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PR more just than simple-majority system – Political principles and their practice in Sri LankaMonday, March 30th, 2015
During the Renaissance, when classical (that is, Greek and Roman) learning was revived in Europe there were a few Italian city-States that practised some forms of democracy. But these too eventually submitted to the rule of autocrats, or became parts of larger kingdoms.
As the world began entering the Modern Period, beginning in the 16th century, Europe, after reaching Asia and the Americas through its voyages of exploration, began to exercise power over the rest of the world. At this time, Europe was dominated by large empires and kingdoms ruled by hereditary monarchs. But as wealth increased, and more and more people began to feel the need to participate in government, demands for democracy developed. Study of classical authors helped to establish the idea that the State should be based on a social contract, whereby the rulers were bound to act on behalf of the people. If they failed to do this, they could be challenged. The Divine Rights Theory of Monarchy, which held that a State belonged to the monarch, lost credibility.
Challenging the executive power
As mentioned earlier, it was in England that Parliament emerged in the 17th century as an institution capable of challenging the executive power of the king. The French Revolution against monarchy, and the American Revolution against British rule in the 18th century, established the idea that government essentially belonged to the people, and derived its authority from them. Even though at the beginning of the 19th century the kings of Europe tried to restore the old order, this was only temporary. Monarchies prevailed in most countries until the 20th century, but the kings had to accept parliamentary authority which gradually increased. Those who resisted the longest were swept away during the First World War. Those who had compromised earlier, such as the English King, kept their thrones though actual decision-making powers passed to the elected representatives of the people.
It should be noted that another concept of democracy prevailed for some time in the 20th century. This was the notion that democracy, or the power of the people, meant not that they chose their government, but that they had a government that acted in their interests. This was institutionalized in communist countries, which often called themselves democratic republics, but did not allow elections in which people could choose from alternatives. The assumption was that the Communist Party, which was virtually the only political party, allowed to function, represented the people and ensured that they received all they needed.
This notion of democracy proved unsustainable and people throughout Europe opted for multi-party democracy towards the end of the 20th century. Communists may have been sincere in their beliefs and intentions, and initially helped to correct gross inequalities in countries that had maintained feudal structures into the modern age. But in practice communist regimes proved unable to satisfy the aspirations of societies as they developed. So before long, they had to give way to more open systems of government, in which democracy meant the power to remove governments from power if they proved unsatisfactory.
It is now almost universally accepted that democracy means the power to choose, with regular elections in which people choose the executive branch of the government as well as a Parliament which acts as a law-maker. However, for countries that adopted the British model, a more serious question has emerged with regard to the limits of democracy, or rather what are the limits to the powers that can be exercised by a government or by a Parliament.
In Britain, which has never had a written Constitution, the assumption is that the Parliament is sovereign, that is, it has the highest powers in the country. This has now changed, as Britain is a member of the European Union and must abide by its rules. But apart from this restriction, the British Parliament can, in theory, pass any law it wishes to. In actuality, the British have certain conventions to ensure that power is not abused. There is also a sound judicial system which ensures on the basis of certain fundamental principles that blatantly unjust laws are not passed.
However, such mechanisms have not been established in many countries that obtained their independence from Britain in the course of the twentieth century. So the idea has developed that once a Parliament had been elected, its powers are virtually unlimited. This has resulted in the abuse of power by duly elected governments on several occasions. An obvious instance of such abuse is when a government extends the term for which it has been chosen. The claim is that the people have chosen the government and, if it wishes to extend its term, it does so having won the mandate of the people. But clearly this ignores the fact that a government is elected by the people for a particular period. If the people want the government to continue, they should exercise the right to vote for it again.
People have now realized that there must be limits to the powers of Parliament. The basic rights of the people have to be entrenched in a Constitution, and the Parliament should not be permitted to change these. Under special circumstances some of these provisions may have to be changed, but this should require consensus, and special majorities should be prescribed to permit this. But there are some rights, such as the right to life, which even an overwhelming majority, cannot take away from any individual. Democracy, it is recognized, means power to people as individuals, and their individual identity cannot be subjected to the decisions of a majority, however large.
Systems of representation
Another unfortunate legacy left behind by the British in their former colonies is a voting system known as the simple-majority system that has led to governments not truly representative of the people they governed. In Britain, Members of Parliament are selected to represent particular constituencies or electorates. Whoever gets the highest number of votes in an electorate is elected as its Member of Parliament (MP). If there are several candidates, an MP can be selected with the support of less than half the electorate. Since the party that has a majority of seats in Parliament forms the government, a government can come to power with the support of fewer than half the voters in the country.
Many countries in Europe have avoided this system in which a winner by a small margin, who does not even necessarily possess a majority of the whole vote, obtains total power. Elections are instead conducted on a system of proportional representation (PR). In such a system parties obtain seats in Parliament in proportion to the votes they obtain from the people. This can be on the basis of electoral districts, or even the country as a whole. This system is clearly more just than the British simple-majority system. However, there is the danger of the MP becoming merely a party functionary rather than someone who has close ties with the particular constituency he or she represents.
In the next section, I will look at the system of representation which in my view ensures the greatest responsiveness to the people.
By Rajiva Wijesinghe
Source: http://www.ceylontoday.lk/51-88511-news-detail-pr-more-just-than-simple-majority-system-political-principles-and-their-practice-in-sri-lanka.html
Anthem of a NationMonday, March 30th, 2015
The Anthem of our Nation has has been a topic of discussion recently.
The English term 'Nation' had been traced back to 1300 A.D. and is said to come from the French 'Nacion', which in turn had come from Latin 'Natio' meaning birth. There is also a Latin word 'Gens'. Nation has been given so many meanings, and one that we should serious accept is "people of a common ancestry".
If we accept this argument, then our first ancestor was Adam, or for those who believe in the theory of evolution, then our early ancestors came from Central Africa. Then all mankind, the species we identify as Homo sapiens, is one nation. Then we should have a Universal Anthem.
We could trace the etymology of the word 'Anthem' to Latin 'antefana' and Greek 'Antefona' and at first meant a 'hymn', which in Europe was a Christian hymn, "a choral composition based on a Biblical passage, for singing by a choir in a church service".
The Dutch claim that they produced the first national Anthem in the world, 'Wilhelmus van Nassouwe' in 1574, but it was officially accepted only in 1932. The British started singing 'God save the king' in 1745, today they have substituted 'Queen' for 'King'. In our part of the world, court singers would have been singing such songs for several thousand years, but not as national anthems.
Struggle for independence
Most National Anthems, like most songs, developed around melodies that were popular at the time. The National anthem of the United States, 'Star Spangled Banner" composed by Frances Scott Key, to the melody of an old English drinking song, which had been first sung at a London Club in 1779. Key was an amateur poet, who wrote the lyrics, in 1984 as has saw the US flag flying over Fort McHenry, which became the best loved patriotic song, and became the National Anthem 1931. Key would never have imagined as he wrote the poem, that it would ever become the National Anthem.
With the invasion and colonization of our country by the British, they forced us to sing their "National Anthem" and bow to their "National Flag". From 1938 Radio Ceylon closed their broadcast in the evening with the Ceylon National Anthem "God Save the King". Children had to sing "God Save the King" at school functions. Ananda Rajakaruna had written children's poems in praise of George VI. John de Silva had praised and wished long life to George VI in his stage plays, "that he was a god protecting our country". M. G. Perera had broadcast over the radio four songs in praise of the king, on his coronation in 1937.
With the rise of the struggle for independence, there was resistance against such "unpatriotic" acts. Wijayananda Dahanayake raised black flags in Galle on the day of the coronation.
Parliamentary committee
The growth of patriotic, anti-colonial feelings, and encouraged by the developments in India, we too were in search of a national anthem. National anthems of our own came into being, by our poets like Rev. S. Mahinda and M. G. Perera, and J. P. Welivita of Puwakpitiya had even composed a national anthem to the music of "God Save the King", showing how imitative we had been.
Imitation continued, with Ananda Samarakoon, composing a National Anthem based on the Indian National Anthem, as "Jana Sema Mana Adhipathiyani".
In October 1950 a petition proposing that a parliamentary committee should be appointed to select a "National Anthem", was signed by 64 eminent Sri Lankans. However, "The selection of the National anthem was entrusted to Lanka Gandharva Sabha comprising S.L.B. Kapukotuwa, L.L.K. Gunatunga, Lionel Edirisinghe, P.B. Illangasinghe, Dr. O.H.D.A. Wijesekara and Mudliyar E.A. Abeysekara. The present National anthem "Namo, Namo Matha" was presented to the committee on January 31, 1948. The song, "Sri Lanka Matha Yasa Mahima," by P.B. Ilangasinghe of Gampola was selected. Lionel Edirisinghe and Ilangasinghe provided the music for the song relayed over Radio Ceylon on February 4, 1948. There was a controversy over this selection and on the second anniversary of independence in 1949, Samarakoon's 'Namo, Namo Matha' was sung by the students of Musaeus College.
In February 13, 1950 the present national anthem was officially accepted. A Cabinet paper presented by the then Finance Minister J.R. Jayewardene stated that 'Namo, Namo Matha' was popular and it should be accepted as the National song of Lanka. A selection based on popularity rather than the merits of the song.
In August 1951, Ananda Samarakoon's song was accepted as the National anthem. Home Affairs and Rural Development Minister Sir Oliver Gunatilaka submitted this to the Cabinet which accepted it in November 22, 1951, and on March 12, 1952 confirmed it.
There had been many adverse reports and observations about the national Anthem. Mahagama Sekara had said the National Anthem sounds like a Christian hymn, that there was no life in it. Rev. Fr. Porutota had said that the words are almost like a translation of Vande Mataram. Amaradeva had complained the lyrics were very poor and the music had been created carelessly. Among those who opposed it were also C. W. W. Kannangara, the father of our education system, and Wijeyananda Dahanayake, the minister of education during the S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike rule.
(I am indebted to Prof. Sunil Ariyarathne's "Ananda Samarakoon Adyayanay" for the historical data on our anthem)
How the west looks at our national anthem was summarised by Alex Marshall, who stated that by their standards, the Sri Lankan national anthem "sounds like a nursery rhyme", among the 205 anthems he studied, he says 190 were "perfunctory and lifeless". That is the Western concept of a National Anthem.
In addition to the attacks on the national anthem, because it was not "national" in any way, because the music was Indian (Bangali and specifically Rabindra Sangeeth), and the lyrics did not really arouse "national feelings", the major protest was about the 'gana' of the words, which developed into an unstoppable avalanche when the assassination of S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike was also attributed to the evil effects of the national anthem. Like it had always happened in our country, a 'quick-fix' was implemented by simply changing the first two words 'Namo namo' to 'Shri Lanka', and many Sinhala academics are still not happy with the 'gana'.
Tamil community
Had the parliament appointed a committee to select a National Anthem, it should have comprised people who knew their Sinhala and Tamil languages, and who knew or had an understanding and could appreciate indigenous music. It should never have been done in haste, just because the British had an anthem, and just because India was to have one. Our country had existed for many thousand years without an anthem, or a flag. It is not an anthem or a flag which unites a nation, or which creates patriotic feelings. It is the sense of belonging, sense of unity that creates this unity, like we have the unity and loyalty in our family to our parents, our siblings and our children.
Today the controversy is because the President had allowed once again the Tamil speaking community a privilege they had enjoyed for sixty years, ever since a National Anthem was adapted. When the Tamil translation of the anthem was first presented to the parliament, there is no record of any objection by any member of the parliament about the Tamil version. Were all the Sinhala MPs so unpatriotic and unconcerned about granting this privilege to the Tamil community?
There is an argument that in India, the anthem is sung only in Hindi. But the situation in India is totally different from what we have in our country. The Indian constitution states that "The official language of the Union shall be Hindi". The National Anthem of India Jana-gana-mana, "composed originally in Bengali by Rabindranath Tagore, was adopted in its Hindi version by the Constituent Assembly as the National Anthem of India on 24 January 1950. It was first sung on 27 December 1911 at the Kolkata Session of the Indian National Congress." In India the anthem was created by one of the greatest poets in the world, and people all over India accepted it and respect it. Singing of the anthem in other languages used in india is not practical, as there are 22 major languages, unlike in our country where we have only 2 languages.
In India singers and musicians from all over the country, speaking in many different tongues sing their national anthem together as one nation. They could do it, because the anthem embraces them all, geographically and ethnically, both in music and words. But our national anthem is not national in music, and the words do not mention the diversity of our culture, languages and religions, but only praise the land.
Sinhala language
Our constitution states "The National Language of Sri Lanka shall be Sinhala and Tamil". The constitution does not state anywhere that the anthem should be sung in Sinhala only or that it cannot be sung in Tamil.
In India, their Constitution accepted both Vande Mataram and Jana Gana Mana as national anthems. While presiding over the Constituent Assembly on January 24, 1950, President Dr. Rajendra Prasad stated: "The composition consisting of words and music such as Jana Gana Mana is the National Anthem of India, and the song 'Vande Mataram', which has played a historic part in the struggle for Indian freedom, shall be honored equally with 'Jana Gana Mana' and shall have equal status with it." Vande Mataram has a greater history, significance and sanctity.
The song 'Vande Mataram, was written, composed and dedicated to the Motherland of undivided Bharat (now known as India, Pakistan and Bangladesh) on November 7, 1876 by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhya (Chatterjee). It appeared in his patriotic novel Anandmath published in 1882.
Rabindranath Tagore, who wrote Jana Gana Mana sang Vande Mataram at the Calcutta Congress Session in 1896. It was the first political occasion when Vande Mataram was sung in chorus. Tagore also set the song to music. Vande Mataram became the national battle cry for freedom from British oppression, especially after the launching of Swadeshi Movement (August 7, 1905) and the partition of Bengal (October 16, 1905) by Lord Curzon. Sarala Devi Chaudharani, niece of Rabindranath Tagore, sang Vande Mataram at the Benares Congress Session, despite the ban on its singing by the British government. Vande Mataram were the last words on the lips of Indian patriots who were murdered by the British.
If we too had to really struggle and fight for our freedom, perhaps our battle cry would have been "Lanka, Lanka pembara Lanka…." Sunil Santha's song deserved better consideration as the National Anthem of this country, for several reasons. The lyrics were by Arisen Ahubudu who was an authority on the Sinhala language. He wrote 'Lanka Lanka' as a patriotic poem, at the request of Sunil Santha. Then it was set to music by Sunil Santha who was committed to promote a national music, unlike our present anthem set to North Indian music.
Geographical barriers
When a columnist in India credits the Sri Lanka National Anthem to Rabindranath Tagore, should we feel honoured, or insulted? In the 'Off the Field' column in 'Times of India' April 3rd, 2011, we find a comment about national anthems of the countries playing the cricket world cup. The columnist identifies the 'Man of the Series' as Rabindranath Tagore. He justifies his pick by saying that "the man with the top score this World Cup, albeit in musical terms, was Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore as the genius behind the national anthems of three countries, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka."
There is no dispute when on the opening game in Dhaka, 'Amar Shonar Bangla' and 'Jana Gana Mana' were the two anthems. Both Bangladesh and India are proud to have Gurudev's creations as their anthems. At the final game, the anthems were 'Jana Gana Mana' and 'Shri Lanka Matha', which the writer claims was inspired by Gurudev's own music and lyrics.
Should we have a song which is inspired by an Indian, using his music, and as some have accused, has been influenced by the national anthem of Bangladesh?
We imitated the British, when we adapted a national anthem of our own, and those who object to the Tamil version has pointed out that all of Britain has one National anthem. But in Britain, the people of Ireland (Amhran na bhFiann), Wales (Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau), and Scotland (Scots Wha Hae) have their own national anthems, which they use at their own functions and at sports events. Even the people of England still sometimes use "Land of Hope and Glory" and "Jerusalem" as the national anthem of England.
We have an anthem because we have a language. But unfortunately man became imprisoned inside the tower of babel, that we have 6900 different languages today, whereas we should have had only one language all over the world, because they all probably have one origin, in the same way man has only one origin.
Today we are talking about a 'global village' and all geographical barriers have been surmounted by easy travel facilities, and through digital communications, making the whole world one unitary cyberspace. Under such developments, we have to seriously consider whether a country really needs a 'national anthem', because more than unifying a nation, bringing reconciliation, acceptance and harmony, we are often creating more conflicts and antagonism. What we really need is a Universal Anthem for all human beings.
If we really need a National Anthem, let us create a new anthem, which should be acceptable to all communities in our country, using our own indigenous traditional music. We need a song we could all be proud of, which we can sing with pleasure and with a genuine feeling of patriotism.
The word we use for the love of our country and our people is also influenced by the European concept of a Fatherland and hence patriotism. But in our part of the world, we use the term and concept of Mathrubhumi, motherland, and hence we should use the term Matriotism.
Matriotism is the right word today, because it encompasses the entire world, all humanity, who are children of Mother Earth. What we need is a Matriotic song, for Mother Earth and all humanity, which unfortunately today we will have to sing separately in different languages.
Three years ago to commemorate the 150th Birth Anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, there was seminar on Tagore and Sri Lanka. The Seminar began with the singing of the National Anthems. Many of the Sri Lankans sang along with the recorded music, while the Indian delegates were silent, and then the Indians sang with the Indian Anthem. We came together to honour Gurudev, but we sang separately. (CDN 20-06-2012)
Since we in Sri Lanka also hold Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore in such high regard, let us re-read "Jodi tor daak shune" , and instead of saying only 'ekla chalo re' and "walk alone", let us, all the children of Mother Earth, sing together and walk together to a better, more humane world.
By Daya Dissanayake
Source: http://www.dailynews.lk/?q=features/anthem-nation
Proposed Constitutional Amendment Needs Improvement: Article 19Monday, March 30th, 2015
Article 19 welcomes the proposed inclusion of a right to information provision as the Sri Lankan Parliament amends the country's Constitution. However, the London based freedom of expression watchdog urges Parliament to make sure that constitutional rights are available to all, not just citizens.
"It's encouraging that the Sri Lankan government is serious about protecting the right to freedom of information and is joining the other countries of South Asia in having a full constitutional provision. However, the proposed provision only protects this right for citizens, so we urge the government to change the proposal to ensure that the right is available to all," said Thomas Hughes, Article 19 Executive Director.
"According to international law human rights belong to all, not just those with citizenship. Rules restricting rights so that they only apply to citizens have been used elsewhere to prevent marginalised and economically disadvantaged people – many of whom cannot afford or are prevented from becoming citizens – from exercising their rights," he added.
"Given that the Sri Lankan government is amending the Constitution, it should make sure that the provision on the right to freedom of expression is expanded to apply to everybody, not just citizens" he concluded.
The proposed amendment creates a new article (Article 14A of the Constitution) which states: 'every citizen shall have the right of access to any information'. It goes on to say that for any organisation to be able to request information, over three-quarters of its members must be citizens. This provision unnecessarily restricts the right to information to those people with citizenship of Sri Lanka.
The Constitution also currently limits the rights to freedom of expression, assembly, association and belief so that they are only protected for its citizens. However, freedom of expression and the right to information are fundamental rights for all. This is recognised by numerous international instruments, including:
- the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
- the regional charters of the African Union, the Organization of American States, the Council of Europe, and the European Union.
In addition to this, the UN Human Rights Committee clearly stated in its General Comment 34 in 2011 that these rights apply to everyone.
Under international law, all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent, and interrelated. No fundamental and universal right can be applied solely to citizens. Therefore, constitutions that give rights only to their citizens are in contravention of international legal standards.
By Executive Director Thomas Hughes
Source: https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/sri-lankas-proposed-constitutional-amendment-needs-improvement-article-19/
New look at electoral reforms: 250 seatsSunday, March 29th, 2015
- Polls chief to present package to party leaders tomorrow
- 20th Amendment after consensus is reached
- 140 on FPP, 80 PR and 30 National List
New electoral reforms where the number of seats in Parliament will be increased to 250 from the existing 225 will be explained to party leaders tomorrow by Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya. The new package will see the election to 140 seats through the First-Past-the-Post system, 80 through a District proportional representation system and 30 seats from the National List.
An Elections Department source said the lines on which the new reforms would be carried out were to be placed for study at tomorrow's meeting to be chaired by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. The source said the carving out of the 140 new electorates would get under way only after finality was reached. After they are studied, party leaders would meet again on April 6 to take a decision.
The UPFA parliamentary group will also meet tomorrow afternoon to study the same reforms package Commissioner Deshapriya will present to the party leaders tomorrow morning. They are expected to study the reforms and take a decision in consultation with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party parliamentary group. If the parties reach agreement on the proposed electoral reforms, the Commissioner would submit the proposals to the Legal Draftsman to prepare the amendment before it is submitted to parliament for approval as the 20th Amendment to the Constitution.
The Delimitation Commission will be appointed soon after approval is granted. The Commission will comprise officials from the Census Department and the Surveyor General's Department with the Elections Commissioner being the secretary.
By S. Rubatheesan
Source: http://www.sundaytimes.lk/150329/news/new-look-at-electoral-reforms-250-seats-142194.html
Full Text: Amendments Proposed To The Gazetted 19th Amendment Shared With Leaders Of Political PartiesSunday, March 29th, 2015
The proposed amendments give effect to the changes to the 19th Amendment agreed to by the Cabinet after the 19th Amendment Bill was Gazetted. According to the new amendment, the executive presidency will be abolished but the President will have certain powers. The President will no longer be the Head of Government. The phrase "Head of Government" will not appear in the Constitution, which was the case during the Soulbury and First Republican Constitutions too.
Where the President does not agree with advice given to him by the Cabinet through the Prime Minister, he can ask the Cabinet to reconsider advice given. If the Cabinet does not change the advice given, the Prime Minister must inform the Parliament. Thereafter, the view of the Parliament will prevail.
Also, the President will have the power to summon the Cabinet to discuss any matter of national importance and will chair the Cabinet so summoned.
President Maitripala Sirisena will preside over the Cabinet during his term of office. He will work in accordance with the decisions made by the Cabinet.
Read the full text here
Source: https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/full-text-amendments-proposed-to-the-gazetted-19th-amendment-shared-with-leaders-of-political-parties/
The Proposed 19A – A CritiqueSunday, March 29th, 2015
The Bill for the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution has been drafted, published in the Gazette and placed on the Order Paper of Parliament without any opportunity for public consultation. Once more, a government has arrogated to itself the sole power to draft a constitution, ignoring the fact that the constitution belongs to the whole country and all its inhabitants. It is a social contract between the citizens and the state, whereby the people agree to submit themselves to the power of the state, and agree to the manner in which that power will be distributed, exercised and limited among the institutions of government. A constitution should not be the product of political bargaining between competing political parties; nor should it result from the application of the party whip.
The proposed Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution appears to have been drafted with care to reflect some of the commitments made in the common programme of the common candidate for the presidency which received the overwhelming support of all ethnic and religious groups of this country. However, a reading of the Bill reveals several provisions which, if enacted, could impede the governance of this country, and interfere with the lives of ordinary Sri Lankans as well.
Access to Information
The proposed new Article 14A seeks to introduce a new fundamental right, namely, the right of access to information, notwithstanding the fact that the right to seek, receive and impart information is an element of the "freedom of speech and expression including publication" which is already guaranteed in Article 14(1)(a) of the Constitution. What is now required is a substantive law that gives practical effect to that fundamental right. Instead, what is being offered is a constitutional provision that reflects a serious misunderstanding of the concept of access to information. Article 14A seeks to grant every citizen the fundamental right of access to any information held by "any other person", "being information that is required for the exercise or protection of that citizen's rights". As far as I am aware, there is no legislation in any country in the world that gives a citizen the right of access to information in the possession of another "person".
The draftsman has apparently borrowed this provision from the 1996 Constitution of South Africa which was drafted in the context of the "secretive and unresponsive culture" that had prevailed under the apartheid regime. The draftsman appears to have ignored the fact that when substantive legislation was enacted in that country, that error was rectified and the term "private bodies" was substituted for "persons". In the absence of any such implementing legislation in Sri Lanka, will my neighbour now acquire a constitutional right to intrude into the privacy of my home in search of information (perhaps my research material !) that may be useful to him for the purpose of vindicating his rights in a court of law?
Access to information means a right of access to information in documentary form in the possession, custody or control of departments of government or other public bodies constituted under the law for any public purpose. It is about open government and accountability and the strengthening of democratic processes. It is not about access to information in the possession of private individuals. Nor should the exercise of that right be restricted under an omnibus clause that includes grounds such as "the protection of health or morals" as stated in the Bill. Exempt documents are usually those that may prejudice a pending criminal investigation, information communicated in confidence by the government of a foreign state, trade secrets, yet incomplete scientific research, and such like.
Presidential Immunity
The proposed new Article 35 continues to provide the President with immunity from civil or criminal proceedings. An examination of comparative constitutions, including those of France, South Africa and the Republic of Korea, will reveal that such immunity is enjoyed only in monarchical states and not in democratic republics (where everyone is equal before the law and subject to the equal protection of the law). Even the President of the United States has not been granted any such immunity under the Constitution of that country, although the Supreme Court has declined to issue judicial directions in respect of his official acts. Under the existing and proposed provisions of the Constitution, even a president's spouse is prohibited from instituting a civil action for divorce or for maintenance!
Acting President
The proposed new Article 37 states that whenever the President is absent from Sri Lanka or is otherwise unable to perform the functions of his office, the Speaker shall act in that office. This is a departure from previous practice in regard to the office of the constitutional head of state. Under both the 1946 and 1972 Constitutions, provision was made for the Chief Justice (or the chief judge of the highest court) to assume that office during such a period if no other person was appointed to act. If the office of President is expected to be non-political, it would be inappropriate for an elected politician belonging to a political party even to act in that office. Moreover, in terms of Article 66 of the Constitution, the seat of a Member of Parliament becomes vacant if he becomes subject to any disqualification specified in Article 91, and one of these disqualifications is "if he is the President of the Republic" – even for a day!
In 1975, when President Gopallawa was due to leave the Island on an official visit, the then Speaker, Stanley Tillekeratne, staked a claim to be appointed to act. At the request of the Prime Minister, I sought the opinion of the Attorney General on this matter. Mr Raja Wanasundera was of the view that the combination of the offices of Speaker and President would be against the whole spirit of the Constitution. He wrote:
Both as the Speaker and as a Member of the National State Assembly, he is part of the legislature which does not directly exercise executive and judicial powers. The office of President is one of the most important offices contemplated by the Constitution. The President is the head of the Executive. Having regard to the functions and duties reposed in these offices, it seems to me that the nomination of a person who is a Member of Parliament and the Speaker of the National State Assembly, to act in the office of President, would tend to negative the distinctions drawn in section 5 of the Constitution.
The incompatibility would clearly arise if the person concerned is deemed not to vacate the office of Speaker or Member of Parliament, or both, on acting for the President. If, on the other hand, we take the view that the Speaker vacates office on acting for the President, then it seems that a new Speaker will also have to be appointed. The provisions of the Constitution seem to indicate that the office of Speaker and Deputy Speaker are different, and the Constitution contemplates that both offices should be filled.
The Attorney General concluded that having regard to the incompatibility referred to above, it was not desirable that the Speaker should be nominated to act in the office of President. Accordingly, Chief Justice Victor Tennekoon assumed the office of President, and Mr Justice Samarawickrema was appointed to act in the office of Chief Justice.
The Constitutional Council
The proposed new Chapter VIIA provides for the establishment of a Constitutional Council. However, that chapter does not appear to have taken note of the unfortunate experience of the previous Constitutional Council. Five persons are required to be appointed on the nomination of both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. What would happen if these two opposing politicians are unable to agree on five or lesser number of persons? Similarly, what would happen if the Members of Parliament of other political parties and independent groups are unable to agree on one member to be appointed? Surely, provision ought to be made for the President to make such appointments on his own initiative in such situations.
Secretary to a Ministry
In the proposed new Article 52, provision is made for the appointment of a Secretary for each Ministry who shall "subject to the direction and control of his or her Minister" exercise supervision over the departments of government and other institutions in charge of the Minister. In the 1946 Constitution, the Permanent Secretary exercised such supervision "subject to the general direction and control of his Minister". In the 1972 Constitution, the word "general" was deleted. "General direction" related to matters of policy only; "direction" on the other hand could be case specific if the Minister was so inclined. Thereby, the Minister, and through him numerous Members of Parliament and constituents whom he wished to humour or accommodate, became directly involved in the routine administration and decision-making processes of government departments.
This change appeared to have considerable support at the time among the Ministers since many of them believed that Permanent Secretaries who had been appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, sometimes with no prior consultation with the Minister to whom the Ministry had been assigned, were a channel through which the Prime Minister exercised oversight and influence, if not control, over those Ministries. That change stripped the Permanent Secretary of his independence, and transformed that office into that of a political agent who could be required to carry out the specific directions of the Minister even on matters where independent action was desirable. Having served as a Permanent Secretary under the 1946 Constitution and as a Secretary under the 1972 Constitution, I would strongly urge that the independence of that office (and thereby of the public service as a whole) be restored by permitting only "general" direction.
Dissolution of a Ministry
The proposed new Article 52 also states that the Secretary to a Ministry shall cease to hold office upon the dissolution of the Cabinet of Ministers, which is an event that would ordinarily happen at the conclusion of a general election. It is precisely at such a time that a Ministry should continue to function under a Permanent Secretary until a new Ministry is created or a new Minister is appointed. The conclusion of a general election should be the time for an orderly transition, and the Permanent Secretary should be the link between the past and the future.
Dissolution of Parliament
To curtail the power of the President to dissolve Parliament during the first four years and six months of its five year term (except on a resolution passed by not less than two-thirds of the whole number of members – including those not present – voting in its favour) as is sought to be done in proposed new Article 70, is a recipe for anarchy. What would happen in a Parliament in which no single party has a clear majority, and each government that is constituted is defeated after a few months, or a budget is repeatedly rejected, and members are unwilling to vote for a dissolution until they have qualified for their pension at the end of the fifth year? Surely the President must have that reserve power to dissolve Parliament and call a general election to ensure that stability returns to governance.
Head of Government
Much has been made in certain political circles about the lack of a reference to the "head of government". There was no reference in either the 1946 or the 1972 Constitutions to a "head of government". As in both those Constitutions, the President (or Governor-General in the 1946 Constitution) is the head of the executive (i.e. the government), while the Prime Minister is the head of the Cabinet of Ministers which is charged with the direction and control of the Government of the Republic.
The Issue of the Referendum
The proposed new Article 3 provides for the President of the Republic to be "elected by the People". A national election of a constitutional head of state is a luxury that Sri Lanka cannot afford. This provision is probably being retained in the Nineteenth Amendment for fear that any other, more rational, form of election (such as by Parliament) may require approval at a referendum. It is time that this unreal fear, unleashed by a 2002 judgment of former Chief Justice Sarath Silva, is finally laid to rest.
Following the general election of 5 December 2001 at which the UNP secured a comfortable majority in Parliament, President Kumaratunga invited her principal political opponent, Ranil Wickremesinghe, to form a government. In mid-2002, fearing that President Kumaratunga may exercise her power of dissolution at any time, the UNP Cabinet decided to seek parliamentary approval to amend the Constitution, inter alia, to make the President's power to dissolve Parliament subject to parliamentary control whenever the majority of members belonged to a political party of which the President was not a member.
Chief Justice Silva constituted a seven-judge Bench, from which he excluded the three most senior judges, to examine the constitutionality of the Bill. This Bench held that the proposed amendments to the Constitution infringed Article 4. A Bill that is inconsistent with Article 4 may be passed by a two-thirds majority and does not require approval at a referendum. The Chief Justice, however, went beyond his judicial role, and trespassing into legislative territory held that Article 4 was "linked" to Article 3 which is one of twelve Articles of the Constitution which require both a two-third majority in Parliament and approval by a majority at a referendum for the adoption of any inconsistent legislation. He thus retained for President Kumaratunga the power to dissolve Parliament at a moment of her choosing, a power that she exercised a few months later.
Article 83 of the Constitution specifies twelve "entrenched" Articles. These, apart from Article 83 itself, are Articles 1 (The State), 2 (Unitary State), 3 (Sovereignty is in the People and is inalienable), 6 (The National Flag), 7 (The National Anthem), 8 (The National Day), 9 (Buddhism), 10 (Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion), 11 (Freedom from Torture), 30 (Term of Office of the President), and 62 (Duration of Parliament). Article 4, which describes the manner in which the Sovereignty of the People is exercised – i.e. legislative power by Parliament, executive power by the President, judicial power through courts, fundamental rights, and the franchise at elections, is not one of them.
It is interesting to recall that in the original draft Constitution prepared by the Select Committee of the National State Assembly, Article 4 was also included as an entrenched provision. However, on 16 August 1978, when the Bill containing the draft constitution was being considered in committee, Justice Minister Devanayagam moved that the reference to Article 4 be deleted, and it was so agreed. Therefore, what the legislature deliberately omitted is what Chief Justice Sarath Silva sought to re-introduce. It may be that other judges before him have also shared his view, but it is Parliament, and not the Supreme Court, that can add or delete provisions of the Constitution. The sooner that Parliament asserts its authority to do so, the better it would be for the governance of this country.
By Nihal Jayawickrama
Source: https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/the-proposed-19a-a-critique/
UNHRC Urged To Monitor ProgressSunday, March 29th, 2015
The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has been urged to monitor the progress in Sri Lanka on the human rights issue and remain vigilant for reprisals against human rights defenders.
Amnesty International, in a submission to the Council last week, said that the Government of Sri Lanka's post Presidential election commitments and its willingness to re-engage with the United Nations human rights mechanisms are hopeful signs that its leaders may be serious about repairing the damage done to human rights and the rule of law in Sri Lanka over decades.
"Sri Lanka's formerly adversarial relationship with the United Nations was unhealthy and unproductive. Its new commitment to prioritize engagement with OHCHR is promising; it needs to be backed by concrete acts of cooperation, including determining truth and pursue justice for crimes under international law.
Amnesty International cannot stress enough the need for a thorough accounting and justice for the victims of violations and abuses in Sri Lanka," Amnesty International said.
Amnesty said that the realisation of promises of domestic accountability measures and justice system reforms should draw on international technical assistance adding that Sri Lanka can benefit from the experience with transitional justice acquired by other countries.
"Where the OHCHR Inquiry uncovers evidence of crimes under international law by any party to the conflict, a genuine prosecutorial process should deal with those suspected of the crimes in proceedings that conform with international standards, provide truth and reparation for victims and draw on Sri Lankan and international expertise," the London based human rights group said.
Amnesty International strongly encourages Sri Lanka to use the time until the Council considers the OISL report in September 2015 to take specific measures to improve its human rights situation.
Source: http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2015/03/29/unhrc-urged-to-monitor-progress/
Constitutional Reforms Don't Need Tainted DiscardsSunday, March 29th, 2015
The announcement that 26 MPs of the former Rajapaksa regime had been sworn in as eleven cabinet ministers, five state ministers, and ten deputy ministers, made a great many independent members of the public and veteran UNPers openly declare their utter disgust, revulsion and exhibiting nauseating reactions.
Such ordinary people had been at the receiving end of that regime for a near decade and when Maithripala Sirisena broke ranks, declared his intentions of contesting presidency, teamed up with the UNP led by Ranil Wickremasinghe, they saw it as the way to liberation from the dictatorial family rule they were being encircled.
The hard core of the regime may have comprised the 'kitchen cabinet' but the 'people's representatives' too were very much a part of the regime exploiting the people devoid of political, police or judicial protection. These representatives were the ladies and gentlemen who sang 'bakthi gee', telling the people of the 'rising GDP' and the patriotic tasks performed by their government in exposing and protecting them from 'international conspiracies'. They grew richer and richer while some of the people kept their heads above water with remittances of their near and dear slaving in the desert sands. Others got temporary respite from easy loans of 'laysiyeng leasing' companies at 'Chinese rates' of interest while the poorest of the poor pawned their meager jewellery, probably never to be redeemed.
Not one word was spoken of the plight of the working class or the abjectly poor by these 'people's representatives'. They had their perks and privileges and were living far beyond even these means.
When Mahinda Rajapaksa was defeated at the last elections, the wrath of those who voted against him was not only directed against him but his party MPs who were enjoying the 'la dolce vita' (the good life) solely at state expense.
For some inexplicable reason last week President Maithripala Sirisena and made some 26 such MPs cabinet, state and deputy ministers. Some of these 'new' ministers were targets of criticism by Maithripala Sirisena and UNPers themselves during the election campaign. They singled out such representatives who made uncouth statements on those supporting candidate Sirisena such as former President Chandrika Kumaratunga. Some of the latest 'cross- overs' were veteran double and treble 'cross- overs' from party to party and back. Shamelessly these people's representatives had not cared two hoots for those people who had elected them on another party ticket.
Veteran politicians President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe must be well aware that they have the great potential of jumping back to the other side when the occasion suits them.
These 'cross-over' ladies and gentlemen are supposed to comprise the 'National Government' with others envisaged by President Sirisena and PM Wickremasinghe. How such disparate and desperate individuals will get together to form a government in the interests of the nation, we leave it to the imagination of Sirisena and Wickremasinghe.
Perhaps developing political circumstances and political expediency may have compelled President Sirisena and Premier Wickremasinghe, whose political integrity has been beyond question, to temporarily resort to the formation of such a cabinet. There are instances in Sri Lankan politics when such seemingly absurd and illogical political moves have been resorted to. But it is important to keep in mind that this present government, unlike any previous government, was elected on a call for a return to moral righteousness (Yahapalanaya), restoration of human rights, establishment of law and order, eradication of corruption and dispensation of justice for political assassinations, particularly of journalists. It is a government elected on high political morality and not party loyalties. It simply cannot resort to political skullduggery for survival or expediency.
President Sirisena obviously did not have enough time to plan out the just form of governance he envisaged. He had only a month between nomination day and being elected president. No politician has been bestowed with power in so short a time.
On being elected, he attempted to bite much more than he can chew. His 100-Day Programme, which calls for radical reform of the Presidential System of government and change in the system of electoral representation, requires much more time than a mere 100 days. The Opposition points out that the short-cuts envisaged to amend the constitution clearly violates the constitution.
The system of National Government President Sirisena envisages is not even clear to constitutional pundits. The electorate is still confused on what he hopes to do and how they are to vote at the forthcoming parliamentary election close at hand.
There is still enough time left for a parliamentary election to be held and the tight time table President Sirisena has set need not be followed to the letter.
Those knowledgeable about constitutional making as well as those with smattering knowledge of such matters, attribute much of this country's misfortunes to the constitutions we have had. Let it not happen to the constitution that can take us out of the woods that we are desperately trying to formulate.
Source: http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2015/03/29/constitutional-reforms-dont-need-tainted-discards/
India Must Be Wary Of Tamil Extremism In Sri LankaSunday, March 29th, 2015
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi begins to build a relationship with Sri Lanka's new leadership, the one thing he needs to be wary of is the extremist Tamil position in the island nation.
Modi made history by becoming the first Indian prime minister to visit Sri Lanka after 1987 when Rajiv Gandhi went to Colombo to sign a pact to end Tamil separatism, which eventually consumed his life in 1991. Modi won many hearts by becoming the first Indian leader to visit Jaffna, the Tamil heartland which is also the hub for the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) headed by Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran.
This is where Modi came across an intransigent Wigneswaran. This is a critical time for Sri Lanka, which is trying, not successfully though, to overcome decades of ethnic strife that has split the island dominantly between the Sinhalese, the majority community, and the Tamils.
The end of the military conflict in May 2009 led to boisterous Sinhalese frenzy and a defeated Tamil psyche as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was crushed.
Further strains were introduced when Mahinda Rajapaksa, after losing the presidential election in January this year, blamed the West and specifically India for his defeat at the hands of Maithripala Sirisena.
The presidential election outcome was itself a close affair, showing that Rajapaksa still has wide support in Sinhalese areas. Since then, he has been attracting massive crowds at public meetings.
It was at such a sensitive juncture that the NPC, overseen by Wigneswaran, passed a resolution in February, just before Sirisena landed in India on his first trip abroad, accusing successive Sri Lankan governments of committing genocide against the Tamils.
It went on to say that Tamils have no hope for justice in any Sri Lankan mechanism, whether conducted by the Rajapaksa or Sirisena or any regime, and sought international intervention.
Needless to say, the move hugely embarrassed India. It was also just what Rajapaksa needed to show his Sinhalese constituency that Sirisena's election had emboldened extremist Tamils.
If this wan't enough, Wigneswaran, at the Jaffna meeting where he received Modi, called for talks between the Sri Lankan and Indian governments as well as the Northern and Eastern Provincial Councils to resolve Tamil issues in an innovative and creative manner.
This is akin to the Hurriyat seeking to involve India, Pakistan and itself over Jammu and Kashmir. Wigneswaran's demand in Modi's presence came shortly after the Indian prime minister had met leaders of the Tamil National Alliance, the party to which the chief minister too belongs, and called for patience.
It is surprising that Wigneswaran sought to bypass his own party by demanding direct talks between his provincial council as well as Colombo and New Delhi.
Indeed, after the NPC resolution on genocide, friends of India in Sri Lanka suggested that it would be best if Modi avoided a public engagement involving Wigneswaran in Colombo or Jaffna.
The argument was that Wigneswaran seemed to be acting at the behest of the pro-LTTE Tamil Diaspora in the West and his words and actions could only show Tamils as extremists and fuel appropriate Sinhalese backlash.
This is the last thing that India and Modi need now.As India tries to help join the disjointed Sri Lanka jigsaw, which by itself is no easy task, it has to be borne in mind that Tamil extremism is essentially anti-Indian. It has always been so and will always be so. India must be wary of being seen to be supportive of extremists of any kind in Sri Lanka. It is no surprise that Wigneswaran gets the loudest cheers from Tamils in the West opposed to any reconciliation in Sri Lanka.
By M.R. Narayan Swamy
Source: http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2015/03/29/india-must-be-wary-of-tamil-extremism-in-sri-lanka/
CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM: A LIBERAL WISH LISTThursday, March 26th, 2015
The Sri Lankan constitutional reform process has been ebbing and flowing, but in recent weeks, the promise of 8th January seemed to be more ebbing than flowing in the usual morass that our political class is uniquely capable of producing. But if some reports are to be believed, then it seems as if the 'Troika' of President Sirisena, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, and former President Kumaratunga, are rallying to save the reform mandate from dying an inglorious death. One can only hope that bringing the SLFP into government serves the dual purposes of ensuring the success of the reforms and marginalising the forces of chauvinism and authoritarianism. If the political centre, which represents the vast majority of Sri Lankan voters, can be so reconstituted that the UNP and SLFP can together deliver democracy reforms, then it bodes exceedingly well for the future of this country, and for the co-operation that must follow in ensuring devolution reforms in the future. Everyone concerned must remember that if they succeed in these collective efforts, they will be making history. If not, and if the collaboration merely provides a fig leaf for the continuation of the squalid politics as usual, the judgement of history will be commensurately harsh.
It appears the Nineteenth Amendment Bill published last week may well be modified before it is passed, and that such changes, whether embodied in a fresh Bill or moved on the floor of the House, are intended to further democracy rather than retain the bloated executive. While all this is most heartening, if the government is committed to making the democratisation of the state truly irreversible, I would suggest that the following matters must also be considered in any constitutional reform bill to come. This is, no doubt, a liberal wish list, but many of them would find broad acceptance in our society. Indeed, if more time is taken to negotiate far more contentious issues such as electoral reforms, then there is no reason why these matters could not also be included in the reform agenda.
Abolish not Reform the Executive Presidency
The government must unequivocally commit to the outright abolition of the executive presidency and return to the parliamentary form of government. Piecemeal tinkering will not do. The 1978 Constitution is so deeply founded on an authoritarian philosophy that the amendatory approach is always bound to leave some provision or other that can be used by some future President to unravel the delicate balance of a bicephalous executive. The power to prevail in political decision-making must return to a collegiate executive and ultimately to Parliament, and must never again be entrusted to a single individual.
Since January, those who have publicly argued for presidentialism in whatever form are unreconstructed Rajapaksa acolytes trying to preserve their own self-interests; or Sinhala-Buddhist chauvinists who see the state as a control mechanism against the minorities; or are crypto-fascists whose conceptual arguments in favour of the presidential state are – with startling candour – drawn from Nazis like Carl Schmitt and totalitarian mass murderers like Stalin and Mao. These are not arguments for the retention of presidentialism; they are advertisements for its abolition.
These views about the nature of the state draw from the worst and most intolerant aspects of our history, rather than the liberal, pluralist, and ecumenical potential that we can glean from both, our colonial constitutional inheritance as well as our South Asian cultural heritage. The social democratic SLFP and the liberal conservative UNP can construct, together with the Trotskyite Left and the minority parties, a formidable reformist platform for the reconstitution of a parliamentary state that is both centrist and decentralist. This is the moment for that grand and historic achievement that has eluded us throughout our post-colonial history.
The Bill of Rights and the Limitation Clause
Our bill of rights may have been a great improvement from what prevailed under first republican constitution, but it is now almost forty years old and reflects the constitutional technology of that era. It is ripe for a revision and upgrade. Among many available models and proposals, there is a draft bill of rights drawn up by a committee of experts under the auspices of the Ministry of Constitutional Affairs that can serve as the basis for replacing the present chapter on fundamental rights. This draft reflects contemporary international and comparative human rights standards far better than what obtains in the 1978 Constitution.
As important as the enumeration of rights in the design of the bill of rights is the framework for their limitation and derogation. The overriding purpose of a limitation clause is to ensure that the essence of fundamental rights is not extinguished, while recognising that in certain defined circumstances, their exercise may need to be restricted. A good framework for this is now found in the limitation clause that has been attached, exclusively and incongruously, to the new right to information in the Nineteenth Amendment Bill. This must be extended to the bill of rights as a whole.
Supremacy of the Constitution and Comprehensive Judicial Review
The principle that the constitution is the supreme law of the land must be expressly inserted in the constitution, and all law, conduct, policy and practice inconsistent with it must be void. This means that both Parliament and the government are subject to the supremacy of the constitution, and it follows that the judiciary must have the power to review any legislative or executive action for constitutionality at any time and in any proceeding. Consistently with this, the 'Urgent Bill' procedure for constitutional amendments must be repealed.
A Second Chamber
The recent proposal for a 'Council of State' was a half-hearted and rather purposeless nod in this direction, but it is clear that we will benefit hugely from a well-designed second chamber in the central legislature. This has principally two rationales. First, we need a second chamber as a reviewer of legislation and a scrutineer of executive action. This in turns requires a major infusion of expert knowledge into the legislative process. In a political culture where the electoral process is manifestly unable to produce the quality of legislator that is required for these purposes, it follows that a component of the second chamber's membership will have to be appointed. The procedure proposed in the Nineteenth Amendment Bill for the appointment of the Constitutional Council can be usefully replicated here.
Secondly, we need a territorial chamber to represent the provinces within the central legislative process. This not only invests the provinces with a stake in the centre but also ensures respect for devolution. The Chief Ministers ex officio and a number of other representatives elected by the Provincial Councils should therefore constitute the other component of the membership of the second chamber.
In general, the second chamber need not have financial powers; it could only have a delaying power in the legislative process (relatively short in the case of Money Bills, longer for other categories of Bill, and longest for constitutional amendments); the Minister of Justice must be a member of the second chamber appointed for his or her eminence in the field of law; and other Ministries requiring expertise may also have Ministers or Deputy Ministers appointed from the second chamber. It must possess a strong committee system aimed at producing maximum scrutiny and deliberation.
The Electoral System
The reform of the electoral system features heavily in current debates but for all the wrong reasons, in the sense that parties are using the issue tactically to fulfil other objectives. There is a wide range of options to choose from in the design of the electoral system, but the basic aim must be to preserve the fundamental principle of proportional representation, which is critical in our plural polity, while re-introducing a first-past-the-post element to restore the connexion between the voter and the representative. It cannot be the other way round, viz., that the electoral system becomes essentially a simple plurality system that is partially balanced by a minor element of proportional representation. This is what is envisaged in the Dinesh Gunawardene Committee proposal. This kind of system promotes majoritarianism, reduces Parliament's representativeness, and produces large governmental majorities which permit 'elective dictatorship.' The instability potential of minority or small-majority governments can be addressed with the principle of fixed-term parliaments, which has already found expression in the Nineteenth Amendment Bill.
Sri Lankan liberals have long advocated the German mixed system as a model, but there are newer and more modern systems from which we can now draw. The electoral system used for the election of members to the Scottish Parliament is a particularly good example to follow in achieving the aims outlined above. It also has the advantage over the German system of providing a fixed-membership legislature, whereas for the logic of the Niemeyer method used in the German case to work, the number of seats in the legislature cannot be fixed.
Devolution: A Sunrise Clause
The anti-Rajapaksa coalition could not have been built if minority issues were included in the common programme, but the minorities voted en blocfor the President nonetheless. The new government therefore has a strong obligation to address the fundamental constitutional anomalies that have prevented the realisation of minority political aspirations to autonomy and dignity ever since independence. If the moral force of providing a proper settlement for this historic injustice is not sufficient, then let it be remembered that the 'peace' that has prevailed since the end of the war is unlikely to last over the long duration unless and until the Sri Lankan state can better constitutionally reflect the fundamental pluralism of the Sri Lankan polity.
To this end therefore, a 'devolution sunrise clause' should be added to the amendment bill. A sunrise clause in the sense I use it here is a constitutional device by which particularly contentious issues may be postponed without derailing a wider process of reforms, but which guarantees that the issues so postponed will be taken up again at some identified future point. In this case, the sunrise clause should have the declaratory purpose of articulating at least the intention to address the issue of devolution in a fair and reasonable way, to formalise the interim policy of the government to fully implement the Thirteenth Amendment to the maximum extent of devolution permitted by it (including through statutory reforms), and to set out the procedures and timelines during the next Parliament by which the process of negotiations will be conducted. This will reassure minorities that their aspirations are not forgotten and it will strengthen moderate minority politicians in delivering their constituencies to the reform process.
For the enactment of the reforms I have mentioned above by proper constitutional procedure, and in particular for the abolition of the executive presidency, it is clear that the approval of the people at a referendum would be needed. The government is hamstrung by the commitment it gave, in the different political context of mounting a plausible campaign against the Rajapaksa regime, that the reforms it was proposing would not touch any entrenched clauses of the constitution. The situation is now radically different, and with the broadening of the reform platform with the entry of the SLFP into government, there is no reason that a referendum cannot be offered
The only forces opposing reform in a referendum campaign fought by the reconstituted political centre I have outlined above would be the racist rump in the South (the reverse-racist rump in the North would likely boycott everything as is their wont). There is no doubt that such a referendum can be won handsomely in favour of reform, and this will invest an unassailable legitimacy for the new constitutional arrangements that will prove far more durable, and make it far more difficult if not impossible for ethnonationalists and populists to hijack the state as the Rajapaksas did. It would also be the more honest and forthright way to treat the republican polity that, after all, cherished its democratic traditions enough to throw the Rajapaksas out of office.
By Asanga Welikala
Source: http://groundviews.org/2015/03/24/constitutional-reform-a-liberal-wish-list/
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Army; 64-66
Thanks to all that have served or are still serving. Without you; this would be a completely different world.
I wish to give a special Thanks, and Welcome Home to all my brothers who have served in Frontline, Combat positions; whether on land, in the air, or on the water.
Let us know who you are, and maybe a little about your part in keeping this world relatively civilized. What you did matters, and deserves to be Honored.
Larry Degel Spc4
Combat Medic
1st Cav Vietnam
In memory of my Brother and Father:
Kenneth L. Degel Cpl
A and P Mechanic
USMC Vietnam
Robert H. Degel Msgt
Chemical Corps
Veteran's Day is a pretty big deal in our outfit. Counting my father 4 generations of service are now in attendence.
Today was a biggie. My father's service was somewhat rare in that he was one of the last mounted cavalry in this country. Today we finally presented him with correct replacements of his sabre, medals, ribbons, saddle and acoutrements which were destroyed in a house fire nearly 60 years ago.
"Thank you" to all who have served.
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
Powdercoated '87 frame, extended swingarm, YZ fork legs, ATV tire, 14/55, XT350 tank, spliced quick-release seat, disc brake conversion, beeg headlight, beeger rack, Lizrdcooler, Lizrdventz and bunch of other stuff all covered in invisible ink.
Hidden Content
Hidden Content
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I did not serve but I want to say THANK YOU to those of you that have served, or are serving. Thank you for the sacrifices you have made.
Hidden Content Hidden Content and a 2013
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A Big Thank You Kwizard for Posting this.
USAF Munition Maint. Squadron. '73-'77
Randy Myers
Suzuki RL250 Trials-Sold-Miss this one....
'07 TW200-Sold
'02 BMW R1150R-sold
'00 KLR 650-sold
'06 Honda Big Ruckus-Sold
"08 Honda Ruckus
I would like to add my thanks for those who've served, or are currently serving in our nation's armed forces. Thanks doesn't seem like much considering the sacrifices made in our behalf, but I hope you will take it in the spirit it's intended. If you haven't seen it already, check out this awesome story about Billie D. Harris.
My handle is B-dub, I ride a T-dub, and drive a V-dub.
Yes; I had seen that story. The people of Normandy honor our Veterans more than we do.
In light of honoring our veterans,there is a wonderful website detailing both the wartime and post-wartime experiences of Robert F. Gallagher. This is now the work of his son,and involves 400 pages and almost 250 photographs. It is a highly detailed account of just one man,but,no doubt parallels some similar experiences of other servicemen(and women) of that period in history. World War II Story -* Third Army - Europe - by Robert F. Gallagher
And I would like to add that this guy, and all like him are tools and a disgrace. Whoever you are you offend me mister, you offend me plenty. My maternal grandfather was CEF, serving in both WWI and WWII. You wanker.
Ottawa police investigating man posing as Canadian soldier at Remembrance Day ceremony | National Post
Twelve rules will get you through life with style.
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my blog Hidden Content

subset: commoncrawl


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TR-CBT (Coming soon!)


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New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi's brother-in-law and Priyanka Gandhi's husband, Robert Vadra, appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday for the second round of questioning in connection with a probe into allegations that he laundered money to purchase illegal foreign assets.
He was confronted with his mails that were exchanged with Sumit Chadha, a relative of absconding arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari, sources said.
Vadra, who was questioned for over two hours before he stepped out for lunch, was asked about the mails he exchanged with Chadha in reference to a London property, the ED sources said.
The case relates to the ownership of 1.9 million pounds of undisclosed assets abroad, allegedly belonging to Vadra.
A money laundering case was registered against Vadra's close aide Manoj Arora after his role surfaced during a probe by the Income Tax Department into another case under the new Black Money Act and tax laws against Bhandari.
The London property was allegedly bought by Bhandari and sold in 2010 for the same amount despite incurring additional expenses on its renovation.
Vadra left the ED's Jamnagar office around 1.30 pm. He had joined the session almost an hour late at 11.20 am, although he was asked to appear at 10.30 am.
On Wednesday, Vadra was questioned for the first time by any of the investigating agencies for over six hours. Unlike the first day, the businessman was not accompanied by his wife Priyanka Gandhi, who had dropped him off at the office on Wednesday.
On December 7, 2018, as part of the investigation, the ED conducted searches at a number of premises in Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru.
The ED told a city court earlier that the London property was part of the kickbacks received in a petroleum deal. The money was transferred by Santech International, FZC, a UAE-based company controlled by Bhandari.
Arora, who is an employee of Vadra's Skylight Hospitality LLP, is a key suspect in the case as he is aware of the overseas investments and purchases made by his employer.
The questioning came in the wake of an order by a Delhi court on February 2 directing Vadra to appear before the ED for questioning while hearing the anticipatory bail plea filed by him.
Vadra was on February 2 granted interim bail for a fortnight.
(With IANS inputs)


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Stay down! If I wanted it, you'd be dead already!
If I Wanted It, You'd Be Dead Already
Read more Superman QuotesFrom: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Superman: Next time they shine your light in the sky, don't go to it. The Bat is dead. Bury it. Consider this mercy.Batman: Tell me. Do you bleed?[Superman flies away]Batman: You will.
Bruce Wayne: You don't know me, but I've known a few women like you.Diana Prince: Oh, I don't think you've ever known a woman like me.
FicQuotes brings you latest and greatest quotes from Movies, TV shows and Comics. You can browse quotes by title of the movie or tv serial or a particular character. We also have shareable images and videos of popular scenes. We are adding latest movie quotes to our collection daily.


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The Rich Son Episode 1
Gye Dong's wife dies during childbirth while giving birth to Gwang Jae. Gye Dong, who raised his son by himself, now owns a nation-wide franchise restaurant. Meanwhile, Gwang Jae, who broke up with Young Ha and left her two years ago, visits the restaurant where Young Ha works.
34 min


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Ransomware on a DSLR Camera | Latest Research from Check Point
Check Point Research recently discovered multiple critical vulnerabilities in DSLR cameras. For more information visit: https://research.checkpoint.com/say-cheese-ransomware-ing-a-dslr-camera.
These vulnerabilities would allow a malicious actor to take over a target's DSLR camera through both WiFi and USB, giving him full control over it. Such an infection could, for example, be used for installing a Ransomware on the camera, and demanding ransom for both the images and the camera itself.
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Achilles Slot Game Review
Achilles is a video slot from Real Time Gaming - and as you can probably gather from the name, the slot is centered all around Greek Mythology - a common theme in online video slots today, and one that we've seen successfully replicated by almost all major game developers.
Now, while Achilles isn't the most - graphically speaking - impressive slot in the world, this is more-than-made-up-for by the fact that there's a whopping progressive jackpot to be found within the game.
This, we'll cover a little later on in this post, but it's definitely worth pointing out now, so that you know what to expect.
The game is built using a 5-reel, 3-row format, and you'll find an adjustable 20 paylines for you to take advantage of. It's now worth noting that the more lines you play (and the higher your stake), the better your chances of winning the progressive jackpot, so just bear this in mind if that's one of the sole reasons for you playing.
Now, we're actually going to jump into looking at the features and bonuses (which will cover the details surrounding the progressive jackpot), so, without further ado, let's get started!
Game Features
The main attraction - aside from the progressive jackpots, of course - is the free-spins bonus, and this is triggered by landing 3, 4, or 5 of the scatter symbols anywhere in view.
Once you manage to do so, you'll be awarded a relatively conservative number of spins (25) - and while that may seem quite low for a RTG slot, it's well-worth pointing out that during the free-spins round, you'll enjoy a handful of in-game features, including wild multipliers, and scattered symbols.
Now, we can tell that you're eager to learn more about the progressive jackpot side of things - so let's get right into that, next.
There is one main progressive jackpot you can win, and this is known as the "Random Jackpot". You can view the current amount of the jackpot at the top of the reel set (just above the Achilles logo), and this jackpot is won purely by chance.
There's no bonus round to hit in order to win it - and during any spin in the base-game (the free-spins round unfortunately doesn't count), the random jackpot can trigger, which awards you the full jackpot amount, which is then credited straight to your balance!
Other than the free-spins and the progressive jackpot, there's not much going on. (There's no bonus round feature, like we're used to seeing in the vast majority of RTG's titles - but combined, they do make for exciting gameplay, and it's not hard to see why the slot's become one of the developer's most popular releases to date.
Pros: The random jackpot amount can trigger on any spin - regardless of your stake - so it's pretty nice to know that you can play along, knowing you stand a chance of hitting the progressive at all times!
Cons: Unfortunately, the fact that the jackpot is distributed completely randomly can be a turn-off to some players. It's often nice to see that there's actually a bonus round to hit, in order to trigger the bonus. Still, it makes for nice, and exciting gameplay on every spins!


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Cutwork Silk-Cotton Shift DressStyle No: 161F088
USD {{productOriginalPrice | number:0}} USD {{productMinimumPrice | number:0}}
- Regular-fit shift dress
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Model is wearing a size S (height 5'10")
Abraham & Thakore womenswear follows sizes S, M, L, and XL and has been crafted in lightweight natural textiles in regular and easy fits, employing various traditional textiles techniques. To find your size for the most comfortable fit, refer to the size chart.
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Wandering in Wonderful Indonesia: Cokelat Monggo, Batik Shop, and Silver Shop
Angge was so excited to visit Cokelat Monggo, a shop where you can actually watch how chocolates were made. In real life. So, we stayed there for about an hour and also did our pasalubong shoppin…
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Probus Club of Fingal Bay - Mixed
The Probus Club of Fingal Bay Inc. is the first local Probus club with membership for both men and women.
The club's meetings are held on the second Monday of each month at the Fingal Bay Sports and Recreation Club, 100 Rocky Point Road, Fingal Bay, 2315 at 9.30 am.
Members enjoy activities including barbecues, movies, wine appreciations, roll-up bowls, book clubs, wine and dine, Mahjong, day trips and away trips, and there is a guest speaker at each meeting.
Contact: Secretary Julia Redlich
Email Address: firstname.lastname@example.com
Fingal Bay Sports and Recreation Club, 100 Rocky Point Rd, Fingal Bay NSW 2315


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Latest Happenings at Value4Risk
At Value4Risk, we always have something great news in the works. From new programs DESIGNED TO BOOST YOUR BUSINESS' SUCCESs, to resources to help you understand your market and sound business practices that help you focus on what you do best. Here are some of the things we've been up to most recently:
A NEW book has been RELEASED END OCTOBER 2019 ON PRINCIPLES OF SUPPLY CHAIN RISK MANAGEMENT APPLIED TO THE BANKING INDUSTRY.
Organizations need to be proactive to ensure that they are ready to handle any risky situations that can interfere with their operations. The concept behind the book focuses on making a bank agile, resilient and able to recover quickly when an extreme event takes place rather than predicting times when it is likely to encounter risks. The exciting feature of this book is the fact that the concept of supply chain management, which is going to be used in this study to address business resiliency, has been borrowed from the nonbanking world. The concept endeavors an integrated risk management network approach of a front-to-back processing (incl. relations w/ third parties) for all banking activities to manage both everyday as well as exceptional risks along the supply chain. This book will enable banks & researchers to understand how supply chain risk management is very different from traditional risk management because it will show that extreme risks can be addressed through the prism of stakeholder relationships, customer relation management, and business resiliency rather than using probability theories.
A NEW book on 'GEOFINANCE' WAS released IN THE sPRING 2018
We are proud to announce a brand new well-researched book on the interaction between global finance and geopolitics has been released through Amazon and Barnes & Nobles this Spring 2018. This book will provide a unique angle helping your firm understand the major geofinancial events that can affect the business model.
We are proud to announce the book on Geofinance was featured in the mid-May 2018 edition of KIRKUS REVIEWS MAGAZINE. Less than 1% of their reviews get published in the Kirkus Reviews Magazine!!
A book on 'tail risk management' WAS released IN THE summer 2017
We are proud to announce a brand new well-researched book on tail risk management has been released through Amazon and Barnes & Nobles this Summer 2017. This book will help you understand how to build a more resilient and agile business model in a volatile world and boost your business' success with sound business practices.
become a follower of our articles on tail risks and business resiliency
Through LinkedIn our Chief Executive Officer, Pascal vander Straeten, has published more than 400 articles on the understanding and managing of extreme risks, be it related to business strategy, geopolitics, or financial markets. He has attracted more than 7,000 followers who regularly follow his writings and the latest happenings at Value4Risk. These articles will help boost your business' success and understand your market and sound business practices.
We're Proud to announce the set up of a knowledge community
Value4Risk is very proud to announce the set up of a knowledge community that consists of independent consultants that are driven and passionate about the management of extreme risks. This group of independent consultants originates from Rome, Brussels, Paris, Sydney, Dallas, Seattle, and New York, and together operates like one body when it comes to delivering quality research, training, and/ or consulting to clients. In essence, clients will benefit from the collective knowledge and connections, network with other smart professionals, and get faster insights from this consultant network with our latest happenings at Value4Risk.


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This discussion assesses your ability to clarify the role of each legally mandated attendee on the Individualized Education Program team. This assessment also supports your achievement of Course Learning Outcome….
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Would citizen fear of crime and attendant behavior change as a result of differing patrol levels
Unit 3 assignment on Research Methods in criminal Justice,
Student Name: _______________________________________________________
Read the following research experiment conducted by the Police Foundation in 1974:
Kelling, G. L., Pate, T., Dieckman, D., & Brown, C. E. (1974). The Kansas City preventive patrolexperiment: A summary report. Police Foundation. Retrieved from https://www.policefoundation.org/publication/the-k…
Brief summary:
The Kansas City preventive patrol experiment: Police Foundation. Retrieved from https://www.policefoundation.org/projects/the-kans…
The experiment focused on the following research questions:
- Would citizens notice changes in the level of police patrol?
- Would different levels of visible police patrol affect recorded crime or the outcome of victim surveys?
- Would citizen fear of crime and attendant behavior change as a result of differing patrol levels?
- Would their degree of satisfaction with police change?
Pick ONE of the research questions above and complete the following five exercises.
1.Identify one independent variable from the selected research question.
2.Indicate how the independent variable identified in #1 could be measured (conceptualize, operationalize, and describe the level of measurement for this variable).
3.Identify one dependent variable from the selected research question.
4.Indicate how the dependent variable identified in #3 could be measured (conceptualize, operationalize, and describe the level of measurement for this variable).
5.Express the research question in a measureable hypothesis statement (ensure that the hypothesis statement includes the independent variable and the dependent variable you identified in items 1 and 2 above). Use the following structure to help formulate your answer:
____ with ____ are more/less likely to ____ than ___ without ______
(subjects) with (independent variable) are more/less likely to (dependent variable) than (subjects) without (independent variable)
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The purpose of this milestone is for students to explore the various costs their firm faces and to describe their firm's market. Using the concepts and tools developed in Modules….


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Revelation 14:11: "And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name."June 6th, 2019 by Pastor Ed in devotional
We notice the very clear statement here that hell is eternal or "forever and ever." Some misguided authors have recently laid hold of the concept that the unrighteous are annihilated, but there is no way to claim that position without ignoring this and many other Scriptures. On the other side, other recent authors have claimed that people in hell will somehow gain freedom after they spend enough time there, but this concept is also unsupported by Scripture. This verse is not recorded to scare people, but to serve as a crystal clear warning, to all people, to avoid this very real place where those who reject God's free gift of salvation, by grace through faith, will be punished. He gives this strong warning because, as the Apostle Peter wrote in 2 Peter 3:9, God's desire is that none would "perish but that all should come to repentance."
Colonel Robert G. Ingersoll was an American Civil War veteran and a vocal atheist. He gave many lectures on the illegitimacy of the Gospel and religion. In one lecture he gave on hell, he said that he would "prove conclusively that hell was a wild dream of some scheming theologians who invented it to terrify gullible people." As he began his lecture, a man stood in the audience and said, "Make it strong, Bob. There's a lot of us poor fellows depending on you. If you are wrong, we are all lost. So be sure you prove it clear and plain." No matter how gifted the orator or how eloquent their words, no amount of passionate denial can reverse God's certain word. He has spoken, in love, as plainly of hell for those who refuse to surrender to Him, as He has promised eternity with Him for those who would.
"LORD, we thank You that You have made a way for us to spend eternity with You through the great exchange of Your life for ours."


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Honor begins layoffs at India operations amid falling sales, US ban
Huawei sells smartphones under two brands – Huawei, which caters to the mid- to premium segment, and Honor, which caters to the entry-level segment.
PMO panel seeks multinational companies' inputs on making India electronics hub
After oil, electronic products, including smartphones, are the largest contributor to India's import bill
India sold over 204 mn WiFi enabled devices in 2018, to grow 8% in 2019: Report
India sold over 204 million WiFi enabled consumer devices last year and the sale is expected to grow at 8% in 2019 with 221 million units, a report by techArc said on Tuesday.
Are smart devices spying on you? Several Indians believe so, survey finds
About 52% of Indians surveyed by the firm believe that their smart devices record personal information without their knowledge.
Coolpad appoints Fisher Yuan as India CEO
Yuan moves to the CEO position after holding several leadership roles at Coolpad. He spent three years as the vice-president for sales and supply in India, and has also worked in the Chinese market as the company's sales director.
Online-heavy brands like Xiaomi, Realme take the battle offline
Chinese giant Xiaomi has the first mover advantage and claims it has a 20% share of this space. Now it will have to face the might of Samsung, Oppo and Vivo
After US muscle flexing, Flex halts shipments to Huawei
US contract manufacturer stops all shipments to Chinese firm, including from Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu.
Here's why your video calls freeze and drop so often
Countries like China or Singapore have 75-80% of their telecom towers connected to fibre, but in India the number is at a mere 20%.
Samsung reaps benefits of U.S.-China tech war
Samsung reaps benefits of U.S.-China tech war
Google suspends Huawei's Android license after Trump blacklist: Source
Huawei will immediately lose access to updates to the Android operating system, and the next version of its smartphones outside of China will also lose access to popular applications and services including the Google Play Store and Gmail app.
Intex may exit handsets business
Company puts up a plant for sale but director Keshav Bansal says still in business but on 'reduced scale'.
Google is about to show a lot more ads on its apps to attract mobile shoppers
Google will feature ads on the homepage of its smartphone app worldwide, show more ads in Maps and place ads with image galleries in search results.
Xiaomi says partners setting up new component factories; bets big on internet business in India
While the company's manufacturing focus is currently on fuelling domestic demand, Jain said it would be open to exports from India in the future.
Huawei's sub-brand Honor draws up an India-specific plan
Honor is eyeing the top spot in India's highly competitive smartphone market and has devised a new strategy supported by new branding.
Xiaomi pumps Rs 3,500 crore into India business
Company may use the funds for foray into white goods such as laptops and washing machines.
India's mobile data is cheapest across the world
A large data-hungry base of smartphone users and a fierce price war between the country's telcos has made India home to the cheapest mobile data price in the world.
Here's how Samsung India alleviates critical mobility threats
In a candid conversation with ETCIO, Sukesh Jain, SVP IT, Enterprise Business, Samsung India shared insights on India focused initiatives catering to data security needs.


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Live disco band for hire
Whipping up the audience into a 1970's-style frenzy of craaaaaazy disco dancing….do you long for the return of Saturday Night Fever? Disco Inferno are a live disco band for hire performing all the classic disco party songs the way they were meant to be heard, and are guaranteed to produce party fever with their infectious energy-ridden performance.
The show is extremely dynamic and energetic, and nobody is immune to the beat (which is not too fast…..not too slow…..just perfect for a good old disco boogie).
If you hire this disco band you are guaranteed dancing like you have never seen before!
Disco Inferno can rightly claim to be the most original 1970s disco band around – they have earnt a fantastic reputation on the live circuit with their superb tongue-in-cheek show. Be there or be square, daddy-o!
Songs performed include gems from Sister Sledge, Village People, Bee Gees, Abba, Earth Wind & Fire, Gloria Gaynor, Kool & The Gang, Chic, KC & The Sunshine Band, The Real Thing, Jacksons and lots, lots more…
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