බලතල නැතැයි කීමේ හැකියාවක් දැන් මැතිවරණ කොමසාරිස්ට නැත
The editorial notes that, pending an Elections Commission, the 17th Amendment gives its powers to the Elections Commissioner, including control of police on election duty and the power to take over partisan state bodies. It calls on him to stop misuse of state resources and state media, to collect the asset declarations of candidates that have never been obtained, and to ensure a free and fair election.
රට බිංදුවට වැටීම
With the services and manufacturing sectors collapsing, economic growth has fallen to zero and may turn negative, bringing soaring prices and job losses. The editorial says the rulers are absorbed in the political crisis, investors are pulling back and state institutions barely function. It argues that an early parliamentary election is the best way to end political instability, which is a precondition for overcoming the economic crisis.
17 වැනි සංශෝධනයට සුභ පැතුම්
Despite its limitations, the enactment of the 17th Amendment is an important step towards rebuilding institutions broken by political interference. The editorial calls the Constitutional Council the heart of the reform and urges the Prime Minister, Opposition Leader and all parties to appoint honest people with backbone rather than political henchmen, to fill the commissions likewise, and to clean the top of the pyramid first by removing corrupt heads of institutions.
රවට්ටන්න යන්නේ කාවද?
The politicisation of institutions that should be independent is a main cause of the country’s decline, and the 17th Amendment was meant to hand key appointments to a respected Constitutional Council. The editorial notes that the opposition draft provided for eight members, including five eminent persons chosen jointly by the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader, but the government, backed by the JVP, now proposes seven members including a presidential nominee, giving it a majority. This, it says, merely dresses up the old system.
ඇමරිකාවට එල්ල වූ ප්රහාරය හා උගත හැකි පාඩම්
The attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon shows that a movement willing to sacrifice its members can do great damage to even the most powerful state. The editorial says America’s democracy at home was not matched by its oppressive treatment of other countries, which bred hatred. Retaliation will spread the fire, it argues, and both the world and Sri Lanka should address the grievances that give rise to extremist movements rather than try only to crush them.
පරිවාස වැඩපිළිවෙළ කෝකටත් තෛලයක් නොවේ
The editorial says the country now has a People’s Alliance government steered by the JVP: the bottle is Chandrika’s but the wine is the JVP’s. If the JVP’s probation programme at least secures the five independent commissions, an idea that came from civil society, that is a gain. But as a pact between only two parties, it cannot resolve the economic collapse, the war, political instability or the politics of hatred, and its benefits will be temporary.
රට අඳුරෙන් අඳුරට
Power cuts have grown from one and a half to two and a half hours a day, adding to the political darkness, but were suspended on nights of cricket and presidential speeches. The editorial recalls the 1996 promises that there would be no more cuts, accepts that opposition to the Norochcholai coal plant was short-sighted, and says the real issue is government inaction: the Electricity Board had a surplus of about Rs. 8,000 crore in 1994 and now owes about the same.
හිතුවක්කාරකම් නිකම් ම බලා සිටීමෙන් පරාජය කළ නොහැක
The editorial says the President is playing with the country’s survival as political instability speeds economic collapse. She cannot govern without Parliament, which holds the legislative and financial powers, and had no right to prorogue it to avoid a no-confidence debate. With the opposition now in the majority and a large group from the government joining it, it argues that the People’s Alliance government is finished and that she must reconvene Parliament and let the opposition form a government, or bear the consequences.
අගවිනිසුරුගේ දේශපාලන භූමිකාව
The editorial recalls Ravaya’s protest when Sarath N. Silva was appointed Chief Justice while facing complaints before the Supreme Court, and says the aim was to bring the court under the President’s control. It faults the opposition for its slow move to impeach him after the 17th Amendment episode, notes Rauff Hakeem’s refusal to back the impeachment even as his party became the first target, and reports Speaker Anura Bandaranaike’s remark that any impeachment of his sister would end with Silva deciding it.
ජන මතය නොපවත්වන්නේ නම් ඉන්පසු කුමක් ද?
Under pressure from civil society, the opposition and forces within the government, the referendum is being dropped. The editorial notes that a stubborn minority in government wants Parliament prorogued again, and urges the President instead to let Parliament choose a Prime Minister and form an all-party interim government to legislate the five independent commissions, a Constitutional Council, electoral reform, a decision on the executive presidency and a lasting peace.