නිදහස් හා සාධාරණ නොවන මැතිවරණයක්
The editorial says the parliamentary election showed the true measure of Sri Lankan democracy. The caretaker government gave out tens of thousands of jobs, state land and public funds for campaigning. The Elections Commissioner, lacking real powers, succeeded only where there was no violence, and says he cannot annul results even in the 17 electorates a monitoring body found grossly corrupt. Where opposition agents were driven out and officials kept silent, stuffed ballots were counted, entrenching the idea that an election won by force is legitimate.
ප්රචණ්ඩත්වයට වගකිව යුත්තෝ කවරහු ද?
The President has expressed sorrow at the death of JVP member Arambagedara Siridewa, shot by police in Matale, but the editorial says she has shown no real will to curb the violence of her party’s regional strongmen. It cites Deputy Minister Shantha Premaratne calling the Chief Minister Anuradhapura’s only terrorist, D.M. Jayaratne’s remark that Kandy faces a war rather than an election, and a Matale police chief said to be the Chief Minister’s relative. It calls on the President to rein these men in.
රටට අරාජිකත්වයක් අවශ්ය නැත
The editorial warns that if the parliamentary election is not free and fair, people will lose faith in the political system and the result will be anarchy. It rejects the government’s claim that six elections under it were fair, citing more than 100 armed booth captures in the 1997 local polls, the North Western provincial poll, and notes that no one was punished. It condemns attacks on the Elections Commissioner and the rejection of an EU call for an independent commission, and urges civil society to secure a fair poll.
මැතිවරණ කොමසාරිස්වරයාට අත නොතබනු
After a complaint showed that polling cards identical to those secretly printed at the Government Press were being produced outside, the Elections Commissioner had security stickers printed privately. The CID seized the stickers and the government moved to remove him for bypassing the Government Press. The editorial defends his decision, says the government should apologise, and urges citizens to protect the Commissioner unconditionally.
ජනමාධ්යවේදින්ට ඇණ ගැසීම
The editorial condemns the People’s Alliance’s use of criminal defamation against critical editors, first Sinha Ratnatunga of the Sunday Times and now Lasantha Wickrematunge of the Sunday Leader, both given suspended sentences that leave them one conviction from prison. The government promised to repeal the law; the R.K.W. Goonesekera committee recommended repeal or amendment, a select committee stalled and a multi-party repeal motion was never debated.
විය හැක්කේ කුමක්ද?
The editorial analyses the likely shape of the new Parliament. The People’s Alliance held about 129 seats through the Muslim Congress, Ceylon Workers’ Congress and EPDP, but splits in the first two and the EPDP’s weak prospects in Jaffna threaten that base, while the JVP may win eight to ten seats. Neither major party is likely to pass 100 seats, and any result may push the executive presidency into crisis, possibly ending in a national government.
පොලිසිය ආණ්ඩුවේ දේශපාලන අතකොලුවක් නොවිය යුතු ය
The editorial condemns the removal from Kandy of Deputy Inspector General Sirisena Herath after he clashed with General Anuruddha Ratwatte’s son during a violent, corrupt election in the district, followed by the transfer of a superintendent and six officers of his special unit to operational areas. It says police across the country serve local politicians and calls for an independent police commission.
අධිකරණ සේවා කොමිසම කොයිබටද?
The editorial accuses the Judicial Service Commission of leniency towards judges found guilty of serious misconduct, including Upali Abeyratne, who handled the case against Sarath N. Silva, and Lenin Ratnayake, while dismissing some 21 others, many without charge sheets or inquiries and apparently for political reasons. It notes the commission’s composition has been changed and says the judiciary is becoming a branch of the ruling party.
ශ්රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණය කොතරම් දුරකට ස්වාධීනද?
The editorial argues that Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva is serving the President’s political aims, as seen in government-related cases and the proposed 17th Amendment to change the electoral system. Unlike earlier amendments heard by the most senior judges, this bench excluded the four seniors and constitutional experts Mark Fernando, A.R.B. Amerasinghe and Ranjith Dheeraratne, and allowed a change that would give the alliance 201 of 298 seats and the JVP none without a referendum.
පරමාධිපත්යය සමග
The editorial describes how the 209-page draft constitution was printed on 30 July, approved unread by the cabinet on 31 July and sent to the Supreme Court as an urgent bill without gazetting or public comment. A constitution is a social contract, it argues, not an emergency law like that passed after Sepala Ekanayake’s hijacking; South Africa received some four million public submissions. With no public debate and votes being bought, the new constitution will deepen the country’s problems.