that would be ensured by the Opposition had been perverted. It is this perversion that is reflected in the Constitutional Councils today. Instead of a healthy balance representing the Government and its Opposition, what we have today is obviously one viewpoint only, which the people are rejecting.<\/p>\n

Even though the lawmakers are being rejected by the people, their ideologists are holding the control panel that determines who gets appointed, promoted or transferred within the government machinery. In short, only those holding to a certain ideology or those seen to be sympathetic to that ideology would be allowed to administer the country.<\/p>\n

This situation is worse than an invasion, for there is no perceptible enemy to discern and fight against – only a set of key government officials who seem to be driven by an agenda of their own.<\/p>\n

MS cannot, absolve himself from this dangerous situation that has befallen our country. When the 19th Amendment was brought into Parliament, many Constitutional experts warned against it. They foretold the very calamities that we are experiencing today. Yet on the day this Amendment was to be taken for a vote in Parliament, MS himself came to the Parliamentary complex and personally impressed upon the members of the SLFP, that is being headed by him, to vote for it. It was on his insistence that the Amendment was passed with only Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekera representing Ampara voting against it.<\/p>\n

After the 2015 General Elections, it was MS who appointed the TNA as the Opposition despite that alliance only representing 16 seats from just two sparsely populated provinces. He categorically refused to acknowledge the then Joint Opposition that had about 55 seats, representing eight out of the nine provinces, despite their written request. Furthermore, the 55 members who wished to be recognised as a separate group were not even honoured with adequate time to speak in Parliament, which seriously violated the rights of their voters. Very strangely, not a single advocator who took cudgels for democracy in the past 70 days perceived anything amiss in this arrangement.<\/p>\n

MS contradicts himself when he claimed that the reason for the Rajapaksa administration to fall unprecedentedly was because of the serious lapses and corruption of that government. He said that according to financial experts the Central Bank Bond scams were taking place since around 2007-8 and the cost to the country is over 1,000 billion (presumably in Rupees).
\nThese were allegations initiated by RW in the aftermath of the 2015 Bond scam. Ajith Cabraal as the Central Bank Governor during the Rajapaksa administration has openly challenged these allegations. Quite unlike Arjuna Mahendran, who MS claimed was appointed on RW\u2019s insistence Cabraal has shown his willingness to corporate with any investigation. Mahendran on the other hand is nowhere to be found. By reiterating the charges nevertheless, MS contradicts himself when he reappoints MR on 26 October. It makes no sense to yo-yo the administration between two sets of thieves.<\/p>\n

MS\u2019s speech cannot be applauded, just because RW got a well deserved ticking off, for he carefully avoids assuming any responsibility for the Yahapalana mishaps. He blamed RW for agreeing to the international binding to hurl our war heroes before war crime tribunals when the terrorists who committed grave atrocities are living freely in those very countries. While RW is guilty as charged, but when questioning what actions did MS take to undo it and the answer them, it is, nothing. Likewise, in all other instances RW was only able to act as he did was because MS allowed him. MS\u2019s unacceptable excuse is he allowed it as a mark of gratitude.<\/p>\n

In this last lapse of his tenure, MS must understand that the executive powers he holds cannot be equated to a pair of boxer shorts to be lent as a mark of gratitude. He is only the executor of the people\u2019s executive powers and must thus, guard it due sanctity. He must express any personal gratitude in his own personal capacity.<\/p>\n

ranasingheshivanthi@gmail.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Shivanthi Ranasinghe\u00a0Courtesy Ceylon Today Maithripala Sirisena\u2019s speech, made after re-appointing Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister, on 16 December and thereby ending the 51-day impasse, was hailed as great by many of the Rajapaksa supporters. The reason being, the severe dressing down of the newly re-appointed premier received. However, those with a keener hearing were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84347","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=84347"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84347\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}