The Sunday Times Letters to the Editor Section

Letters to the Editor 5th August 2001

Contents Power greed in the name of crisis Why this undemocratic action? Don't erase Pirivena lessons Burning questions that need answers The days of gentlemen are gone Simple answer to simple question Race to hell Plants on passageway Power greed in the name of crisis The manner in which the present constitutional crisis has been handled by the Executive President has created public anger against the government. Although it is called a constitutional crisis by the media and others there is hardly any constitutional crisis. It is a crisis created by the unbridled greed for power. The government hanging on to office, without proving its majority in the House, is shameful and without any parallel. With supreme executive authority, there would possibly have been no threat to the President's office, had she allowed the opposition's vote of no-confidence. Even if it were passed, she could have allowed a combined opposition to form an alternative government. Her refusal to do so was presumably due to two reasons. She knew fully well that she was in danger of impeachment by the joint opposition majority. She was also determined not to allow the four independent commissions- elections, police, judiciary and Public Service - to come into being on the terms of the opposition for which there is public consensus. Such commissions are essential to cleanse the corruption in the election process, judiciary, the entire administration and the political system. This has been confirmed by no lesser a person than the President herself who has declared that except her Prime Minister and herself everyone else is corrupt and inefficient. Therefore, the President's promise to hold a referendum for the adoption of a new constitution is merely a fig-leaf to cover up the corruption and inefficiency of the government. The problems which have provoked public anger and discontent against the government are not rooted in any defects in the Constitution. It is the unrelenting, rising cost of living, sweeping corruption in every branch of government, including the judiciary, and poor and erratic performance of the economy against which people are seeking immediate action and relief. The power to legislate, according to the Constitution, rests exclusively with Parliament. The sovereign right endowed on the people is limited to electing Parliament which alone has the sovereign right and authority to legislate. However, the Constitution has defined specific situations where legislation passed by Parliament has to be ratified by the electorate to make such legislation valid in law. Accordingly, the proposed constitutional chicanery of presenting a new constitution at a referendum, before having it passed by Parliament, is like putting the cart before the horse. It is extra-constitutional in character and spirit and needs to be fought tooth and nail by the joint opposition as a united force. The united opposition should go all out and put paid to the constitutional fraud which is to be perpetrated on the people. K. Dharmadasa Oman Why this undemocratic action? You do not know me. I am one of the evaporating majority that voted you into power in 1994. This was despite my father having campaigned with and for the late Dudley Senanayake for many years. I thought the abolition of the executive presidency was a good thing and you got my vote. The deadline you set for this came and went and it has been downhill from there. I now shake myself out of my stunned apathy and write to ask you: -Why do you intend to hold a referendum incurring such expense? -What in the world does that Machiavellian referendum question mean? -Is it designed merely to trick the voter? -Are you certain you would have lost the vote of no-confidence? -Isn't it possible you could have pulled a majority together? -If yes, why this undemocratic action? -If no, why this undemocratic action? Lilamani Ebell Nawala Don't erase Pirivena lessons In ancient Ceylon, the centres of higher education were known as pirivenas and developed under royal patronage into very large institutions. But, today pirivena education does not seem to be part of the systematic education provided by the government. So far, pirivenas have not received registers, chalk, text- books, uniforms, cassettes, English books for A/L students, equipment and library facilities. Pirivena teachers are a minor unit among government teachers and are given step-motherly treatment. Why can't pirivena teachers be attached to government schools after completing their training or degree? The Ministry of Education should give ear to their grievances and act quickly. S.D. Sampath Matara Burning questions that need answers It is disturbing that the Air Force authorities failed to repulse the LTTE attack on the Katunayake airbase. The attack should have been anticipated in the face of the successful bombardment of LTTE preparations to retake Jaffna.The Tigers are reported to have come by train to Katunayake and a vigilant intelligence service would have been able to detect them. R.P.Gs. and shells cannot be hidden easily during transport and a keen eye may have detected them. What went wrong? How did such a serious security lapse occur? The public need some answers now. J.P. Nanayakkara Kalutara The days of gentlemen are gone Having seen politicians from the time of the first Parliament, I can't believe the change I see now. In those days, politicians were gentlemen, respected by all and never feared. They came to serve the people and the country and not themselves. D.S. Senanayake, Dudley Senanayake, Sir John Kotelawela, Dr. N.M. Perera, Dr. Colvin R. de Silva. G.G. Ponnambalam, Pieter Keuneman, to name a few - whatever their party - were held in high esteem not only here but also abroad. What do we see today? From the moment nomination papers are handed over, the political candidate's one and only aim is to win a seat in Parliament by hook or by crook, by legal or illegal means. Once the seat is won, the next step is to see ways and means of adding to his perks which have been heaped on politicians by politicians - through tenders and pay offs. The President has publicly confirmed this and confessed that she can't take any action because of the thin majority her party has in Parliament. Politicians have the cheek to tell the people that they made their election promises not with the intention of keeping them but to get the votes. The laws of the land do not apply to them - their vehicles are driven on the wrong side of the road, all traffic rules are broken and speed limits, they don't heed. It was only a couple of days ago that the PMSD forcibly released persons arrested by the Slave Island Police for violating traffic laws. The politician of today is not respected but feared because of the power he wields and the connection he has with the underworld. What can the peace-loving citizen hope for? W.R. de Silva Dehiwela Simple answer to simple question It would be better if the powers that be have the proposed referendum with the following question: "Should this country continue to be governed by the present administration?" The people will then be able to answer with a simple Yes/No without any difficulty. The will of the people will be apparent for all to see! SZ Boralesgamuwa Race to hell "To reign is worth ambition, though in Hell, "Better to reign in hell, than serve in Heaven...." John Milton. This seems to be the popular philosophy of all political parties who spit fire and brimstone against each other in the rat race to grab the crown and transform heaven into hell. Renowned academics, respected scholars, revered philosophers, legal luminaries and dedicated patriots, have all long pointed out the serious, if not suicidal, flaws and inherent dangers embodied in the proposed constitution. It is offered as a "Dola Pideni" (a sacrificial offering) to appease the blood-thirsty Eelam-seeking terrorists. The oft-repeated objection, among several others, is against the creation of regional councils which will be given exclusive legislative and executive powers. Their argument is that it will slowly but surely pave the way for the entire country to be engulfed in a serious constitutional crisis, leading eventually to its final dismemberment and fragmentation. The Constitution is a sacred book and should be treated as such. As a respected writer quite rightly said, the creation of regional councils under the draft constitution will eventually lead to "the castration of popular sovereignty". The time is right for all freedom loving people to rally round to prevent Sri Lanka as a nation becoming extinct and passing into history. Therefore, "Awake, arise, or be forever fall'n". Jayantha Perera Panadura Plants on passageway The flats at the Soysapura housing scheme, have no proper passageway (right of way) to individual homes. These flats had been constructed with the basic three feet passageway permitted by law, but now this is obstructed with flower plants. People do not realise this is the legal right of way and it cannot be blocked. Some even crowd the passageway and chat, assuming it's their own. Complaints to the local authority are of no avail. It is time the housing authority enforced the right of way. In other countries flat dwellers are issued a set of rules. Here too, the tenants should be given strict instructions on how to live in flats. They should be fined or warned by letter if they are a nuisance and ejected if they don't heed such warnings. Flat Dweller Moratuwa
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