A sail through stormy weather
The attack at Katunayake has brought down a large part of an already weak economy, and neither the parties struggling for power nor the public seems to grasp how serious it is. They behave like the crab that dances in the pot until the water boils. One more such attack would be enough.
හිතුවක්කාරකම් නිකම් ම බලා සිටීමෙන් පරාජය කළ නොහැක
The President prorogued Parliament to escape a no-confidence defeat and then postponed the referendum to escape another. Ivan quotes the Presidential Secretariat’s claim that the postponement allows consensus on a new constitution, with a fresh referendum on 18 October if none emerges, and says that keeping Parliament closed seals off the people’s sovereignty amid economic collapse. He faults the UNP and JVP for merely lamenting the closure instead of using their majority to resolve the crisis.
රටේ පැවත්ම සමග සෙල්ලම් එපා
Consumer prices are rising fast, trade is shrinking, manufacturing is collapsing, foreign investors are leaving and the stock market is falling, yet the government and parties are absorbed in the political crisis. The piece says the President, as Finance Minister, is ignoring the economy while Parliament stays closed, and that if she will not reopen it, MPs themselves have a duty to reconvene it and restore government, or all parties will answer to the public.
ඊලගට විය හැක්කේ කුමක්ද
Ivan says the government treats its crisis as a simple numbers problem that Sarath N. Silva or the JVP’s ten votes might solve, while the UNP and JVP resemble a jockey clinging to a bolting horse. With the referendum postponed to 18 October, he sets out the President’s options, warns of Philippine-style street protest or a heavy election defeat, and urges an all-party interim government that turns Parliament into a constituent assembly, following South Africa’s example of agreeing principles first, including on talks with the LTTE.
ජන මතය නොපවත්වන්නේ නම් ඉන්පසු කුමක් ද?
Under pressure from civil society, the opposition and forces within the government, the referendum is being dropped. The editorial notes that a stubborn minority in government wants Parliament prorogued again, and urges the President instead to let Parliament choose a Prime Minister and form an all-party interim government to legislate the five independent commissions, a Constitutional Council, electoral reform, a decision on the executive presidency and a lasting peace.
විශ්වාසභංගය ජනමතවිචාරණය
Ivan argues that loss of a majority does not destabilise a country; clinging to power does. After Rauff Hakeem’s group crossed over, the President should have let the opposition form an all-party interim government pledged to constitutional reform and peace. Instead she prorogued Parliament and called a referendum. He rejects comparisons with Premadasa, who first proved his majority with 116 signatures, recalls the 1960 and 1994 precedents and the 1982 referendum, and asks how a leader who tolerates electoral fraud can deliver a better constitution.
ජනාධිපතිනියගේ ඒබ්රහම් ලින්කන් ආදර්ශය
Ivan examines President Kumaratunga’s 22 July racecourse speech calling the 1978 Constitution a death trap and citing Abraham Lincoln as a leader who acted outside the constitution to end slavery. He argues the referendum is a ploy to avoid a no-confidence vote; that crossing the floor is lawful and was done by S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, D.A. Rajapaksa, Mahanama Samaraweera and the LSSP leaders; that the Constitution has allowed stable governments; and, recounting the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment, that Lincoln acted within the constitution.
Turn referendum into confidence vote
The political turmoil is shaking not only the government but the opposition parties and the other groups. What could be made of the referendum the President has called is the practical question — and what Ivan wants made of it is a vote of confidence.
ඒකාධිපති ක්රමයක් රටට අවශ්ය නැත
The editorial says the President prorogued Parliament while an impeachment motion against the Chief Justice and a no-confidence motion against the government were pending, while the Chief Justice stays in office despite serious charges. She is holding a referendum on a new constitution without first obtaining Parliament’s approval or publishing a draft, and is using force to block protest. With Parliament shut, the editorial warns, the people’s sovereignty has been taken away and the country is moving towards dictatorship.
දෝෂාභියෝගයක් කැඳවා ගැනීම
Ivan compares how Presidents Jayewardene, Premadasa and Wijetunga handled Parliament, noting that Wijetunga let the narrowly elected People’s Alliance govern after 1994. President Kumaratunga, with the weakest parliamentary base of all, ruled more harshly than Jayewardene, and her treatment of Rauff Hakeem turned the government into a minority. By proroguing Parliament without telling the Cabinet as a no-confidence motion loomed, and floating a referendum, he argues she is inviting an impeachment backed by two-thirds of MPs.