Archive for the ‘18th Amendment’

THE JUDGMENT OF HISTORY

All MPs as well as Supreme Court judges of Sri Lanka should watch Stanley Kramer’s 1961 film ‘Judgment at Nuremberg’ before the vote on the 18th Amendment. It tells the story of the trial of four German judges guilty of complicity with the Nazi regime. One of them, Ernst Janning, was once a champion of justice, yet played a major role in turning the German legal system into an instrument of Nazism. How could these eminent and apparently decent men have been complicit in the ghastly atrocities committed by the Nazi regime? The mystery is solved only when Janning makes a statement, showing how actions which at first seemed trivial and innocuous – like swearing an oath of allegiance to the Nazis – lead to deeper and deeper entanglement with the regime. Even when the full horror of Hitler’s agenda became clear to them, they justified staying at their posts with the argument that they were trying to prevent matters…

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The pathetic capitulation of the organised Left in Sri Lanka (Updated with statement from Leftist leaders)

Organised Left parties in 2005, “THE Group of Five Left Parties (Lanka Sama Samaja Party, Communist Party of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Mahajana Party, Desha Vimukthi Janatha Party and Democratic Left Front) consider that the Manifesto of Presidential Candidate – Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse titled “Mahinda Chinthana” a pro-people manifesto, although these parties have certain reservations in regard to some of its contents, the parties said in a statement issued yesterday. The statement said: “The Five Left Parties are specially appreciative of the pledges contained in the “Mahinda Chinthana” in respect of strengthening democracy. The commitment to abolish the executive presidential system and to draft a new constitution is one of its important aspects.” Emphasis ours. Vasudeva Nanayakkara in May 2010, “The socialist parties are opposed to the rescinding of the constitutional restriction for an incumbent president to contest for more than two terms. The Common Left Front comprising the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), Sri Lanka Communist Party (SLCP) and…

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Resisting the Loss of Citizenship in Sri Lanka

The 18th Amendment I don’t know whether I’m more angry or sad at the way in which patently undemocratic constitutional amendments are being rushed into law. I feel as if I’m watching my country being strangled, slowly, in the grip of self-serving and short-sighted men who have little love for Sri Lanka or its people. I don’t believe that the changes to the constitution will immediately make themselves felt in our daily lives. In some ways, the will simply legalize many unconstitutional practices that are currently in place. However, the changes in law will solidify these and establish new, even lower norms for the way Sri Lanka is governed. My fear is that by the time the implications of the proposed 18th Amendment will become fully apparent, it is likely that many of our fellow-citizens, our friends, co-workers, relative and frighteningly perhaps our children may have come to have such low expectations of their rights as citizens that they can’t…

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What are we waiting for?

There is no doubt that the proposed constitutional amendment is merely a means of consolidating the dynastic ambitions of the Rajapakses. And clearly, the largest opposition, the UNP is quietly imploding and incapable of fulfilling its responsibilities and it is futile to hope that the amendment will be defeated in parliament. At this moment, probably the most crucial moment in Sri Lanka’s contemporary history, the Leader of the Opposition is out of the country on a ‘private visit’! This surely underscores his utter lack of concern for the good of this country, his political ineptitude and his callousness. Certainly, we cannot look to him for inspiration. Mahinda Rajapakse could not have asked for a better Leader of the Opposition. And Rauf Hakeem’s pathetic defence of his capitulation, that he was facing ‘reality’ and taking a ‘pragmatic political decision’ seems to reflect the views of the majority of politicians in this country who have defended this amendment or worse still stayed…

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A timeline of duplicity: Promises to abolish the Executive Presidency

Groundviews created this timeline to highlight various promises and statements made by the President and government over abolishing the office of the Executive President. Click and drag the slider at the bottom of the timeline above to adjust the time scale. Click here to view larger version of this timeline, where you can also view it as a list of events / stories. Click on any pop-up / event to get a URL link to the full news story. This timeline only records select statements and news stories after October 2009. A Google search of news stories from 2005 to 2008 reveals a number of instances where the incumbent President promises to abolish the office of the Executive Presidency, in line with his Mahinda Chintanaya manifesto of 2005 (e.g. President pledges Constitutional reforms). And even before, in 2003, Mahinda Rajapaksa, as leader of the opposition noted that, “As a party we still stand for the abolition of the executive presidency. Until…

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AT THE CUTTING EDGE OF PUBLIC DEBATES: Encounters with Mervyn de Silva, 1960s-1980s

Image courtesy Transcurrents The odd story about former undergraduate Mervyn de Silva would be retailed around the corridors of Peradeniya campus when I was residing there as an undergraduate from 1957, an indication that he had etched his mark in campus memories. But I never encountered him or his work till I was a lecturer much later in the 1960s and 1970s when I was teaching in the Department of History from 1966 and became heavily involved in the discussions of the Ceylon Studies Seminar from 1969. As its foundational Director-Dogsbody I was intimately involved in its operations.  The Ceylon Studies Seminar was a discussion group that debated a wide range of issues concerned with Sri Lanka’s history, sociology and politics and thus encompassed development studies. It was interdisciplinary in the best tradition and its seminars depended on pre-circulated (cyclostyled) papers, though occasional talks were also encompassed. Given that I had never involved myself in political debates as an undergraduate,…

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The 18th Amendment: Constitutional Reform as the Consolidation of Power

Politics is about power and the constitution is about protection of the people against the excessive concentration and exercise of that power.  Politicians need power to govern and people need government to establish the framework, which facilitates the exercise and enjoyment of their fundamental rights and freedoms.  Whilst it may well be a done deal by the time this gets into print, it is worth still raising the question of as to whether the 18th Amendment to the Constitution protects the people or privileges those in power to the extent that the people’s exercise and enjoyment of their rights could be imperiled. The key features of the 18th Amendment sent to the Supreme Court for its scrutiny as urgent in the national interest are the removal of the term restrictions on an incumbent contesting the presidency and the abandonment of the Seventeenth Amendment.  The former means that we now move from two terms to any number of times for the…

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The 18th Amendment to the Constitution: Process and Substance

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The President has proposed to make changes to the constitution via an urgent bill.  The changes known as the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, seek to remove the two term limit on being elected to the office of the President and the Constitutional Council under the 17th Amendment.  As required under the Constitution, the President has referred the urgent bill to the Supreme Court.  Supreme Court heard the Government’s arguments and the arguments of six intervening petitioners on Tuesday 1 September 2010.  These changes have not been discussed in the public domain and they are sought to be made in secret.  It is important to note that even at the Supreme Court hearing the intervening petitioners were only given copies of the proposed changes after the government started making its submissions.  This article explains how the Constitution can be amended, what the key changes are and the legal arguments advanced in favor of and against the changes. Procedure for changing…

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About Groundviews

Located at the Centre for Policy Alternatives in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Groundviews is a citizen journalism website that uses a range of genres and media to highlight critical perspectives on governance, reconciliation, human rights, the arts and literature, democracy and other issues. The site has won two international awards, including the prestigious Manthan Award South Asia in 2009. The grand jury's evaluation of the site noted, "What no media dares to report, Groundviews publicly exposes. It's a new age media for a new Sri Lanka... Free media at it's very best!"

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