දර්ශනයේ දුප්පත්කම
A reply to C.A. Dissanayake’s Ravaya article defending limited constitutional reform, which Ivan links to Dr Jayampathy Wickramaratne’s thinking. He questions who ‘Dissanayake’ really is, rebuts his account of J.R. Jayewardene’s Second Amendment to the 1972 constitution, which created the presidency, and argues that the executive presidency changed the whole character of Parliament: the old MP elected by a small constituency served the people, while today’s MPs, chosen under preferential voting, depend on money and patronage.
කෙළෙහි ගුණ දැක්වීම
Ivan notes that the President was met in London by Ronnie Peiris, who had helped her in exile after Vijaya Kumaratunga’s murder and has since grown rich, and says the UNP’s promised inquiries into such figures have gone quiet. Further sections note that she named Sarath N. Silva as a drafter of her constitution though he sat on the bench reviewing it, praise Anton Balasingham’s endorsement of Neelan Tiruchelvam’s 1996 devolution plan, and ask why no one has sought Tony Fernando’s release.
බොරුවෙන්ම ජීවත් වන රට හා ව්යවස්ථා සභාව
Ivan argues that the Constitutional Council, demanded by civil society to curb presidential appointments, was hollowed out from the start. He details how Jayampathy Wickramaratne’s draft of the 17th Amendment removed the seniority rule for the Judicial Service Commission to protect Sarath N. Silva, how the Speaker signed the unamended bill, and the injunction against the Speaker over the impeachment. He adds that the Council, made up only of lawyers, has set up just two commissions while the President blocks appointments such as Ranjith Dheeraratne’s.
ඔලුවෙන් සිටුවා ඇති ස්වාධීන කොමිෂන්
Ivan argues that the government’s proposed 18th Amendment, shielding the Constitutional Council from fundamental-rights suits, ignores the real flaw in the 17th: Jayampathy Wickramaratne’s redraft for the President left her the power to nominate holders of key posts. He recounts the civil-society origins of the reform and the JVP and UNP roles in its passage, notes Priyani Wijesekera as its first victim, and proposes public vetting of Council members, barring them from legal practice and letting the Council investigate complaints against senior judges.
ව්යවස්ථාව සමග වළ කජු ගැසීම
Ivan traces how politicians have toyed with the constitution: the authoritarian features of J.R. Jayewardene’s 1978 charter, rushed through as urgent; Chandrika Kumaratunga’s broken promise to abolish the executive presidency and her transitional clauses keeping her in power; the 2000 attempt to pass a new constitution by buying UNP votes; and the distortion of the 17th Amendment by Jayampathy Wickramaratne. He notes the Speaker signed the wrong draft, leaving commissions in legal limbo, and argues the proposed 19th Amendment is too narrow.
17 වැනි සංශෝධනය ඔළුවෙන් සිටුවීම
The idea of a Constitutional Council, advanced by professional bodies and backed by pro-democracy and media groups, was meant to take appointments to key posts out of the head of state’s arbitrary hands. The editorial argues that the version of the 17th Amendment drafted with JVP mediation reverses this, leaving the President to nominate and the Council merely to approve, a distortion it attributes to the President, the Chief Justice and Jayampathy Wickramaratne, with the UNP assisting through carelessness.
ජනතාවගේ පරමාධිපත්යය බලය සමග සෙල්ලම් කිරීම
Ivan says the UNF government has failed to keep local elections civilised and has not appointed the promised inquiry into earlier poll malpractice, and traces state-level electoral fraud from the Dedigama by-election and the Jaffna development council poll through 1982 to its revival under Kumaratunga. A second section on the Constitutional Council recounts how the professionals’ draft was reshaped by Jayampathy Wickramaratne so that the President nominates key appointees, a trap the JVP fell into, and asks why the government has not corrected it.
අගවිනිසුරු අත්අඩංගුවට ?
Police are to reopen the Peradeniya botanical gardens murder investigation after revelations that the alleged mastermind, Rohana Kumara, was close to Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva and posed as his secretary. Ivan sets out the alleged plot with hotelier Lakshmi Kusumalatha against Ranjith Bandara Wijekoon, payments and bank deposits, links to police officers including Ranmal Kodituwakku, and evidence that could expose the Chief Justice to a charge of harbouring a wanted man.
රාවය කර්තෘගෙන් අගවිනිසුරුට එරෙහිව කථානායකට පැමිණිල්ලක්
A formal complaint to Speaker Joseph Michael Perera asking Parliament to investigate Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva’s association with Rohana Kumara, a fraudster and suspect in the Peradeniya gardens murder of Ranjith Bandara Wijekoon. It details Kumara’s record, his role at the judges’ training institute, minute-by-minute phone records linking him to the gunman and to the Chief Justice’s residence, the property dispute behind the killing, forged fundamental rights petitions, and exhibits.
මල්වත්ත ඝාතනය රෝහණ කුමාර හා අගවිනිසුරු
The report details the arrest of Rohana Kumara, fourth suspect in the February 2001 shooting of businessman Ranjith Bandara Wijekoon at the Peradeniya botanical gardens, and his alleged ties to Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva. It cites phone records, his use of a Justice Ministry vehicle, his role at the judges’ training centre and his claim to have hidden on the Chief Justice’s advice. It also recounts an attempted bribe of a Mirihana police officer and forged signatures on fundamental rights petitions.