What must happen
In this article, Victor Ivan addresses the major constitutional crisis triggered by President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s unilateral takeover of three key government ministries—including the Defense Ministry—while Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was abroad. Ivan characterizes the President’s actions as an immoral, well-planned “constitutional coup,” while simultaneously criticizing the Prime Minister and cabinet for sabotaging political co-habitation by attempting to marginalize the President while willingly cooperating with LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. Warning that the deadlock threatens both the national economy and the peace process, Ivan asserts that the crisis cannot be solved through street protests or snap elections. Instead, he argues that the crisis must serve as a catalyst for a bipartisan agreement on structural constitutional reforms, electoral changes, and the revitalization of independent commissions.
හැමදේටම විරුද්ධ වීමේ විපක්ෂ නිල පිළිවෙත
The editorial criticises the People’s Alliance for rejecting parliamentary oversight committees that would give the opposition scrutiny of ministries, dismissing the claim that they would weaken the presidency. It calls for removing presidential immunity, the power to dissolve Parliament at will after a year and the right to hold unlimited cabinet posts, and regrets that the PA, JVP and UNP have all abandoned the debate on reforming the executive presidency.
චෞර රාජ්යය ප්රතිසංවිධානය කිරීම
Ivan argues that the state needs reorganising not only to resolve the ethnic conflict but because the whole political system has collapsed. He examines Parliament, the world’s costliest, whose members enjoy tax-free pay, pensions after five years, duty-free cars they resell illegally and subsidised meals, while its high posts and public accounts committees fail; and the executive presidency, with its immunity, private security force of 1,500 and unaudited President’s Fund, whose occupants all grew rich.
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.
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.
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.
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.
ගොයම කන්නේ වැටත් නියරත් නම් කළ හැක්කේ කුමක් ද?
Almost a month after the Constitutional Council sent the President its list of nominees for the independent commissions, she has not approved it, leaving the system in disarray. The editorial recalls that the 17th Amendment came from civil-society pressure and was distorted and rushed through in a day, but insists the President is constitutionally bound to approve the list promptly. It says Parliament must resolve the crisis, if necessary with enabling legislation.
හිරවූ තත්ත්වය
The Supreme Court ruling on the 19th Amendment has created a sense of instability, but the editorial argues that neither side can prevail: the President can obstruct the government but not topple it, and with the Tamil alliance’s 16 MPs the government has 130 seats, not 114. It urges both sides to use the deadlock to reach consensus on the executive presidency, national policy, the peace process and minority rights.
රනිල්ට වැරදුණේ කොතැන ද?
After the Supreme Court blocked the 19th Amendment strategy, Ivan assesses Ranil Wickremesinghe’s leadership. He compares the goals and power bases of J.R. Jayewardene, Ranasinghe Premadasa, Chandrika Kumaratunga and Wickremesinghe, and argues that the Prime Minister missed the chance, just after his election victory, to use his mandate to force the President into constitutional reform. He praises his resolve on peace but faults his reliance on personal friends rather than the cabinet and his failure to explain his goals.