‘No!’ to the Eighteenth Amendment

By Shanie | The Island
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"The example of four Presidents voluntarily retiring at the end of their eighth year, and the progress of public opinion that the principle is salutary, have given it in practice the force of precedent and usage; insomuch, that, should a President consent to be a candidate for a third election, I trust he would be rejected on this demonstration of ambitious views." —Thomas Jefferson: Autobiography, 1821.

Thomas Jefferson was the third President of the United Sates. He was born in America, although his ancestors were one of the early settlers most of whom had gone from Wales, Scotland and Ireland in Britain. As a young thirty-two year old and as one of the intellectual leaders of the American Revolutionary War, he was tasked with drafting the Declaration of Independence. Denis Healey, a British Labour political leader, was to write over two hundred years later that the drafters of the Declaration of Independence ‘matched reason with integrity, common sense with vision, and expressed themselves with a grace and clarity which later generations have rarely matched.’

The American Declaration of Independence has become something of a classic, providing the philosophy for democratic governance and the rights of free peoples. Its preamble is particularly apt for countries faced with growing authoritarianism and despotism. It states, inter alia: ‘We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all men (sic) are created equal, that they endowed…with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed……All experience has shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government.’ Throughout the world, we have seen, as in Philippines, how peoples’ power was able to throw out elected leaders turned despots.

Sri Lanka was one of the earliest countries in the democratic world to opt for universal adult franchise whereby every adult man and woman, without qualification, had a right to vote and elect a representative to the national legislature and to local government councils. By and large, over the years, we have had reasonably free and fair elections that resulted in regular changes of government; there has however been some concern over the fairness of this process over the last three decades. There were several factors which helped to ensure the fairness of the electoral process and the rights of the people. Among them were a fearless and independent judiciary, an alert civil society, a robust free media and a depoliticized public service, election commission and law enforcement agency. We need to continue keeping these national institutions intact and free from political interference if we are to
preserve our democratic freedoms, and keep the potential despots at bay.

The Seventeenth Amendment

The seventeenth amendment to our Constitution was enacted during the Presidency of Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge and was a consensus document accepted by the major government and opposition political parties. The amendment set up a Constitutional Council comprising three political leaders from both sides of the House of Parliament but seven others who were eminent non-political figures of integrity selected in a bi-partisan manner by consensus between parliamentarians from both sides. This Council in turn selected persons to be members of various Commissions like the Public Service Commission, Elections Commission, National Police Commission, etc. The members were selected after careful vetting of nominations received. The selected names were submitted to the President for formal appointment. The President had no right to appoint anyone from outside the list submitted by the Constitutional Council. Indeed, there was the well-known stand off between the President and the Constitutional Council with the President questioning the ‘independence’ of a nominee, a retired Supreme Court Judge, to the Elections Commission. But the Constitutional Council displayed their independence by standing firm and refusing to withdraw their nomination.

The Seventeenth Amendment worked well with the Commissions showing much greater independence in the discharge of their functions. The people had greater confidence that that the rule of law would prevail and that they could expect justice; the concerned public servants also found greater confidence in being less subject to political interference and the comfort that one did not need to be a sycophant to advance in his or her professional career. This amendment was a significant step for better governance in our country and for halting the slide to the politicization of all our national institutions.

The Eighteenth Amendment

This is why the eighteenth amendment now sought to be introduced is one of the most retrograde pieces of legislation in our nation’s history. It compares with the infamous (twelfth?) constitutional amendment that the J R Jayewardene Government brought forward in 1987 to deal with the Supreme Court unseating of a Member of Parliament elected to the Kalawana seat. That member happened to be a member of the ruling UNP government. The government sought to bring a constitutional amendment, as urgent legislation, to allow the unseated member to sit in Parliament. Being certified by the Cabinet as an urgent bill, the draft bill had to go up to the Supreme Court for a determination. The Bench headed by Chief Justice Neville Samarakoon heard the then Attorney General and threw out the proposed amendment without even bothering to hear the submissions of the Counsel for the intervenient petitioners!

The draft of the proposed 18th Amendment has not been released for public discussion but, reportedly, it virtually repeals the 17th amendment, hailed, despite its correctable flaws, as a fine example of consensus politics providing for better governance. The Constitutional Council, which had a 7-3 majority of persons of eminence and integrity who had distinguished themselves in public life, is to be replaced by a Parliamentary Council of five Members of Parliament. But even this Council will have virtually no powers. The President will propose names that he or she intends appointing as Chairpersons and members of the various Commissions. The Parliamentary Council will have the grand task of making observations on the names. The President will be under no obligation to give any regard to these observations and he could appoint anyone of his choice. Gone will be the whole purpose of the 17th amendment to ensure eminent independent persons to be responsible for better governance and functioning of our public institutions, independent of political interference and control.

The other change proposed in the 18th Amendment is the removal of term limits for the Executive President. The US President Thomas Jefferson’s view on this is very salutary. In the US itself, it was a convention observed by all Presidents that they would not seek re-election for a third four-year term. But Franklin Roosevelt broke this convention when he made use of the World War to seek re-election for a third and fourth term in 1940 and 1944. The US Congress then decided to pass an amendment to their Constitution on 1951 imposing a two term or eight-year limit for their Presidents. Nearly all democracies have term limits for the Executive Presidency. The exceptions have been countries like Uganda where Idi Amin wanted to be President for life and Robert Mugabe now in Zimbabwe. Mugabe began as a much respected and pragmatic leader but sadly too long a spell as President seems to have corrupted him and he now leads a country in shambles, politically and economically. Its currency has had a free fall. Power, wielded over too long a period, tends to corrupt, as Lord Acton said many years ago, and this is what seems to have happened to Mugabe. Let us not allow this to happen here as well. We are not talking here of President Rajapaksa; it can happen in the future to any President.

Having an election at the end of each term will not rid the country of a potentially difficult situation. After all, Mugabe was ‘the official victor’ at every election. At the last Presidential election in Zimbabwe, Mugabe lost to his opponent Morgan Tsvangirai by 48% to 43% in the first round. Since no candidate secured more than 50%, a run-off election took place. And, lo and behold, this time Mugabe secured 86% and Tsvangirai only 9%. Mugabe has been in power for so long that Zimbabwe’s ills are not confined to a collapsing economy but the people have to cope with a frightening security situation – intimidation and disappearance of political dissidents is reported on a regular basis. Tsvangirai himself had been badly beaten up and the wife of another political opponent was burnt alive by a petrol bomb.

Constitutional reform is a process not to be rushed through without public participation. This is what participatory democracy means and this is the only path to unity and reconciliation in a country. That is why we need to say ‘No’ to the 18th Amendment. It is not only what we do but the way we do things that determine who we are. Will our parliamentarians, when faced with a choice, be prepared to stand tall by keeping to their principles?

© The Island

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Properties of uprooted in Vanni plundered with Army assistance

Tamil Net
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Muslim and Sinhala traders from Southern Sri Lanka are actively plundering the properties abandoned when the people of Vanni were forced to leave them during war, with the assistance of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers occupying Vanni. The traders make huge profits transporting them in vehicles to Vavuniyaa, Anurdapura and Puththa’lam for sale. The plundered goods include iron objects, spare parts dismantled from abandoned vehicles, house fittings and other valuable things. SLA soldiers are given a percentage of the profits made by the traders for allowing them to plunder and transport the goods of the people in Vanni to the South, sources in Vanni said.

SLA authorities in Vanni, in response to the complaints of the resettled civilians, have stopped with putting up notices of warning against thefts in their area.

The plunder and transport of the goods of Vanni people take place most where there are SLA camps close by, the sources said.

Just after the war, the traders from South made a lucrative business in plundering the spare parts dismantled from motor cycles, tractors, trucks abandoned by their owners in Vanni.

The stolen spares are now being sold in the open markets in Vavuniyaa, Anuradapura and Puththa’lam.

© Tamil Net

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Civil disobedience, general strike on Wednesday

By Yohan Perera | Daily Mirror
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Several political parties, including some UNP members, calling themselves the Movement against the 18th Amendment to the Constitution yesterday claimed that some ministers had expressed their desire to join the campaign against the reforms, which they described as a draconian piece of legislation.

The Movement will launch a civil disobedience campaign on Wednesday the day on which the constitutional reforms will be debated in parliament.

It has asked all public servants, MPs and others to wear black and launch a general strike on that day.

The Movement had also organized a massive protest at the Ayurveda junction on that day. The Media was told that several parliamentarians who are backing the Movement are also planning to hold a death fast.

UNP MP Dayasiri Jayasekera told a news conference that some ministers have been talking to them during the past three days and had informed the Movement they would make a decisive move at the right time.

He therefore challenged the government to have a secret ballot in parliament on Wednesday.

Mr. Jayasekera said the government which was aware of this move against the reforms was planning to get MPs to vote by name.

He explained that the Movement would continue with the campaign against the emerging dictatorship irrespective of the number of MPs the government gets in the House.

“We will fight even if the government gets a five-sixth majority in parliament,” he said.

New Left Front Leader Wickremabahu Karunaratne said Movement had decided to declare September 8 as a black day and called on the people to wear black on that day because democracy would be buried on that day. Free Media Movement Convener Sunil Jayasekera said the proposed reforms would have dangerous consequences on media freedom as well. He predicted it would not be possible for the media to publish any important state information as the entire state sector would be totally politicized through this piece of legislation.

United Socialsit Party Leader Siritunga Jayasuriya, Nawa Sihala Urumaya leader Sarath Manamendra also participated at the news conference.

© Daily Mirror

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Sri Lanka: "18th Amendment, an assault on constitutional democracy" says CPA

Photo courtesy: The Sunday Leader

Press Statement | Centre for Policy Alternative
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The Centre for Policy Alternatives, a Colombo based think tank, has warned that the "cumulative effect of the proposed 18th amendment is the creation of an executive presidency that is even more entrenched and unrestrained than what was contemplated by Mr. J.R. Jayewardene in 1978". In a statement issued today (04), the CPA has strongly condemned the "manipulative and partisan manner in which the government has sought to introduce these changes to the supreme law of the land."

A vote on the proposed amendment will be taken on the 8th of September before Sri Lanka's Parliament.

The full text of the CPA statement follows:

"The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) expresses its deep disquiet and consternation at the proposed Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution Bill, which seeks to remove critical constitutional restraints on presidential power. We are convinced that the changes embodied in the Bill are entirely inconsistent with constitutionalism and liberal democratic values, and adversely affect the sovereignty of the people and the republican principle. We also condemn the manipulative and partisan manner in which the government has sought to introduce these changes to the supreme law of the land; made worse by the fact that these changes are contrary to what was promised in the Mahinda Chintana and Mahinda Chintana Idiri Dekma, and therefore contrary to the successive mandates given to the President by the people in the 2005 and 2010 presidential elections. CPA has petitioned the Supreme Court on these grounds this week, and hopes that the Court will declare that a constitutional amendment with such fundamental and far-reaching consequences would require the approval of the people at a referendum.

There are two substantive elements to the Eighteenth Amendment Bill. The first is the abolition of term limits on the executive presidency. The imposition of term limits is a characteristic feature of presidential systems, the self-evident rationale for which is the prevention of constitutional dictatorship by disallowing one person to hold office in perpetuity, even subject to periodic democratic election. In the context of the excessive powers conferred on the executive President, the relatively long six year term of office (cumulatively twelve years), the absence of fixed terms and comprehensive personal legal immunity, together with inadequate or ineffective checks and balances represented in the system of government established by the Constitution of 1978, the limitation to two terms that any one person may hold that office assumes even greater importance. It is this basic and critical safeguard for democracy that the government is now seeking to eliminate.

The second element concerns the negation of restraints on presidential power established by the Seventeenth Amendment. The Seventeenth Amendment was enacted in 2001 with rare cross-party consensus in Parliament with a view to de-politicising key areas of governance. It was the result of a long and sustained campaign for reform undertaken by civil society and democratic forces in the country, which established crucial procedural restraints on the exercise of presidential power whilst leaving the basic structure of the Constitution, including the executive presidential system, intact. An objective review of the experience with regard to the implementation of the Seventeenth Amendment demonstrates that to the extent its full potential was never realised, it was due to the intransigence and contempt for constitutional provisions on the part of successive Presidents, rather than any fatal structural flaw that made it inherently unworkable. In this light, the justifications advanced for the nullification of the Seventeenth Amendment framework are wholly unpersuasive.

In this regard, we also note that in addition to the abolition of the Constitutional Council (and proposed replacement with a manifestly ineffectual Parliamentary Council), the Eighteenth Amendment Bill also envisages fundamental changes to the independent commissions, in particular the Elections Commission and the National Police Commission. Many of the most important powers conferred on the Elections Commission by the Seventeenth Amendment essential to the integrity of the electoral process would be removed. The entire nature and purpose of the National Police Commission as the central mechanism of the political independence and professionalism of the Police would be altered, with the new Commission performing the role of a mere administrative complaints body.

Given the depth and extent of the changes contemplated in the Eighteenth Amendment Bill, therefore, we find the process adopted for its enactment wholly inappropriate. Once again the procedure for urgent bills has been engaged, and the conclusion is inescapable that this is to foreclose, or at least attenuate, legitimate public discussion, critique and debate of the substance of the proposed changes. It might be added that a similar singularity of purpose has nowhere been in evidence with regard to a new post-war constitutional settlement addressing the challenges of unity, diversity and ethnic reconciliation, which is essential to ensuring peace and the future stability of post-war Sri Lanka.

As CPA and other petitioners in the public interest have submitted to the Supreme Court, the proposed changes are fundamental ones that seriously affect the manner in which the sovereignty of people is exercised. There is no reason tenable in an open and democratic society that such momentous changes should be introduced without the broadest possible discussion and deliberation, or without the opportunity for the people directly to express their views in a referendum.

For these reasons, CPA is of the view that the cumulative effect of the proposed changes is the creation of an executive presidency that is even more entrenched and unrestrained than what was contemplated by Mr. J.R. Jayewardene in 1978. The Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution Bill represents nothing less than an assault on constitutional democracy in the service of partisan advantage, and a consolidation of authoritarianism it would be too late to rue when its potential consequences begin to take effect."

© CPA

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