Stirring call made for Sri Lankans to exercise their rights
A stirring call for Sri Lankan citizens to actively and strongly exercise their inalienable and inherent rights provided for in the Constitution was made on Monday at a Colombo discussion on “Citizens’ Rights ”.
Dr. Deepika Udugama, Head, Department of Law, University of Peradeniya, speaking at a panel discussion organised by the Sunday Times Business Club (STBC), said that fundamental human rights are inherent to every person and if a country’s constitution does not provide for them in a democracy the people have a right to claim them.
“The theory in democracy is that rights are in-born in us. Nobody can say ‘ape aanduwa kale thamai meewa dunne’. The whole point, the concept of human rights is that by virtue of being born as human beings we are inherently entitled for those rights”.
Earlier it was revealed that during a Business Times (BT) poll on the issue of contaminated milk powder, most of the respondents revealed that they were unaware of their rights, prompting the STBC to discuss citizens’ rights, responsibilities vis-à-vis the role of the state.
Monday’s debate which included Chrishmal Warnasuriya, lawyer and civil rights activist; Suchith Abeyewickreme – peace education consultant and Mohamed Hisham, corporate executive and civil rights activist, revealed the importance of mobilizing people to exercise their rights provided for in the Constitution. The importance of every citizen in the country reading and understanding the constitution and their fundamental rights was also stressed.
 Dr. Deepika Udugama |
 Suchith Abeyewickreme |
 Chrishmal Warnasuriya |
Both Dr. Udugama and Mr. Warnasuriya noted that Sri Lanka’s sovereignty is bestowed on the people with parliament acting on their behalf for a specific and limited time period to enact laws on behalf of the people,
Every single thing done in parliament by representatives (MPs) is purely done – and must be – in the interest of the public; not individual interests.
Elected members are paid servants of the people, are paid a salary and even provided ‘BY THE PEOPLE” ’ luxury vehicles like ‘pajaros’ and ‘inter-coolers’ to carry out the job for the people.
Dr. Udugama, a highly respected civil rights activist and member of the Friday Forum eminent group of citizens, said that the Constitution clearly says that people are sovereign and nobody else.
While lamenting the silence of the many commerce chambers to raise their voice against any wrongdoing or infringement in peoples’ rights, she said the business sector could (and should) play a dominant role in protecting and promoting democracy.
While every person is entitled to basics such as food, water, shelter, sanitation, education, etc, she said people are also entitled to privacy, freedom of speech, movement, mental and social integrity, freedom of thought, etc. However the chain of events over the years that continues has led to a fear psychosis in the peoples’ minds. Dr. Udugama said that even if the citizens are aware of their rights and want to exercise it, they are afraid for fear of reprisal such as disappearances and the infamous white vans.
In a democracy, the people are not only consulted but have the power to directly participate in the decision-making process, she said adding that if they “don’t adhere to the conditional mandate given by the people, the people have to power to depose them and elect another set of members”.
Dr. Udugama lamented the lack of active participation of the people in decision-making saying, “We vote and then forget”.
She said that today’s situation is like the tail wagging the dog, but in a democracy it is the dog that wags the tail.
Mr. Warnasuriya spoke on constitutionality of citizenship, separation of power in the governing apparatus, rule of law and the public interest litigation.
He said that human rights is nothing new to Sri Lanka, or it is not foreign or the work of only the NGOs, but it has been coming down since ancient times. He said that the constitution provides for the separation of power — if one branch of the governing apparatus does the work of another branch then it could lead to dictatorship.
He said the government has been bestowed by the people in trust and for the benefit of the people. Therefore the funds that are available to the government cannot be used for personal things.
The two young panelists – Mr. Abeyewickreme and Mr. Hisham – brought in the views of the youth, saying that when they are involved in civil rights activities they used to be accused of being part of NGOs and there were aspersions that human right activities are imported from foreign countries and they are alien to Sri Lanka.
In this regard they said that they have also consulted eminent Buddhist monks who too feel that human rights are part and parcel of Buddhist philosophy. Mr. Hisham also said Sri Lankans were not exercising their rights even in non-controversial issues and said they were failing in their responsibilities as a citizen.
The STBC is sponsored by Etisalat, hosted by Cinnamon Lakeside and supported by Hameedia.
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