- ACMC MP Musharaff votes against 20A but supports Clause 17
- MS writes to GR and MR explaining inability to vote for 20A
- SJB sacks errant MPs; Hakeem and Bathiudeen told to act
- Stage set for Pompeo’s visit with advance team arriving on Friday
The much talked of 20th Amendment to the Constitution last week received parliamentary approval with 150-plus votes after creating much controversy within the governing Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) as well as the Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) in the run up to last Thursday (22) night’s vote on the legislation.
The aftermath of the 20th Amendment has created chaos in the SJB and disunity among the members over eight errant MPs who supported the 20th Amendment despite an official SJB decision of not supporting the legislation.
After weeks of political discussions and arguments, the 20th Amendment to the Constitution was passed in Parliament last Thursday with 156 votes in favour and 65 against the piece of legislation.
The voting got underway at around 7.40 p.m., concluding a two-day debate that commenced on Wednesday (21).
Several Opposition parliamentarians representing the SJB voted in favour of the 20th Amendment. Among the Opposition MPs who voted in support of it were Diana Gamage, Ishak Rahuman, Faizal Cassim, H.M.M. Harees, M.S. Thowfeek, A. Aravind Kumar, A.S.M. Raheem, and Nazeer Ahamad.
While members of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC), which are the main coalition partners of the SJB, voted in favour of the 20th Amendment, SLMC Leader MP Rauff Hakeem and ACMC Leader MP Rishad Bathiudeen voted against the legislation.
The irony of the role played by the Muslim MPs in supporting the Government was not lost on the public, given the comments and memes that did the rounds on social media, reminding people of the anti-Muslim sentiments propagated by hard-line Sinhala-Buddhist factions in the SLPP.During the third reading of the 20th Amendment Bill, Minister of Justice Ali Sabry introduced several amendments to the clauses in the newly passed legislation.
However, Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella called for a vote on Clause 17 of the legislation, which enables dual citizens to hold public office. The clause was passed with 157 votes while 64 cast their votes against it.
It was interesting to note that ACMC MP S.M. Musharraf who voted against the second and third readings of the 20th Amendment voted in favour of Clause 17 when a vote was taken on it.
All governing party MPs, sans former President MP Maithripala Sirisena, voted in favour of the 20th Amendment.
Sirisena’s letter
Sirisena was not present in the Parliament Chamber when the 20th Amendment was taken for a vote on Thursday evening. His absence was noticeable and everyone started to wonder why he was not present during the vote.
Some of the governing party members noted that Sirisena was occupied since he was summoned before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) probing Easter Sunday attacks that evening.
However, it is learnt that the PCoI, which had allocated between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. for Sirisena’s cross examining last Thursday, had limited its session for one hour and concluded hearings at 5.15 p.m.
Nevertheless, Sirisena refrained from attending parliament sessions.
It is learnt that Sirisena had in fact sent a letter to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa explaining his inability to vote in favour of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution.
He had observed that since he was instrumental in introducing the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, he could not vote consciously in favour of the 20th Amendment.
He had further explained that the 19th Amendment was initiated by him with great faith that he could strengthen the democratic institutions in the country and take the country on a progressive path.
However, he had said that the actions of then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had obstructed the proper implementation of the 19th Amendment, preventing the country and its people from experiencing the true benefits of the legislation.
He had also said he hoped both the President and the Prime Minister would understand his position and not be affronted by it.
However, neither the President nor the Prime Minister had responded to Sirisena’s letter.
Reaching agreement
The run up to the vote on the 20th Amendment saw the governing party heading towards an internal crisis over the clause enabling dual citizens to hold public office in the 20th Amendment, with nationalist forces and political parties within the SLPP carrying out a continuous agitation against what they termed as a “contentious clause” in the legislation.
The nationalist parties in the Government represented in Parliament threatened to carry out their objections during the vote on the piece of legislation.
Several discussions held on the matter with the Prime Minister failed to bring the anticipated results to these nationalist forces including several leading Buddhist monks. Finally, it was the President who had to intervene to build unity in the governing party and ensure that all SLPP MPs in the House voted in favour of the 20th Amendment.
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National Freedom Front on 22 October announced that they will not support Clause 17[/caption]
The President on Wednesday (21), the day prior to the vote on the 20th Amendment, had met with Ministers Wimal Weerawansa, Vasudeva Nanayakkara, and Udaya Gammanpila as well as MPs Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, Weerasumana Weerasinghe, Asanka Navaratne, and Tiran Alles.
The meeting had been convened by Alles and the discussion was focused completely on the dual citizens’ clause.
The President had given a keen ear to the concerns raised by the group of MPs who have been objecting to the dual citizens’ clause since the drafting of the 20th Amendment.
After listening to the MPs, the President had reasoned out that there was a need for the 20th Amendment to be passed in Parliament and to ensure the unity of the Government. While he had said that the 20th Amendment needs to be passed in Parliament the following day, he also assured that the request of the Buddhist clergy and parliamentarians would be addressed when the new constitution is introduced within next year.
Nanayakkara had been pleased with the President’s explanation, but Weerawansa had continued to push for the removal of the clause.
However, after the meeting with the President, the pro-nationalist forces had met and discussed the President’s assurance.
It was finally agreed that all parties would agree to the 20th Amendment at present and ensure that the dual citizens’ clause would be dropped from the new constitution that is currently in the making.
Weerawansa, Nanayakkara, Gammanpila, and Weerasumana convened a news conference on Thursday at the Parliamentary Complex.
During the news conference, the MPs explained that they will support the 20th Amendment following the assurance given by the President.
Amending the amendment
Earlier last week, the Cabinet of Ministers reached an agreement on introducing several amendments to the 20th Amendment.
On Monday (19) evening, the SLPP parliamentary group met at around 6.30 p.m. at the Presidential Secretariat under the patronage of President Rajapaksa.
Once again, concerns over the 20th Amendment Bill were taken up for discussion.
However, the Government at the meeting had decided to introduce several amendments to the proposed 20th Amendment Bill that was before Parliament.
The announcement was made by Minister of Justice Sabry on Monday evening during the group meeting. At the outset of the meeting, the Prime Minister had asked Sabry to explain to the group the amendments that had been discussed for the 20th Amendment.
It was announced that the amendments to the proposed new piece of legislation relate to the powers vested with the president to dissolve Parliament, the number of ministers in the Cabinet, auditing of state institutions, and the presentation of emergency bills.
The Government has decided to increase the number of years Parliament has to function before the president could dissolve the legislature to two-and-a-half years and for the cabinet to be limited to 30 members.
Also, the auditing of state institutions is to be carried out in the same manner as previously stipulated in the 19th Amendment.
The other amendment is to limit the submission of emergency bills to times of disasters and in the event of a threat to national security.
However, no decision was reached to amend the clause on dual citizens holding public office under the 20th Amendment, which has gathered much opposition by several coalition partners of the Government.
The following day (20), Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena announced to Parliament the observations of the Supreme Court (SC) on the petitions that were filed against the proposed 20th Amendment Bill.
Once the SC observations were announced, the governing party announced its decision to introduce other amendments to the Bill at the committee stage of the debate in Parliament.
Party leaders meet MR
The day before the SLPP group met under the patronage of President Rajapaksa, SLPP party leaders on Sunday (18) met with Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to discuss the 20th Amendment Bill that was to be taken up in Parliament on Wednesday (21) and Thursday (22).
The meeting with the Prime Minister was decided due to the concerns over the new piece of legislation continuously expressed by governing party leaders that had intensified following a meeting held earlier in the month at Temple Trees on the subject under the patronage of President Rajapaksa.
The meeting last Sunday was scheduled to be held at the Presidential Secretariat, but the venue was later changed to Rajapaksa’s official residence at Wijerama Mawatha in Colombo 7.
Neither the President nor Justice Minister Sabry were present at the meeting held at Wijerama Mawatha.
During the meeting chaired by the Prime Minister, many aspects of the 20th Amendment Bill had been discussed once again.
Muslim MPs to support
Rajapaksa had informed the gathering that the Muslim parties in Parliament – the SLMC and the ACMC – were likely to cast their votes in favour of the 20th Amendment when it is taken up for a vote in the House.
National Freedom Front (NFF) Leader Minister Weerawansa had questioned the difficulties the governing party members would face before the public in such a scenario, given the statements made public by them about the two Muslim political parties and its members.
“Given what had been said during the past few years, how will we face the public?” Weerawansa had questioned.
Rajapaksa had responded saying the two party leaders – Hakeem and Bathiudeen – were unlikely to vote in favour of the 20th Amendment.
“Anyway, what can we do if the Muslim MPs were to forcibly vote in favour of the amendment?” the Prime Minister had questioned in a lighter vein.
Minister Nanayakkara had sternly objected to the clause in the proposed piece of legislation that enables dual citizens to hold public office. He had said that it was difficult for some of the governing party members in Parliament to consciously vote in favour of the 20th Amendment Bill if the clause on dual citizens was not amended.
Meanwhile, speaking on behalf of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), party General Secretary State Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara had said his party could not agree with the clause in the proposed amendment that prevented the auditing of accounts of over 100 state institutions.
Jayasekara had further expressed disappointment in the failure on the part of either the Justice Minister or any other member who had drafted the new piece of legislation to respond to the recommendations submitted by the SLFP to be included in the 20th Amendment.
While many party leaders had expressed concerns about some of the contents in the 20th Amendment, the Prime Minister had concluded the meeting saying he would discuss their concerns with the President and the Minister of Justice.
When leaving the Wijerama Mawatha meeting, party leaders, making comments to the media, said that matters related to the 20th Amendment were discussed at the meeting, but refrained from giving further details.
Monks agitate
The day after the party leaders’ meeting, Abhayarama Temple Chief Incumbent Ven. Muruththettuwe Ananda Thera called a meeting on Monday (19) at the temple with several governing party parliamentarians from the pro-nationalist camp.
The meeting was convened at 11 a.m. on Monday in the backdrop of the Prime Minister informing party leaders of the governing party on Sunday evening that the Muslim political parties in Parliament were going to vote in favour of the 20th Amendment Bill.
Ven. Ananda Thera had also invited Prime Minister Rajapaksa for the meeting.
The meeting was attended by Ministers Dinesh Gunawardena, Weerawansa, Nanayakkara, Gamini Lokuge, Gammanpila, Bandula Gunawardana, and Vidura Wickremanayake, as well as MPs Gevindu Kumaranatunge and Alles.
Ven. Elle Gunawansa Thera, Ven. Bengamuwe Nalaka Thera, Ven. Medagoda Abhayatissa Thera, and several other leading members of the Buddhist clergy have also participated in the meeting.
It is learnt that one of the ministers had pointed out at the meeting that the President was agreeable to amend the clauses in the proposed piece of legislation related to dual citizens and the auditing of state institutions. However, the Minister had noted that SLPP theoretician/Founder Basil Rajapaksa was opposed to amending the said clauses in the amendment.
Another minister had said that the Justice Minister had told him that he was not agreeable to all the clauses in the 20th Amendment Bill, although he had presented it to Parliament. The Justice Minister had said that Basil had wanted the contentious clauses to be included in the 20th Amendment.
It is also learnt that it had transpired during the meeting that the President, during a telephone conversation with a leading Buddhist monk in the country, had said he was prepared to withdraw the 20th Amendment if there was such vehement protest against it.
Finally, Ven. Ananda Thera had reiterated that the Government should not proceed with the 20th Amendment.
The Thera had further noted that it was the final warning the monks were going to make over the piece of legislation.
He had added that if the Government proceeds with the 20th Amendment without heeding the requests of the Buddhist monks, steps would be taken to surround Parliament as well as to hold islandwide protests against the legislation.
It is also learnt that Ven. Ananda Thera had invited the governing party members to a lunch after the meeting concluded.
Warnings
Three leading monks publicly warned that the 20th Amendment led to the creation of a President who would be able to control the executive in an arbitrary manner and bring the judiciary and legislature under his control.
The letter followed the opposition raised by the Amarapura-Ramanna Samagri Maha Sangha Sabha to the 20th Amendment, citing it will pave the way for an “undeveloped tribal society”.
Ven. Nalaka Thera, Ven. Ananda Thera, and Ven. Gunawansa Thera, in a letter to the President, noted that the 20th Amendment would lead to the formation of a weak cabinet and also weaken the power and stability of Prime Minister Rajapaksa, who has won the hearts of the people.
The Thero added that it would also allow the President to change ministers and their powers as and when he pleases.
The letter noted that there could be an ulterior motive with regard to lifting the restriction on the number of cabinet ministers, which is limited to 30 members.
According to the Thero, multiple responsibilities vested with the Prime Minister have been removed in the 20th Amendment, and they have highlighted the fact that the people have been deprived of the right to challenge in court any unconstitutional act committed by the person who holds the post of president.
They had also warned that the 20th Amendment could pave the way for the creation of an unstable governance mechanism that would have no rule of law.
Hela Bodu Saviya Chief Patron Ven. Omalpe Sobitha Thera also sent a letter to President Rajapaksa regarding his concerns over the 20th Amendment last Monday.
Although the 20th Amendment which was gazetted and published was to be debated in Parliament, Ven. Sobitha Thera had stated that the clergy, who are dedicated to the Sasana and social service of the country in various ways, have already expressed their displeasure.
The letter had also stated that the 20th Amendment would place the country’s democracy in a questionable position, as well as make the Government highly unpopular within the civil community. Ven. Sobitha Thera requested the President to use the trust placed in him wisely and take the public’s concerns over the 20th Amendment into consideration.
SLFP urged to reconsider
Chaos over the 20th Amendment continued when a group of leading Buddhist monks on Wednesday (21) requested the main coalition partner of the Government, the SLFP, to consider the dangers of the dual citizenship clause in the 20th Amendment Bill.
Ven. Muruththettuwe Ananda Thera, along with Ven. Bengamuwe Nalaka Thera and Ven. Elle Gunawansa Thera, participated in the meeting with a group of senior SLFP parliamentarians.
During the discussion, the Thero had discussed the content of the 20th Amendment Bill and commended the Government’s decision to amend three vital clauses in the legislation.
However, they had noted that all the contentious issues in the 20th Amendment Bill were not addressed since the Government intends to continue with the clause that enables dual citizens to hold public office under the proposed piece of legislation.
Ven. Ananda Thera had explained to the SLFP that the dual citizenship clause was a danger to the country and should not be passed in Parliament.
The SLFP was asked to consider the dangers before supporting the 20th Amendment Bill.
The SLFP delegation included party Ministers Dayasiri Jayasekara, Duminda Dissanayake, Nimal Siripala de Silva, Mahinda Amaraweera, Jagath Pushpakumara, Weerakumara Dissanayake, and Lasantha Alagiyawanna.
After taking into consideration all aspects of the 20th Amendment and the assurances given by the President to address all concerns in the proposed new constitution, the SLFP MPs decided to vote in favour of the legislation.
SJB crises
The crisis – or more likely, the crises – in the SJB started to get worse towards the weekend with many young SJB MPs calling for stern action by the party leadership against the errant MPs who had violated the party decision.
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Samagi Jana Balawegaya donned slogan facemasks and arm bands in protest over 20A[/caption]
SJB Leader and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and General Secretary MP Ranjith Madduma Bandara were put under pressure to act against the leaders of the SLMC and ACMC since they had allowed the MPs representing their respective political parties to act in contravention to the SJB stand.
A group of SJB MPs on Friday (23) signed and handed over a letter to Madduma Bandara seeking action against the errant MPs.
The letter, signed by 22 SJB MPs, called on Madduma Bandara to keep to the statement made by him on Thursday that any individual who goes against the party decision and votes in favour of the 20th Amendment will be sacked from the party.
The letter also noted that while the leaders of the SLMC and the ACMC, Hakeem and Bathiudeen, had stood by the official SJB decision on the 20th Amendment, members of their parties had violated the collective decision made on the said piece of legislation.
Therefore, the SJB MPs called on the SJB General Secretary to request Hakeem and Bathiudeen to expel the MPs who had violated the party decision.
The group of MPs had further noted that if Hakeem and Bathiudeen fail to act against their party members, they too should be sacked from the SJB.
That evening, SJB MP Harsha de Silva announced that the party had taken a decision to sack the members who voted against the party stand on the 20th Amendment.
After a meeting held on Friday evening, the party took an unanimous decision to expel the group of MPs from the party’s parliamentary group with further disciplinary action to be taken later.
Meanwhile, on Friday (23), Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) Leader and SJB MP Mano Ganesan, through his Twitter account, stated that he had suspended MP Aravinda Kumar who had supported the 20th Amendment on Thursday.
“I hereby suspend Aravindakumar MP from Tamil Progressive Alliance. He will be sacked from #TPA by the Politburo. The TPA parliamentary group will discuss this matter in a few hours. His party, Upcountry People’s Front, will be asked to take further action against him,” Ganesan tweeted.
SJB legitimacy issues
However, the SJB’s attempts to take legal action against MP Gamage has stirred a hornet’s nest since both Gamage and her husband, Senaka de Silva, hold the power of the party.
In an interview with The Sunday Morning, Gamage confirmed that it was she and her husband who have legal control over the party.
In the run up to this year’s general election, Premadasa and his supporters took over the Ape Jathika Peramuna party formed by De Silva and Gamage and converted it to the SJB with Premadasa as the Leader and Madduma Bandara as the General Secretary.
De Silva was appointed as the Deputy Leader of the SJB while Gamage was named the Deputy General Secretary.
However, it is learnt that the SJB’s Constitution, which is also the Constitution of Ape Jathika Peramuna, has several bylaws that would prevent either Premadasa or Madduma Bandara from taking any stern disciplinary action against Gamage akin to their removal from the National List slot.
In fact, it is learnt that a majority of the Central Committee of the SJB are from the committee that was formed by De Silva and Gamage when registering the Ape Jathika Peramuna at the Election Commission.
Therefore, both De Silva and Gamage wield power over the SJB, as they hold majority powers in the SJB Central Committee.
Gamage, therefore, has adopted a “you try your best and see” attitude with regard to any moves by Premadasa or Madduma Bandara to initiate disciplinary action against her and sack her from Parliament.
SLPP-SLFP iron out issues
While the SJB is trying to resolve its internal crises, the SLPP and SLFP are working at consolidating its political alliance.
The district leaders of the SLPP and SLFP met on Tuesday (20) to iron out issues faced by the respective party representatives in the constituencies.
The meeting was focused on discussing the grievances of the members of both parties at the district level, along with solutions.
SLFP General Secretary Jayasekara said the two parties had discussed how the SLPP and the SLFP could work together in the local government bodies.
“We discussed how the two parties together could gain control of local government bodies and function as an alliance,” he said.
According to Jayasekara, the district representatives of both parties have been asked to hold joint meetings in their respective constituencies and formulate a working mechanism that would be presented at the next meeting in Colombo.
The SLPP group was led by several party seniors including party General Secretary MP Sagara Kariyawasam, Minister of Tourism Prasanna Ranatunga, and Minister of Ports and Shipping Rohitha Abeygunawardena.
The SLFP group was led by party General Secretary Jayasekara; National Organiser and State Minister of Solar Power, Wind, and Hydropower Generation Projects Development Duminda Dissanayake; and State Minister of Co-operative Services, Marketing Development, and Consumer Protection Alagiyawanna.
All set for Pompeo
While the local political stage continues to be a hive of activity, the Government this week is gearing for the official visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Sri Lanka.
Pompeo, it is learnt, is scheduled to arrive in the country on Tuesday (27) and leave the following day (28).
Further confirming Pompeo’s arrival in the country, a group of senior US military officers had reportedly arrived in Sri Lanka on Wednesday (21) to make the necessary security arrangements and preparations for Pompeo’s visit.
It is learnt that an advance team of around 16 US military personnel had arrived in a Qatar Airways flight from Doha, Qatar.
The personnel had reportedly been quarantined for a day and been subjected to PCR tests.
Meanwhile, the US last Thursday had urged Sri Lanka to make “difficult but necessary” decisions to secure its economic independence for long-term prosperity.
Ahead of Pompeo's visit to Colombo, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia Dean Thompson had told reporters that the US wants to partner with Sri Lanka on their shared goals of sustainable economic development and a free and open Indo-Pacific.
The Indo-Pacific is a biogeographic region comprising the Indian Ocean and the western and central Pacific Ocean, including the South China Sea. China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam claim parts of it.
“In the interest of strengthening our longstanding partnership with Sri Lanka and reinforcing our long-term commitment to the region, we encourage Sri Lanka to review the options we offer for transparent and sustainable economic development in contrast to discriminatory and opaque practices,” Thompson had been quoted as saying in foreign media in a veiled reference to China.
“We urge Sri Lanka to make difficult but necessary decisions to secure its economic independence for long-term prosperity, and we stand ready to partner with Sri Lanka for its economic development and growth,” he had said.
Pompeo is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and Minister of Foreign Affairs Dinesh Gunawardena to emphasise the US’ commitment to a strong, independent, and democratic Sri Lanka, Thompson had noted.
“We’ll continue to urge Sri Lanka to advance democratic governance, human rights, reconciliation, religious freedom, and justice which promote the country’s long-term stability and prosperity and ensure the dignity and equality of all Sri Lanka’s diverse communities,” Thompson had further noted.
Responding to a question posed to him, the US official had said the US watches closely the developments in Sri Lanka on issues related to human rights.
The Secretary will, of course, be raising issues related to human rights, reconciliation, and the US’ common commitment to democracy, he had said.
“Our partnership with Sri Lanka goes back a long way, through a lot of different eras, and right now, we think they’re at a point to make some choices about where they head,” he had said.
“During the meetings, the Secretary of State will also be discussing the issues related to China,” Thompson had added in response to another question.
TNA and Modi
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA), meanwhile, is looking at holding a virtual discussion with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
News reports last week quoted TNA Leader R. Sampanthan as stating that a request has been made from India for a meeting with Prime Minister Modi.
Sampanthan had stated that the Indian Premier had directed relevant authorities to make the necessary arrangements for the event.
Last month saw Modi engage in a virtual discussion with Prime Minister Rajapaksa where several key issues were taken up for discussion.
During the discussion, the Indian Prime Minister had called for the full implementation of the 13th Amendment.
It is in this backdrop, Tamil Nadu’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Vice President Attorney-at-Law Vanathi Srinivasan had said that India is keeping a close watch on the Chinese activities taking place in Sri Lanka and the pro-Chinese activities of the Sri Lankan Government.
She had made these observations during an interview with the Virakesari Tamil weekly newspaper.
Srinivasan had noted that the arrival of a high-level Chinese delegation to Sri Lanka following discussions between the Prime Ministers of India and Sri Lanka confirms that the Rajapaksa Government is beginning to work closely with China.
She had further stated that China was violating the North Indian border and was working closely with Sri Lanka.
The BJP representative had noted that there is a high possibility that the intense pressure from the Indian Central Government on the Indo-Lanka Accord and the settlement of ethnic issues would further push Sri Lanka towards a pro-Chinese stance.
She had added that the Indian Government should focus on China’s investment in the South of Sri Lanka, and the role of Tamil representatives in the Sri Lankan Government.
