ව්‍යවස්ථා සංශෝධනයක් අවශ්‍ය වුවත් එය සිදුකළ යුත්තේ පරිස්සමෙනි
With the UNF in government but President Kumaratunga holding decisive constitutional powers, including dissolving Parliament after a year, Ivan traces the cohabitation crisis to a 1978 constitution designed for one-party control, a flaw N.M. Perera foresaw. The government’s planned amendment to curb her powers needs PA votes for a two-thirds majority, and he warns that buying them could distort constitution-making, urging a broad consensual process for a new constitution instead.
සියලු රාජ්‍ය අරමුදල් පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ පාලනයට යටත් විය යුතුයි
Former finance minister Ronnie de Mel asked during the budget debate that all state funds, including the President’s Fund, be brought into the Consolidated Fund under Parliament’s control. The editorial calls holding funds outside it illegal and contrary to parliamentary democracy, and criticises the Auditor General’s weak scrutiny of institutions under powerful figures and the Public Accounts Committee’s frequent failure to meet for lack of a quorum.
ජනාධිපතිනියගේ මුක්තිය සීමා කිරීම
The proposed constitutional amendment would limit the President’s immunity, which Ivan welcomes. He argues that a head of state who commits crimes, fraud or wilful breaches of the constitution should be liable to prosecution and lose office on conviction without impeachment, noting that the President ignored the 17th Amendment and used her security staff against opponents under the shelter of immunity.
පී.එස්.ඩී.යට රජ සැලකිලි
Ivan details favours the President granted to her Presidential Security Division. Its director Nihal Karunaratne was promoted to Superintendent of Police without the required EBE examination through two Cabinet papers, and seven chosen PSD men were given luxury flats in a state-owned Bambalapitiya tower rent free, costing the state Rs 2.6 million a year. He calls this corruption.
ජනාධිපතිනිය චෙක්මේට් වීමට ආසන්නයි
Ivan argues that Chandrika Kumaratunga ruled as a hereditary queen rather than an elected leader, flouted the 17th Amendment in the 2001 election she led, and should have resigned or sought a fresh mandate, or stepped back as D.B. Wijetunga did. Now she is cornered, and he predicts the crisis will cost her the presidency and the Bandaranaikes their hold on the SLFP, and says punishing PA-era crimes, though double-edged, is worthwhile.
විගණන දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව කොමිසමක් බවට පත්කිරීම පමණක් ප්‍රමාණවත් නැත
The editorial welcomes a plan to make the Audit Department an independent commission under the Constitutional Council but says it needs real backing. Limited staff should be focused on powerful institutions such as the presidential and prime minister’s offices, Parliament, the Supreme Court, the army and police, rather than relying on private audits as with the President’s Fund. It also calls for officials to be punished for losses found and for audit findings to be made public promptly.
ජනාධිපතිනියත් නීතිය ඉදිරියට පමුණුවාලිය යුතුය
Ivan argues that presidential immunity assumes a leader will not commit crimes, and that one who does must face the law. He questions how Chandrika Kumaratunga funds her lifestyle, calls the Air Lanka sale to Emirates, brokered by her friend Chandana Silva, corrupt, and links her security forces to the killings of Kumar Ponnambalam and Rohana Kumara, the attack on singers Rookantha Gunathilake and Chandraleka, the burning of Anoja Weerasinghe’s house and body parts sent to Ravi Karunanayake. He urges an impartial commission.
මාළිගා විවාදය යළි කරලියට
A long reply by presidential media director Janadasa Peiris to a report that Rs 800 million had been spent on the site of a planned presidential palace has revived the controversy. The editorial notes what he leaves out about the Temple Trees renovation, including a swimming pool and mini-cinema, and about repairs to President’s House, and observes that earlier leaders from S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike to Ranasinghe Premadasa lived in their own homes, a tradition Chandrika Kumaratunga broke.
විය හැකි දේ සහ විය යුතු දේ
Written on the eve of the local government elections, Ivan sets out what each side must prove against the 2001 results, and says a sharp JVP decline could mark the beginning of its end. He praises the government’s comparatively clean campaign, proposes reforming the executive presidency by removing the arbitrary dissolution power and simplifying removal of a president, and argues that Prabhakaran, like Mandela, could become a stronger leader by abandoning arms.
17 වැනි සංශෝධනයට කොකා පෙන්නීම
Ivan explains that the 17th Amendment gives the Constitutional Council power over the independent commissions and top appointments, yet the President has still not named her nominee despite Article 41(5). He argues that she is protecting her hold over the Chief Justice, Attorney General, IGP and Bribery Commission, since a council would weaken her defence against impeachment and against the Padiyapelella rocket-launcher case linked to a plot to kill S.B. Dissanayake.