Dr. Sudath Gunasekara (SLAS) President Senior Citizens Movement .Mahanuwara /U.S.A.
Devolution of power under the 13th Amendment appears to be the most discussed and most controversial subject today in our political circles. It is a tragedy most people who advocate the 13th Amendment as the magic nostrum for the so-called Tamil problem in Sri Lanka (used for their own personal gain or to fulfill their hidden agendas and perhaps to display their assumed “ƒ”¹…”intellectual’ superiority over others), sadly appear to have not properly understood the well hatched monstrous Indian conspiracy behind it or its disastrous future implications that will fully destabilize this Island nation. I wonder, how many of them who advocate it have at least seen the 13th Amendment, apart from reading between lines and understanding its monstrous implications.
Do they know that its major recommendations had already been implemented from the time it was forced through Parliament by JR immediately after 1987 in the following manner?
- By setting up nine Provincial Councils (actually eight after merging N and E as required by the Indo-Sri Lanka agreement).
- By making Tamil also an official language in Sri Lanka under the amendment effected to article 18 of the Constitution and
- By granting Sri Lankan citizenship to more than 500,000 estate Tamils as required by the said agreement. (Citizenship under this provision was given on a simple affidavit singed before an ubiquitous JP-something unheard and unseen in the annals of granting citizenship anywhere in the world)
So why are they lamenting and cry their heart out so much on this stale subject as if nothing has been done by the government of Sri Lanka up to date.
Apart from that the million dollar question I would like to pose is what benefits these measures already taken have brought to the country or the people in general other than the enormous opportunities and gains showered on politicians and their kith and kin, while messing up the entire general and financial administration of the country and aggravating the divisive ethnic and regional tendencies in the country? Have these steps being able to solve, at least partially, the so-called Tamil problem. Have they reduced the divisive or communal tendencies or have they brought any benefit to the ordinary citizens living in those areas? So what guarantee do we have, that the people will get a better service after devolving those other few powers which have not been devolved?
I don’t think I need to delve in detail regarding the irreparable damages already done to the Sri Lankan polity by these political blunders. Even an ordinary vendor on the street will tell you how disastrous they have been. The only areas remaining to be given under the 13th to these Provincial Councils are the Land, Police and Judicial powers, to make them autonomous so that separation could be made easier and complete. The fact that the13A was specifically meant to find solutions to the so-called Tamil problems in the country clearly shows the conspiracy and the ethnocentric attitude behind this Indian move. It is a tragedy our political pundits never had the brain to understand this simple logic. There could not be any doubt that surely there were many men and women who knew this situation. But as usual their voices were never heard and accommodated by the traitorous politicians of the day.
I am wondering as to why even now, though it is too late, the government can’t tell those who make a big hue and cry (including the Indian politicians and mandarins) about implementing the 13A, that we have already done it long ago. Probably they want it implemented in full- to the very letter- so that they could watch the speed of disintegration of this Island Nation and enjoy it like a butcher who relishes the death of the cow whose neck he cuts. In this scenario India is behaving just like the Shylock the Jew, who asked for the exact pound of flesh from the heart, and nowhere else.
Looking at the current political and media upheaval that has boiled up on this issue I feel this war has assumed even greater proportions and importance than the one the armed forces just concluded to defeat the LTTE. Their arguments are also seems to be based on emotions and ideologies to which they are wedded and their ambitions for the realization of their personal goals. In this whole game obviously they seem to have lost the wood for the tree. Other than the long discourses by persons like Dayan Jayatilaka, even statements issued by some Ministers of government bring alarm and disgust to those of us who consider the country first than safeguarding our self interest.
For example I quote below few crucial statements purported to have been stated by Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena at a press conference held at the Information Department on 1.7.2009.
The Island 02-07-2009)
“ƒ”¹…”The President had emphasized that he wouldn’t give in to pressure from any party and he wouldn’t tolerate any dissent within his government to the proposed devolution of power to the provinces on the basis of 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
The President has told his ministers that this could be tackled the way he had handled opposition to the country’s war against LTTE terrorism.
He said that though a political solution to the national issue would definitely be placed before the people at a referendum as promised in Mahinda Chintanaya, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution could be implemented without being referred to the people.
though the 13th Amendment had been forced on Sri Lanka by the then government of India there couldn’t be any legal obstacle to its full implementation.
Yapa said that though some of coalition members didn’t approve of the way the President had executed the war against the LTTE, they didn’t cause any trouble. Similarly, those who opposed the current efforts to work out a political settlement could remain silent, he said.
If you carefully analyse these statements you will see that they are full of contradictions. The Minister modestly admits that the 13A had been forced on us by India when he says “ƒ”¹…”though the 13th Amendment had been forced on Sri Lanka by the then government of India’. But next he says “ƒ”¹…”there couldn’t be any legal obstacle to its full implementation’.
The underlying argument on this assumption, I believe, is the notion that it has been (properly or improperly) legitimized by JR subsequently, although it had been forced on us by India. Does this mean that whether we like it or not; India can order legislation for us and when it do so we have to meekly comply with it. This also means that even in future India can continue to do so to safeguard her own interests irrespective of what happens to this country. If so, what happen to the sovereignty of our country; then why should we have a government at such enormous cost to the country, a separate President, so many Ministers and Governors etc; why shouldn’t we hand over the governance of this Island to India to be run as one of its regional states under a Governor (like Tamilnadu or even EELAM) as it was proposed by JR Jayawardhana way back in early 1940s?
Is the Minister aware that for the same reasons he has indicated and for many other legally valid reasons the 13 A is an illegitimate and illegal instrument imposed on a sovereign State by another country tantamount to naked invasion;
is he aware that this was forced on us capitalizing on the then prevailing political naivety here at home, against the will of our people;
is he aware that the whole opposition and even the then Prime Minister Premadasa and powerful Ministers like Lalith Atulathmudali were against it;
is he aware that Gamani Jatyasuririya resigned, not only from his portfolio but even from politics on this issue and is he aware that this was passed under a country wide emergency? Besides is he aware of what the ex-CJ had said about the 13A recently, what the Minister considers to be sacrosanct and legal?
Further is he aware that the 13A is nothing but the hanging noose twisted by the Indian mandarins to hang Mother Sri Lanka by her neck in order to achieve their own dirty political ambitions by pretending to consider Sri Lankan Tamils as their own people?
Finally is he at least aware that the major recommendations of the 13A have already been implemented way back in 1ate 1980s? On the other hand do they know that if someone challenges it in a court of law (like what JVP did reg. the N &E merger) even today the 13A could be declared null and void? Because, firstly, it contravenes the Constitution- the basic law of the country- and then it was enacted and enforced against the will of the people of this country with whom lies the power to make and unmake laws for this country and also its aims and objectives cannot be defined as bona fide.
The minister also mentions that a “ƒ”¹…”political solution to the national issue would definitely be placed before the people at a referendum’. Then what is it that they are going to give under the 13th to the provinces. Is it not some form of devolution of political power? What is the difference between the two? If that is also devolution then how can they implement the 13thA without getting a mandate from the people with whom lies sovereignty of this country?
Then he also goes on to say “ƒ”¹…”that though some of coalition members didn’t approve of the way the President had executed the war against the LTTE, they didn’t cause any trouble. Similarly, those who opposed the current efforts to work out a political settlement could remain silent’ How stupid, irresponsible and how irrational for a Minister of State to make such sweeping generalizations. What the advocates of the 13th A, including the Minister, have failed to understand, in my opinion, is that there is a world of difference between the war and devolution. Majority in this country wanted the war to finish the LTTE. Therefore they supported it. Only an insignificant and toothless minority like those leftist Ministers in the cabinet, who cling on to portfolios as leaches do, and NGOO who subsist on US $ were against it. But with regard to devolution of power the situation is completely different. Majority oppose any form of devolution on an ethnic basis. Because such devolution to existing provinces, is going to be detrimental to the unity of the Sri Lankan State as it is going to pave the way for division of the country on an ethnic basis. That is why the majority agitates for a change of constitution that arrests communal segregation and all divisive tendencies and guarantees a better model of governance with lesser number of units of devolution where decentralization of administrative power to the districts should be the corner stone of efficient and just governance.
Everybody in this country knows who these two categories in the government referred to by the Minister are. The first group is represented by the LSSP and CP. What can they do by opposing it? They can only go home, if they are asked to go, there by foregoing the enormous privileges they enjoy now as pina politicians. How many voters can they influence in this country? Isn’t it a sad mistake to compare the JHU, JNP and the JVP elements with these outdated and fossilized so-called Marxists who have been rejected by the Sri Lankan at all the elections since 1960s. Do they know, irrespective of what damage they can do at the next election, together the JHU, JNH and JVP are already having a considerable number, nearing 50 elected members in Parliament that has to be reckoned with (unlike these nominated Ministers of the LSSP and CP)? However I don’t think they will be so foolish either, to take any hasty decision in view of the very delicate situation the country is facing today. They should also understand that it is much easier and prudent to achieve your goals while being insiders rather than trying to do things from outside. After all, the king, the woman and the creeper embrace the object closest to them, as Vishnu Sharman wrote in his classic Panchatantra.
What the President achieved by winning the war of cause is unparalleled. There is no doubt about that. But one must not forget that the devolution issue in Sri Lanka politics is like an atomic bomb that could explode and destroy everything and also much of his popularity. Think of what happened to Churchill at the post-second world war elections? Therefore I think the President will have to be extremely careful in handling this matter and think at least twice before he takes a final decision. Because, going by his performance during his short tenure of office, majority in this country wants him to continue as the head of the government at this critical juncture.
Finally, I would like to conclude with a paragraph from one of the best pieces on this subject, written by Dilrook Kannangara to Lankaweb that runs as follows.
“The 13A will achieve what it was supposed to achieve by its creator, India. Sri Lanka will be like India where racial groups are regionalised and they fight each other diplomatically first, violently next, just like in India. This makes India more and more important for Sri Lanka to “ƒ”¹…”help’ resolve problems. Sri Lanka’s Tamil Nadu will be more vibrant than its Indian counterpart in championing separatism and Tamil Elam. The peaceful journey to Tamil Elam passes through few stages. First, the demarcation of Tamil controlled regions, then more and more power to Tamil controlled regions, thereafter more and more autonomy for Tamil controlled regions, then the demand for separation for mutual benefit and finally separation. Nipping it in the bud is not something our politicians understand. There is more money, power, a sense of importance, “ƒ”¹…”merits’ in not nipping problems in the bud. After all it is not politicians or Geneva based diplomats who pay for their errors, mistakes and crimes”. (Lank web 4.7.2009)
What the country needs today is not special political divisions or special political powers to be given to Tamils, Sinhalese or Muslims on an ethnic basis, as the colonial masters and India want, to perpetuate ethnic segregation that breads inter-ethnic rivalry, suspicion and hatred. They also do not want uneconomic and smaller political divisions either, to multiply political office to accommodate politicians at the expense of the tax payers. But what they want today is fewer and realistic number of political divisions first and foremost that make the people to think in terms of one nation and one country concept without perpetuating the hither to practiced rancorous ethnic criteria with divided allegiance and dependency on India and secondly, that could drastically reduce the cost of governance by reducing the number of politicians and the number of political and administrative institutions.
Isn’t it a chronic tragedy that these advocates of the 13th Amendment do not understand this simple logic?
Ironically other than India and the so-called International Community no one else wants this 13th Amendment. Even moderate Tamil leaders like Ananda Sangaree have clearly stated this. The LTTE and certain sections of the Tamil diaspora are not prepared to accept anything short of their triple Timpu demands of a) the right of self determination b) acceptance of the North and the East as the Traditional Tamil Homeland as a separate State and c) acceptance of Tamil as a separate Nation with a “ƒ”¹…”Sinhale Demala Rajya. What a mythical political illusion the communal Tamil politicians have invented and nursed over the past sixty odd years?
If that is the reality why are we fighting among ourselves to devolve the balance political power under the 13th Amendment to the Provinces? Shouldn’t we do away completely at least now with this Provincial legacy, the bane of the nation, conceived and marked on ground by the British and subsequently given political meaning and substance by putting it on the path of separation by India through the 13th amendment and seriously think of a “ƒ”¹…”Home grown’ solution to govern this country as the President himself has articulated many a time. Furthermore what do we expect from such power devolution? Aren’t we wasting our precious time on some absurd issue thrust upon us by India to keep us confused and divided fighting among ourselves?
In this back drop the best solution I can recommend to diffuse the current political crisis is to put this haunting and stinky skeleton temporally in to a cupboard until a permanent and pragmatic solution for the governance of this country that guarantees ethnic harmony and good governance that leads to permanent peace and prosperity is worked out by a panel of competent men, after careful and serious deliberation. Until such time, I think, what the government should do is to concentrate on higher priority items such as re-settlement and rehabilitation of all IDPP, undertaking urgent development activities, especially in the war affected areas, evolving ways and means of at least reducing ethnic tension and segregation, arresting waste and corruption, restoring efficient and “people first” paradigm of administration, working out ways and means of making the people of all communities to feel free, equal, content and happy as one nation, getting Tamils and Muslims to give up their allegiance to India and Arab world as their mother lands and getting them to think and act as citizens of this country only and reducing cost of living by taking measures to cut the administrative and political overheads by minimizing the expenditure on political and administrative institutions (e.g. reducing the jumbo Cabinet and other superfluous government institutions etc). Mean while it may also be very necessary to direct all Ministers and MPP to stop talking on the 13th Amendment and refrain from issuing contradictory statements on national issues as well and reserve that responsibility for the Presidential office.
Also it would be timely for the government to draw its attention to denigratory statements, such as given below, often repeated by certain quarters to embarrass the government.
“The mostly Hindu ethnic Tamils, and other groups like the country’s Muslims, say they are discriminated against politically and economically by the mostly Buddhist ethnic Sinhalese majority.
What is this rubbish these fools are maliciously writing all the time to disgrace our country? Who is the Hindu Tamil or the Muslim who told them that they are discriminated politically and economically by the Sinhalese Buddhist? Why do they vomit brazen lies like this? Don’t these idiots know that this has been the motherland of the Sinhalese as a nation from the dawn of history and even today they constitute more than 70 % of the population of the Island? Don’t they know that none of these minority groups had been recognized as a nation at any time of the history of this Island? Don’t they know the so “”…”called minorities also have lived with them amicably as an integral part of the Sinhala nation? These are the bloody idiots who created this majority/minority mindset and ruined this nation. At least now they should put an end to this nonsense. It is high time that the so-called minorities also should realize the danger of this game and resolve to live and let live with the Sinhala people as they had done over the centuries without any problem. They should cease to be the cat’s paw of either Indians or any other who are only trying to pull their own chestnuts or fish in trouble waters to realize their goals.
To return to the main theme, after doing what should be done first, which will certainly help to win the hearts and the minds of the people the government can go for a broader mandate from the people for a new constitution based on a “ƒ”¹…”Home grown framework” (as the President has already said), that guarantees ethnic harmony, efficient and good governance, and sustainable peace and prosperity in this Island. It has been said that the swan can separate water from milk. Similarly the wise and the prudent should know how to take the correct decision at the correct time. Hope the President will rise to the occasion, as he has already proved his ability to do so.
Proposed alternative Devolution model
I give here an outline of the proposed alternative devolution model. I am confident that this will not only help us to overcome the present political and development crises but it will also enable us to re-create a strong and stable political entity as well as a dynamic and vibrant economy. As I have said many a time before the best devolution model for Sri Lanka is the “ƒ”¹…”Tun Rata’ model which sustained this country as a vibrant and prosperous nation for nearly 2250 years from 427 BC to 1815 AD without any break. (Perhaps the only Kingdom in the whole world that enjoyed such an unbroken political framework).
Under the proposed system it is recommended that three Regional Councils be established to cover the whole Island in place of the present nine provincial councils. The same old boundaries with slight modifications, say for example, Mahaweli, Walawe and Deduru Oya, could be used as the demarcating boundaries of the three Regional councils. It is proposed that each Regional council will have nine Districts, totaling up to 27.
The division of the Island to three political regions on this basis will have the following advantages.
1 Reduce the present nine Provincial councils to 3 Regional Councils and also bring down the political and Administrative institutions to a minimum of 1/3 the present number and save the governments expenditure by about 2/3 the current commitments.
2 Ensure equal distribution of natural and human resources, including the coast line among the three regions.
3 Put an end to all tendencies of communal and ethnic segregation and inspire the people to think in terms of the three Regions as a unifying factor rather than thinking in terms of Sinhalese, Tamils or Muslims in future. This will put an end to the ethno-centric mindset of Tamils and Muslims
4 Will ensure systematic and coordinated and efficient administration and development of the regions.
5 Set up a stable and strong state of three units of governance with equal political and semi autonomous administrative power.
This I think will also be the best answer to those who have been clamouring for a federal system of government in this country. If someone wants to, they can even call it a federal system. But of cause it will not be based on an ethnic basis as the Tamils and Muslims have been agitating. Instead it will be a breeding ground for ethnic integration and unity, which I consider as the golden gate way to our future unity and prosperity as a vibrant nation.
Each Regional council under this system will have a Governor appointed by the President and an elected body of fifty Regional Councilors. The legislative powers of the Councils will be carried out by a council of ministers for each Council, not exceeding the number in the central government. All local government matters should be left in the hands of local government institutions. I strongly suggest that we go back to the Village Committee system since it provides the best system of local government for Sri Lanka. Within the Regional Council area, the central administration will be done by Government Agents in charge of the Districts.
The details of how the devolution and decentralization of political and administrative powers and the relationship between the center and the Region etc has to be worked out by a special Commission appointed for the purpose.
The present system of the central government and the Executive President will continue. However under the new system the number of MPP in the parliament has to be reduced to about 125 to 135 and the number of Ministers to 15 including the President who will function as the Head of the Cabinet.
In addition to these changes it is also recommended that we set up an Upper House of about 35 members (27 elected members to represent the 27 Districts and 8 appointed by the President). This should enable the government to get the services of eminent persons who have excelled in different fields such as Administration, Law, Commerce, Engineering, Medicine, Culture and International affairs etc. and also to enlist representation of minority groups to make democracy more meaningful. So under this system the number of MPP at both levels will not exceed 280. See the following table for details.
Present Proposed
President 1 1
Prime Minister 1 1
Governors 9 3
Present Proposed
Parliament 225 125
PCs 638 Regional councils 150
Ministers 109 R/councils 45
Total 11 +225+638= 874 5+ 125+150=280
This proposal is designed on the assumption that the country will be governed by one strong government at the centre with a Parliament headed by a President and three Rata Sabhas, Ruhunu, Pihiti and Maya.
As it is, I think, Sri Lanka has the highest number of politicians and political institutions at the moment, including Ministers and Ministries and public servants in the whole world. The expenditure incurred on this machinery therefore in my opinion is a criminal wastage. It could be reduced at least by 50% and that could be gainfully diverted to national development if we adopt the proposed system. In this backdrop my view is that not only the 13th amendment should be scrapped but the 1987 Constitution itself should be replaced with a new one that could bring about political stability and balanced development in this country.
Why should this country labour the luxury of maintaining 874 politicians (including 9 Governors and 155 Ministers) when it could be run more efficiently with about 280 politicians and 27 Government Agents as shown above.
This I believe will be the best “ƒ”¹…”home grown’ devolution model that any prudent and rational Sri Lankan who loves this mother land can agree without any debate. Therefore I hope that this proposal will meet the basic requirements needed for the fulfillment of the vision of His Excellency the President, declared on the 19th of May 2009 in his historic address to the nation from Parliament, when he mentioned about a “ƒ”¹…”Home Grown’ solution.
I am really overjoyed to note that the government has taken action to implement two of my important suggestions, which I have been repeating for the past twenty odd years, one to resettle all those who were displaced since 1983 (including those Sinhalese chased out from Jaffna and Muslims from Mannar and Mullative by the LTTE in their programme of ethnic cleansing) in their original places and the other to ban all political parties named after ethnicity, religion or language such as TNA, Muslim Congress, all starting with either Tamil, Muslim or even Sinhala prefixes, that instigate communal segregation and division. I am also a man who has strongly and consistently advocated the use of state power as the only way to crush terrorism in this country. I am happy now the present government has done it in a splendid manner. I am confident and I wish the government will implement this Devolution model as well, with the same commitment and courage. This model I declare has been time tested in this country over a period of 2242 years and it has proved the best framework of governance for this Island nation, both in time and space. So why should we grope in the dark anymore?
The Sinhalese have dominated successive governments in the South Asian country of some 20 million people since independence in 1948.”