New constitution should prioritise the

people

By Fr. Augustine Fernando-April 6, 2017, 9:33 pm

Diocese of Badulla

"We hold the view that the people come first, not the
government". John F. Kennedy.

There are individuals and small group of parliamentarians who do

not seem to be true and acceptable representatives of the people
for whom they have been nominated solely on party leaders
choice. They disregard the people and plan to impose their views
and sabotage the never-to-be-missed opportunity to adopt a New
Constitution for Sri Lanka. They prioritize their individual selves
under many pretexts. They presume that they, undemocratic,
insensitive and short-sighted as they are, are the all-knowing
masters and not the servants of the people. These saboteurs
should be defeated.
MIRROR OF PEOPLES ASPIRATIONS

The new Government campaigned promising the people a New

Constitution. It should keep its promise. The President
remembers, we hope, what he solemnly said before the dead
body of the Ven. Sobhita Thero. The people wish to see the
President and the Prime Minister and their closest supporters
faithful to their commitment to draft a New Constitution and to
bring about a new political culture.

The New Constitution of Sri Lanka should reflect the laboriously

gathered preponderant and long-term views of the People as to
how they should be governed. Drafted by experts, the New
Constitution based on truth, liberty, justice, autonomy and
identity of significant groups, should reflect the democratic ideals
and standpoint of all the mature citizens of Sri Lanka who in
national fraternity and solidarity constitute the People. This draft
has to come to the Constituent Assembly for it to be adopted and
presented to the people for a referendum. The draft constitution
therefore needs to be so prepared as to be acceptable to all the
people inclusive of the Tamil, Muslim and other significant
minorities. Fortunately, for Sri Lanka, the large majority of the
people of our pluralist society are a civilized collective, respectful
of democratic traditions, of sober dispositions with sane and
sound minds that accept the equal dignity and rights of all
citizens. Unless the New Constitution is underpinned by truth,
liberty, justice, equality and shared civic and social responsibility
which are necessary for civilized life, the People of Sri Lanka will
remain in a straightjacket and continue to walk in a valley of
darkness, lies, injustice, chauvinism, brutality and deathly rivalry.

The people have genuine inter-relational human goodwill that

could sustain our society, which the politicians try to cunningly
manipulate. The people are respectful and appreciate the
existence of a truly independent judiciary that does not succumb
to the pressures of highly placed politicians wielding power
capriciously. The judiciary is burdened with the unenviable onus of
restraining according to law the impulsive, uncouth and erratic
politicians and their camp followers. Those with questionable
character when they fail to bend the law to their advantage often
resort to dubious means, such as crowding courts with political
muscle, to bring pressure on the judges. These erstwhile powerful
politicians formerly habituated even to control judges, bamboozle
the people by their declaims and stunts. They were silent when
their undereducated vociferous catchers arbitrarily meted out
cangaroo court justice daring even to use filth to the face of a
former chief justice. The citizens observing the camaraderie of
these corrupt political cliques needs to be sober and clear headed
and calm as high court judges themselves to assess, understand
and downscale the exhibitionist political drama that is staged
before the people.

The President, Prime Minister, Ministers, Members of Parliament,

Religious Leaders, Political Party Leaders, Trade Union Leaders,
and all other leaders of sections of the people, could set forth
their views in keeping with the collective view of the people they
represent. Many have done so. This should obviate their personal
views. They should surface and mirror the aspirations, rights and
the democratic views of the people they represent. The New
Constitution should above all prevent the breeding by
hypocritical, uncivilized politicians a false nationalism the like of
which we have experienced since 1956 bringing chaos and untold
disaster on this Country.

It devolves on the mature and sober citizens to bring the people

confused by cunning politicians to common sense and to an
appreciation of the independent and fair manner in which justice
is now dispensed. It is up to the sane majority of the people to see
that a truly Peoples Constitution is adopted as the Basic Law of
the Land.

END TO POWER ABUSERS

The people need to organize themselves to consolidate their

aspirations and persuade their elected representatives to look
beyond themselves, their political parties the political self-
serving outfits to the future progress, reconciliation,
accommodation, inclusivity and unity of all the people of Sri
Lanka. What may be considered beneficial and advantageous to
political parties in view of the next election are not necessarily
good for the Country. Politicians in power from Presidents, Prime
Ministers, Ministers and MPs have tended to abuse the power
vested in them and prioritized their own personal, private and
feudal interests, given into craving and greed and neglected
upholding the rights of the people. This has gone on for too long
and should be terminated forthwith. The New Constitution should
preclude all that.

NONE ABOVE THE LAW

The 1978 Constitution was drafted with the misguided and selfish
blind hunch of the UNP which planned to capture political power
over and over again. The 17th Amendment though passed
unanimously came to be disregarded with predictable caprice.
The 18th Amendment was passed by politically castrated eunuchs
to satisfy the selfish monarchical ambitions of the then President
to be a dictatorial despot, an autocrat planning to perpetuate a
dynasty that turned out to be corrupt to the core. One is reminded
how Adolf Hitler was persuasive enough to democratically
achieve leadership he was called Fuhrer and establish a Nazi
dictatorship that carried out socially immoral actions including
genocide.

Here in Sri Lanka, even with the Right to Information in place the
Minister of Justice is contesting the right to information about the
wealth of the President and Prime Minister as if they are
impeccable super deities. They are also citizens and the least of
the citizens, even if there be such in this country, are equal in
human dignity and have human rights equal to those of the
President and Prime Minister. With some ministers stupidly
considering and acting as super citizens above the law, the
equality of all people, irrespective of their social, political,
economic position, tends to get blurred. No one should possess
wealth illegally and immorally gained. No one should evade just
taxes. No citizen should be above the law. The New Constitution
should uncompromisingly underpin these principles and become
the instrument of a reformed new political culture because the
one that exists is abominably evil, begets evil, nurtures evil and
corrupts everyone. The vast majority of parliamentarians are set
in their evil ways, enslaved in many a political illegal gain, illicit
pleasure, social mischief and deceit. Enslaved as they are, how on
earth could they bring any kind of liberation to the people?

EVERYONE ACCOUNTABLE

Ministers should first of all grasp and understand the meaning of

ministering. "

Ministrare

" in Latin means to serve. Minister means servant, just that.

Minister does not mean a flamboyant, crafty, clowning showman
who displays his self importance by the number of vehicles going
ahead and after his, wasting tax-payers money. Certain security
measures are accorded to the Head of State and Head of
Government. Ministers who get swollen headed and posture like
the head of state are wanting in sobriety and level headedness.
All of them tend to flatter themselves and one another in their
public postures even while stinking and dead within. If you cannot
be servants of the people and genuinely serve them honestly and
be accountable and transparent, it is better that not only the
ministers, including the minister of justice, but the President and
Prime Minister as well pack up and go home.

The Minister of Justice willfully ignoring that the former President

and his gang were sent home due to their uncontrolled
irresponsibility so evident in their ways of acting devoid of
accountability, wishes to accord a new immunity and a cover of
impunity to the President and Prime Minister that they have not
asked. He should show his loyalty to them not in a foolish manner
of providing immunity from accountability but by being an honest
minister.

The New Constitution should preclude politicians and public

administrators from abusing state property, arbitrarily wasting
national resources and arbitrary interpretation of the law of the
land. Those who abuse state resources and allot them to their kith
and kin and party men should be asked to reimburse the money
spent and duly punished. When they are in power, politicians
abuse and wantonly expend state resources in a highly
irresponsible manner and they think they are accountable to no
one. When they are ousted from power and asked to explain their
behaviour they try to play the role of innocent victims
persecuted by those upholding the law in the name of the
people. This charade must cease.
The New Constitution should make all citizens subject to the law
and not be protective of anyone who acts above the law with
impunity, be it ordinary citizen, parliamentarian, minister, Judge,
Prelate, Chief Justice, Prime Minister, or President.

NOMINATE GOOD CANDIDATES

Persons who do not have an understanding of themselves, their

capacities and their limitations, yet consider themselves beyond
the law and accountable to no one, should never be chosen to
govern a country or for any position of responsibility. Just as there
is a minimum age (35 years) to be eligible to be elected
president, there should be a minimum age of at least 25 years to
be a parliamentarian, in addition to other educational
qualifications. It is for this basic reason of suitability for a job that
in former times, those who applied for any position of
responsibility / public service be that of a cleaner of public
drains, public inspectors of health, nurses, doctors, teachers,
principals, policemen or soldiers or anyone coming forward for a
public duty were individually interviewed by higher authorities
and given appointment only when found qualified and suitable.

As always, unqualified, rough and corrupt politicians have messed

up in all these matters by taking upon themselves the appointing
of their favourites and supporters as policemen, police inspectors,
teachers, principals, directors of education (!) chairmen of
corporations, Governors of the Central Bank, grama sevakas,
estate superintendents and what not. And they harm the common
good, throw public money down a drain that ends up in a fat bank
account of a crony.

Yet politicians in power make a political show of giving

appointments. It is tragic that political party top men and leaders
too interview hundreds of candidates only to nominate some
rotters also as candidates instead of good, suitable and public
spirited ones; no wonder the Country has been thrown into depths
of distress and contempt. The people need to be circumspect and
never be subject to deception and hyperbolic election propaganda
nor surrender their interests to self-absorbed deceptive politicians
who canvass for votes.

STOP NOMINATING UNDESIRABLES

At present, a good number of the members of the Constituent

Assembly show themselves to be hugely self-absorbed and short-
sighted. They seem to be incapable of transcending themselves
for the good of the Country and its people. Their main concern
seems to be the next election and saving themselves from the
condemnation that is coming on them, due to corrupt practices
they have indulged in. Yet they are intent in prolonging and
perpetuating themselves in office by getting elected by any
means, however immoral or illegal. This is the main reason why
they are shying away from adopting a New Constitution and going
before the people for a referendum. These political fraudsters
cannot be brought to their senses. They should be hounded out
and discarded in the next election by the people. The preferential
vote that is a source for corrupt deals should not have a place in
the new Constitution.

As political parties tend to nominate undesirable individuals to

some electorates, the people should have more options than they
have now. The New electoral system could provide for the voters
to vote for a party on the whole whole, and yet desist from voting
for that partys candidate if the candidate is considered
unsuitable. Therefore people should be free to vote for a political
Party of their choice as well as an individual from a different party
in the eventuality of the Party putting forward undesirable
candidates. This measure will prevent parties nominating well
known scoundrels and their getting elected on party tickets. In the
Constitution there should not be the least semblance of a
possibility for any political party to provide a cover-up of fraud
and corruption to any party cadre. Political parties and individual
candidates should be compelled to declare their assets and
liabilities to qualify to be a candidate at elections as well as
annually, if elected, be transparent in their election expenditures
and generally in their finances. Presently the JVP which has
democratized and transformed itself far more than other political
parties seems the most honest and stable party with committed
members, according to the financial accounts they have
submitted. They shame all others.
Posted by Thavam