අඳ-ගොළු-බිහිරි පාර්ලිමේන්තුව
Ivan argues that Parliament, unlike legislatures elsewhere, ignores citizens’ complaints and media exposures. His examples include the Bribery Commission’s ruling on Mangala Samaraweera’s credit-card spending, its refusal to act on his own complaint against the Chief Justice, and Ravaya’s 2001 exposure of abuses by the Public Trustee, including misuse of the Samarakoon fund meant for poor couples’ dowries. He cites the Marga survey and the IBA report on the judiciary, which Parliament never debated, and the UNP’s silence on the Chief Justice now it is in government.
A Snap Election
In a climate where peace hangs by a thread, the looming threat of a snap election promises not a democratic transition, but a destructive contest of death. Caught in a bitter, bilateral deadlock, the Executive President and the Prime Minister are poised to drag the nation into a mad struggle for supremacy. With the LTTE watching warily from the wings, an election waged in the “law of the jungle” risks plunging the exhausted country back into anarchy. To prevent this impending peril, civil society must forcefully demand a civilized consensus—a unified, all-party commitment to structural reform, independent electoral oversight, and a non-military resolution—before the ballot box is completely broken by the barrel of a gun.
ෆෙඩරල් අපභ්රංසය
Prompted by the LTTE’s statement that it would drop the demand for a separate state in return for internal self-rule under a federal system, Ivan argues that constitutional debate should not be confined to ethnic grievances, since discontent with the political system is widespread. He then sets out the basic features of federalism with examples from the United States, India, Switzerland, Australia, Canada and Belgium, covering amendment procedures, second chambers, division of powers and dispute resolution, and rebuts popular myths such as a federal unit’s supposed right to secede.
හදිසි ආණ්ඩු පෙරළියකට තිබෙන ඉඩ
With Parliament a year old, the editorial weighs the President’s options. Anura Bandaranaike says she can dissolve it once a pact with the JVP is reached, but an election soon after the last one could anger voters and the JVP is a poor partner in government. Counting seats, it shows the People’s Alliance and allies cannot reach 113 without UNP defectors, and argues that a coup would anger the international community and not serve her aim of amending the constitution to stay in politics.
රාජ්යය ප්රජාතන්ත්රවාදි කිරීම
The LTTE’s move from a separate state to a federal system of internal self-rule offers an easier basis for a settlement. Ivan argues that minorities pushed aside by the majority seek to break away, and that the state must be democratised so the majority cannot override their rights, citing Nehru’s creation of Tamil Nadu. He links the insurrections of Prabhakaran and Rohana Wijeweera to caste domination as well as ethnic and class grievances, and calls for a new constitution through broad national dialogue.
ප්රභාකරන් හොඳ නම් ජනාධිපතිනිය පමණක් නරක ඇයි?
Ranil Wickremesinghe has reached agreement with Prabhakaran but not with Chandrika Kumaratunga, who leads the main opposition. Ivan argues that any settlement with the LTTE needs at least the main opposition’s support, and faults the government for wavering between confrontation and coexistence, leaving PA rebels stranded after the 19th Amendment failed. Citing de Klerk and Mandela, he says Wickremesinghe and Prabhakaran must each win respect across communities and from the People’s Alliance.
හදිසි මැතිවරණයකට යෑමේ බිය පහවී නැත
From 5 December the President gains the power to dissolve Parliament at any time. The piece sets out the costs of a snap election: expense, a threat to the peace process and a return to war, administrative disruption, loss of investor confidence and the likelihood of another weak coalition. It doubts the President’s assurances, notes suspicions that she is working through the Muslim Congress, and concludes that she is subtly trying to break the government.
Democratization of the Country
This article explores the deeper socio-political fractures in Sri Lanka, arguing that the nation’s violent conflicts have been driven as much by caste oppression as by ethnic divisions. The author points out that both Prabhakaran in the North and Wijeweera in the South led armed rebellions that fundamentally challenged the entrenched dominance of the Vellala and Govigama castes. Highlighting historical examples of political exclusion based on caste—such as C.P. de Silva being denied party leadership—the article contends that Sri Lanka’s rigid political framework fails to accommodate marginalized voices. Ultimately, the author calls for a new, flexible constitution that guarantees true democratic participation and protects all minority groups from the tyranny of the majority.
ස්වාධීන කොමිෂන් ගැන ජනාධිපතිනියගේ වැදි බණ
The President has lectured the Constitutional Council that commission members must be honest, impartial and free of corruption charges, while objecting to some nominees and saying Human Rights Commission members she appointed stay until March 2003. Ivan contrasts this with her own appointments: an acting Elections Commissioner during her own election, Sarath N. Silva as Chief Justice while under inquiry, Harry Jayawardena and Sripathi Suriyarachchi. He proposes a parliamentary committee to hear objections, criticises Faiz Mustapha’s conduct as HRC chairman, and argues the old commissions lapsed under the 17th Amendment.
හොරගල් ඇහිලීම
Ivan assesses the manoeuvring between President and Prime Minister after the 19th Amendment was withdrawn. The President may dissolve Parliament after 5 December but has promised not to, and a crossover government or a bid to replace Ranil Wickremesinghe as UNP leader through another prime minister faces numerical and LTTE obstacles. He notes her wish to change the system so she can stay in politics until a child takes over, and says Wickremesinghe is staking everything on peace and the Oslo aid conference.