ඒකාධිපතියන් රටට අවශ්ය නැත
The editorial accuses the President of abusing her powers under the distorted 17th Amendment. She has kept Priyani Wijesekera, the most senior and qualified candidate, as only acting Secretary-General of Parliament despite the 14-day limit on acting appointments, and passed over Justice Mark Fernando, whose ruling that presidential immunity ends with the term of office she resented, when naming an acting Chief Justice. It calls on all parties to correct the amendment.
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.
කටයුතු සිදුවෙමින් තිබෙන ආකාරය ඛේදජනකය
The CID found Rs 50 million in treasury bill certificates in one bank locker of a former powerful minister, reportedly holding Rs 1 billion in such securities, and earlier probed Rs 450 million linked to a former service chief. Questions also surround Rs 540 million allocated to a rubber company project on the President’s cabinet paper, whose chairman is her close associate. The editorial rejects her claim of immunity from inquiry and urges the government to enforce the law against large-scale plunder.
අගවිනිසුරුගේ ඊළග රංගනය
The government thinks it can find the votes to curb the President’s power to dissolve Parliament, but Ivan notes she controls the urgent-bill route and the Chief Justice decides constitutionality. Sarath N. Silva may protect her as before or switch to the new rulers, and either choice harms the country; he criticises the justice minister’s wish to use the Chief Justice as she did. A second section faults the Elections Commissioner and Auditor General for saying they cannot refer offenders to the Bribery Commission.
සහජීවනය කොයිබටද?
Ivan welcomes talk of cohabitation between the President and the Prime Minister but says it must rest on principles. The 1978 Constitution breeds conflict when power is divided, the President has refused to respect the new mandate, and the UNP still covets the presidency. He rejects the idea of forgetting her alleged killings, PSD violence and the vehicle purchases, and points to South Africa’s truth commission, which examined abuses by both sides.
අනාගැනීම
Ivan argues that Ranil Wickremesinghe wasted his mandate at its peak by not negotiating terms of cohabitation, letting the President keep her choice of IGP, ambassadors, governors and service chiefs. Now she asserts that no one may investigate her or dissolve Parliament but herself. He says the government cannot pursue her Rs 2,445 million vehicle spending while protecting Treasury Secretary Jayasundera, and that her offer to abolish the presidency entirely is a time-wasting trap.
ජනාධිපතිනියට රටේ රජකම දි නැත
A statement from the President’s spokesman said she had answered questions on the armoured vehicles and that no one may investigate her. Ivan replies that only a dictatorship works this way: used vehicles were bought at new prices and nearly Rs 2,500 million spent against a Rs 68 million allocation without parliamentary approval, an impeachable wrong. If the government does not act, he asks, is it keeping room to do the same?
ජනතා විමුක්ති පෙරමුණේ භූමිකාව
The editorial says the JVP aims to ally with favoured SLFP figures, derail the peace process with the President’s help and use the resulting disorder to form a government it can steer, much as Sirimavo Bandaranaike and N.M. Perera did in 1964, with Mangala Samaraweera as go-between. It argues the JVP offers the SLFP little beyond votes, and warns that the power struggle may push Prabhakaran to prepare for war or to claim that only a separate state is left.
තවත් මැතිවරණයක් අවශ්ය ද?
The editorial argues that the 1978 Constitution breeds endless crises because it ignores the possibility of the presidency and Parliament being held by different parties. Two decades of experience show that the presidency must be amended or abolished, including the arbitrary powers of dissolution and over the cabinet. An election now would damage the peace process and the economy; instead the parties should agree on reform, and the President should accept that her rivals hold the mandate.