Reconciliation thrives as democracy prevails: Gayantha
Reconciliation among the communities in the country is soundly built as democracy is established under the present government, Chief Government Whip and Lands and Parliamentary Reforms Minister Gayantha Karunathilake said yesterday.
"Reconciliation among the communities could not be built in the past since there was no democracy.
The government under the leadership of President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe established democracy creating a healthy environment conducive to reconciliation," Minister Karunathilake said. The Minister made these observations yesterday in Parliament joining the vote of commemorating the 70th anniversary of Parliamentary democracy in Sri Lanka, which was moved by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
He said Sri Lanka the oldest Parliamentary democracy in the region.
"The contribution of Parliament is commendable in the country's development as a welfare State," Minister Karunathilake said, adding that the members have contributed immensely in the development of health, education, transport, agriculture, land and housing sectors.
He said the support of all the parties in Parliament, including the Opposition at a crucial juncture is a commendable feature and an example to the other countries in the region.
President made history by giving up power to strengthen Parliament: Minister Kiriella
President Maithripala Sirisena has made history as the first President in political history, who gave up his powers to strengthen Parliament, Leader of the House and Highways and Higher Education Minister Lakshman Kiriella said yesterday.
He made this observation yesterday in Parliament joining the vote of commemorating the 70th anniversary of Parliamentary democracy in Sri Lanka which was moved by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
He said President Sirisena is willing to grant more powers to Parliament. He said Parliament wanted to strengthen Parliamentary democracy. Independent Commissions were established for the purpose, Minister Kiriella said.
Prime Minister Wickremesinghe took measures to set up Parliamentary Oversight Committees.
"When we were in the Opposition, we got minimum opportunities to join the duties of the government. But today, Opposition members get opportunities in the Oversight Committees. Out of the 17 Oversight Committees, nine are chaired by Opposition members and work on behalf of the government," Minister Kiriella said.
He said the government passed the Right to Information Bill. The Minister said when Speaker Karu Jayasuriya attempted to get the Right to Information Bill while he was a member in the Opposition, the then Government rejected it.
He said all parties in Parliament participate in the new Constitution making process under the guidance of Prime Minister Wickremesinghe.
"This is special because the Tamil Political parties did not participate in those processes during the J R Jayawardena regime and Chandrika Bandaranaike regime, but for the first time, all parties are working together," Minister Kiriella said.
"When we obtained independence, our economy was second only to that of Japan," Minister Kiriella said, adding that today, we have not been able to maintain that position. We have reversed due to party politics, he said. He called on all parties to unite to drive the country forward.
unity government established to introduce new electoral system: Nimal Siripala
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) joined to establish a unity government with the objective of introducing a new electoral system, Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said yesterday.
He said the SLFP expects a new Constitution could be presented and passed later in the same process.
He made these observations yesterday in Parliament joining the vote of commemorating the 70th anniversary of Parliamentary democracy in Sri Lanka, which was moved by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Minister Nimal Siripala said Members of Parliament represented the people and since independence have maintained diverse political views.
"Even those revolutionists who thought power should be gained through bloodshed too have accepted the democratic path," Minister Silva said, adding that the people hold Parliament and democracy in high esteem.
He said past members such as Amirthalingam, R. Premadasa, Gamini Dissanayake, Lalith Athulathmudali and Lakshman Kadiragarmar had to sacrifice their lives due to the scourge of separatism.
"They had to sacrifice their lives as they came to Parliament to strengthen democracy," Minister Silva said.
The Minister said there was an attempted military coup during the regime of Sirimao Bandaranaike, but the SLFP defeated the attempt and protected Parliament democracy.
"There is a need of a new electoral system to strengthen democracy further," Minister Silva said.
He said the civic rights of the then SLFP leader Sirimao Bandaranaike was removed by Parliament. He said democracy was threatened in 1983 by way of a referendum.
"But the people re-established democracy as they don't fancy dictatorship and military rule," Minister Silva said.
Parliamentary democracy strengthened despite transformations: Speaker
Measures have been taken to strengthen Parliamentary democracy despite many transformations, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya said in Parliament yesterday.
He made this statement delivering his winding up speech at the vote of commemorating the 70th anniversary of Parliamentary democracy in Sri Lanka, which was moved by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
The Speaker welcomed the guests present in Parliament from other SAARC countries, adding that Sri Lanka takes pride in being the country in Asia that has the longest history of Parliamentary democracy.
“We have had many victories. The government has established independent commissions to strengthen Parliament. We have passed the Right to Information Act. We have not only included government members but even opposition and other party members in the sectoral oversight committees. We have given an opportunity to question the Prime Minister once a month. These are great achievements, including the measures taken to bring in laws for new electoral system and increase female representation in Parliament.
The government has presented a set of ethics for members of Parliament. The government has also taken measures to introduce an electronic voting system in keeping with modern technology. International Parliamentary relations have also been strengthened, including many initiatives taken by the government to strengthen Parliamentary democracy,” Speaker Jayasuriya said.
Country preserved democratic governance through electoral processes: Sampanthan
Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan addressing Parliament on the vote of commemorating the 70th Anniversary of Parliamentary democracy in Sri Lanka, said over the past 70 years, the country has preserved democratic governance through electoral processes.
He said the electoral process alone cannot ensure democratic governance. The electoral process quite often serves to retain majoritarianism, he said.
Recognition and respect for pluralism are fundamental to the achievement of democracy. Incipient steps towards respect and recognition of pluralism by agreement among leaders of the country were not implemented. Constitutions that were claimed to be autochthonous were no more than self-serving and did not in any way serve the needs of a pluralist society. On the contrary, they entrenched majoritarianism, he said.
"We have had insurrections and long periods of armed conflict from which the country and its people have suffered. The worst victims have been the Tamils who have long struggled for the preservation of their identity and dignity. The issues that were the causes of the armed conflict remain and need to be resolved,” he said.
Sampanthan said it was a great privilege that as the Leader of the Opposition, he together with the Prime Minister was able to move the motion commemorating yesterday’s sitting of Parliament at the 70th anniversary of the Parliamentary tradition.
He recalled the first meeting of Sri Lanka’s independent Parliament, on October 14, 1947 at Independence Square in Colombo, when the Duke of Gloucester acting on behalf of the Kingdom and the Government of the United Kingdom, the last of the country's colonial rulers, granted Sri Lanka then known as Ceylon, independence.
"We had been under colonial rule for more than 400 years. As a young boy, I was present at Independence Square when Sri Lanka was granted independence. I watched that event with great pride. Our first Prime Minister D. S. Senanayake received that instrument of independence on behalf of the People of Sri Lanka," he said. “We were then a united people. Irrespective of ethnic or religious differences, we wanted independence from foreign rule. In fact, the Jaffna Youth League voicing the sentiments of the Tamil people were not happy with the dominion status. They wanted “Poorana Swaraj”, absolute independence,” he said.
Sampanthan said: "We have learnt many lessons, from the most, harmful situations that have prevailed in our country. It would be a tragedy if in the name of patriotism any one seeks to prolong the harmful situations."
“There are several processes to create a country devoid of conflict and violence, where issues are resolved through discussion and debate, and on the basis of national consensus. This would mean that all the Sri Lankan people, irrespective of their ethnic or religious differences in a united, undivided and indivisible Sri Lanka look upon Sri Lanka as their own country, and become an integral part of the Sri Lankan nation, with a Sri Lankan identity,” Sampanthan said.
“Today, we are attempting to move towards being a united people in a united, undivided and indivisible country. I do not think that there can be any disagreement on that. If we want our wish for Sri Lanka to succeed, we need to unitedly work towards the achievement of that goal,” the Opposition Leader said.
Country on the threshold of constitutional reforms to avoid pitfalls: Hakeem
The country is on the threshold of a process of constitutional reforms to avoid the pitfalls of the past.
A debate on relative merits and demerits of the presidential form of governance is before the people, SLMC Leader and Urban Development, Water Supply and Drainage Minister Rauff Hakeem said in Parliament yesterday.
He made these observations joining the vote commemorating the 70th anniversary of Parliamentary democracy in Sri Lanka, which was moved by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday.
The Minister said while we celebrate 70 years of parliamentary history, it is opportune for us to look squarely at our profound failure to forge an overarching national ethos of democratic debate and to reflect with some degree of disappointment at the gradual decline of the quality of debate in the house.
"The first Parliament disenfranchised a segment of the people who voted at the elections.
That was the thin end of the wedge that over the years developed into a process resulting in a conflict that lasted three decades,” he said adding that "emerging from the conflict, we defeated a cessationist movement, but failed to restore the kinships and fraternal relations among our diverse people."
Hakeem said there emerged a triumphalist mindset that enveloped Parliament as well. He said the Parliamentary majority jettisoned the Parliamentary feature of accommodating dissent. Alternative points of view could not be presented. What was more pathetic, he said, was that alternative views were considered rebellious, anti-national and unpatriotic.
He said whatever form is adopted, it must ensure transparency, acceptability and high quality of legislative output and executive excellence.
“What we should do is to arrive at a trade-off between the two systems with an institutional structure that is resilient in ensuring the interest of the people notwithstanding the politics inherent in party politics," Hakeem said.
Parliamentary democracy blemished: Dinesh
Parliamentary democracy in the country is blemished with black marks, Join Opposition Parliamentary Group Leader Dinesh Gunawardena said.
He said periodic elections should be held at the right time if there is Parliamentary democracy.
"Elections are not held at the proper time. It demonstrates that there is an issue with democracy in the country," MP Gunawardena said.
He made these observations in Parliament yesterday joining the vote of commemorating the 70th anniversary of Parliamentary democracy in Sri Lanka, which was moved by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
He said the Joint Opposition has 54 members, but due recognition has not been given to them in Parliament.
EPDP joined mainstream politics with confidence in Parliamentary democracy: Devananda
The EPDP joined the mainstream politics with increased confidence in Parliamentary democracy, Jaffna District EPDP Parliamentarian Douglas Devananda said.
He said they had to take up weapons as there was no confidence in Parliamentary democracy. He said with the Indo-Lanka Pact, they saw a change in the people of the south and decided to enter into mainstream politics 30 years ago.
He made these observations yesterday in Parliament joining the vote of commemorating the 70th anniversary of Parliamentary democracy in Sri Lanka, which was moved by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Devananda said when they came to mainstream politics, there was no civil administration in the North. They found it hard to establish civil administration in the province, he said.
Democracy suppressed in Parliament: Anura Kumara
Parliament has been a place where democracy has continuously been suppressed, Chief Opposition Whip and JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said in Parliament yesterday.
He made these observations joining the vote commemorating the 70th anniversary of Parliamentary democracy in Sri Lanka, which was moved by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. He said some say Parliament is the centre of democracy, but it is a wrong notion.
Dissanayake said Parliament was a place where democracy had been misused for selfish motives of those who ruled the country from time to time. The Parliamentary system had been manipulated for the sinister gains of a few families, Dissanayake said.
Parliament passed laws legitimising the Criminal Justice Commission to render punishment without hearing their cases. It passed laws to punish selected persons, he said.
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