What is wrong with the Executive Presidency ?

Many seem to want the executive presidency abolished. The man who put in place the executive Presidency writing a whole new Constituency was unable to use the executive powers appropriately.  He was in fact manipulated by India to mutilate the very Constitution he fathered by forcing him to introduce into it an amendment unbecoming of a Sri Lankan National Constitution which  was prepared by Indians in India without even consulting him. 

That mutilation of the Constitution  was mainly due to USA , which JR thought was his friend who would stand by him if the necessity arises.  But when his armed forces were about to defeat the terrorists rounding them up in Jaffna in June 1983, India trespassed the Sri Lankan air space to  drop dry ration to the beleaguered terrorists. At that time when  JR  was mostly in need of his friend the USA,  it abandoned him giving the Indians an upper hand to dictate terms to JR the Executive President of Sri Lanka who succumbed to India by accepting an Indian Peace keeping Force and introducing India’s own 13 Amendment into the Sri Lanka Constitution.

The subsequent Executive Presidents of Sri Lanka were unable to make use of the Executive Presidency in the interest of the country and its people.  The President R.Premadasa was a pathetic representation of an Executive President.  He armed the terrorists against the Indian Peace Keeping  Forces and learnt a bitter lesson by getting himself assassinated by the terrorists he armed.  Then came Chandrika Kumaratunga giving hope to a people who had enough of  President R.Premadasa.

But Chandrika soon found herself  unable to make use of her Presidency let alone the executive powers vested in it.  She was utterly lost unable to make sense of what to do with terrorism on the one hand  and the tsunami that hit the Island  on the other, and the vast amount of donations from donor  countries and  the gang of NGO parasites that followed the donations. 

The Tsunami was an excuse for a host of foreign  NGOs with ulterior motives to encamp in the areas occupied by the terrorists, to help the terrorists not so much to develop the areas devastated by the tsunami but to train them into a considerable armed force able to stand up to the Sri Lanka Armed Forces.       

Chandrika wanted to come to a political settlement with the terrorists to  share the tsunami donations coming from different foreign  donor States. The terrorists were trying to make capital of the situation formed an Interim Self Governing Authority to share tsunami Funds directly between the government and them.

In the mean time Chandrika was proposing political packages  to the terrorists even suggesting the terrorist leader to take over the North for ten years without any elections !  Prabhakaran who was adamant in the division of the country refused.  Chandrika  was unable to take a decisions, and Ranil Wickramasinghe the leader of the  UNP  who  she invited  to participate in the meetings refused to collaborate with her.

Finally with Rauf Hakeem of the SLMC with his followers who took themselves to be the  king makers in Sri Lankan Politics left the government  forcing Chandrika Kumaratunga to  call for a General Election in 2001. In that election the UNF lead by Ranil Wickramasinghe won the  elections and he was made the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka.

“In the parliamentary general election 2001 UNF, led by Ranil Wickremesinghe, won 109 seats and PA was able to obtain only 77 seats. Consequently he was able to form a new UNF government and sworn as the 17th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka on 9 December 2001. However  Chandrika Kumaratunga still remained the President of the country. This led to a confusing situation where the President and the Prime Minister were from two opposite parties. Although, according to the constitution, both head of state and head of government was the President, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was able to appoint his own cabinet 

and he had the actual control over the government. President Chandrika Kumaratunga also chaired cabinet meetings as de facto head, but her influence over decision making was strictly limited.” (wikipedia)

Ranil Wickramasinghe unofficially took over the Executive powers of the President Chandrika Kumaratiunga leaving her in the lurch, to take Eric Solheim as his consort and started his Prime Ministerial carrier to please the terrorists according to the whim and fancy of Solheim.  The Executive Power of the PresidentChandrika Kumaratunga  was precariously undermined and Solheim got Ranil Wickramasinghe to sign a CFA prepared by Solheim himself, with Prabhakaran handing over areas occupied by the terrorists as terrorist controlled areas making them off limit for the Government Forces or the Police Force.

Chandrika finally utilised her executive powers to take over  Several Ministries of the Cqabinet of  Ranil Wickramasinghe and dissolved the Parliament.

“Few days after LTTE proposed of the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA), President Chandrika Kumaratunga  sacked three ministers of the cabinet and took over the ministries using her constitutional powers ending the uneasy coalition between her and the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe while he was out of the country.  Addressing the nation she claimed that this decision was taken in the interest of national security.

Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna also decided to ally with PA to defeat the Ranil Wickremesinghe's government which they claimed as a threat to the sovereignty of the country. Consequently President Chandrika Kumaratunga dissolved the parliament on 7 February 2004  which effectively ended Ranil Wickremesinghe's regime.” ( wikipedia)

That in short was the history of how the Executive Powers of the Presidents of Sri Lanka were misused, and hopelessly denigrated until 2005.  Those Presidents were simply unable to use properly and beneficially to the country and the people the executive powers vested in them as Presidents.

Sri Lanka saw a real Executive President in action using his executive powers to the maximum wholly in the interest of the country and its people and never against them, only after the election of Mahinda Rajapakse as the President of Sri Lanka in 2005.

With Executive Powers vested in him the President Rajapakse was able to delegate different tasks to selected persons specialised in the particular subjectss allocated to them.  It was with that organised methodology that he was able to eliminate terrorism, while developing the country  in every way possible.

Thus the Executive President Mahinda Rajapakse provided to the country and its people,  security, peace and an unprecedented development within five years after elimination of terrorism, which no president  before him could have even dreamt of achieving. 

His remarkable ability in governance  is proof in the visual  development in all sectors such as transport, communication, education, health, agriculture, and the beautification of cities. He is on the other hand  most privileged to be blessed with a capable set of brothers on whom he could place his complete trust. They consist of  the Rajapakse family which is constantly attacked by the opposition.

This unprecedented  development process initiated by the Executive President Mahinda Rajapakse cannot be stopped all of  a sudden, as it would be detrimental to the country as a whole, as much remains to be done by the present Executive President Mahinda Rajapakse with his remarkable foresight and organisational ability.   

Therefore the Executive President  Mahinda Rajapakse should be re-elected for a third  term in order to complete the work he had commenced and partly completed to the satisfaction of all those who could look objectively at  the contribution made by the Executive President Mahinda Rajapakse in providing security to the country, peace to the people and development to the country in all respect.

The much talked  about corruption has to be taken up as a separate issue as much is involved in it.  The development projects with funds received in billions is a great temptation where bribery corruption is concerned

But we cannot overlook the fact that despite  numerous  reported and unreported incidents of bribery and corruption, the development processes have  continued unabated under the present Executive President.

There were large scale of corruption  during the previous governments but then  there had not been a balancing off in development to counter the massive corruption at the time. It may seem a lame excuse to minimise the vice of corruption.  But unfortunately corruption  accompanies all systems of governments globally. It needs attention and requires hitherto untried methods to eliminate it, even partially if not wholly.

Therefore to condemn the government of the Executive President Rajapakse for corruption without taking into consideration the massive development  undertaken successfully  by it  is absurd.  

The previous governments as pointed out before which had also been corrupt have not left a considerable number of  completed  development projects to off set corruption under their governments, in contrast to the Government of the President Mahinda  Rajapaksa.

But what is wrong with the Executive  Presidency if it has not committed  any wrong against the people, but looked after the welfare of the people  who are primarily the stakeholders of development ?

Madoluwawe Sobhita apparently the prime mover in the  call for the abolition of the Executive Presidency seems not to know much about governing,  leave alone Executive Presidency. The  executive powers vested in the President in terms of the Constitution of Sri Lanka were  getting rusty and crumbling due to having been left unused  or used rarely by the previous Presidents since 1978.  It was  Mahinda Rajapakse that refurbished the instrument when he took over the reins of Presidency and put the executive powers into good use.

Executive Presidency is now being  faulted by its opponents who never understood the value of it and how to  use it for the benefit of the country and its people.  Madoluwewe Sobita, Athureliye Ratana, Omalpe  Sobita, Champika Ranawaka       and the UNP cohorts are mere noise makers with an axe to grind inviting the Western Countries to interfere into our affairs through their puppets like Ranil Wickramsinghe, Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu, Jehan Perera and Nimalka Fernando  and the rest.

Some say that the introduction of the 18th Amendment was deliberate to use the Executive powers against the people and allow the Executive President to overstep democracy  taking away the independence of the judiciary and the appointments of  various heads of  Administrative Services and  the Police Force etc. 

The 18^th Amendment is essential to stop the limitation on the election of  a President for two terms.

The two term presidency had been a failure in USA and France.  No progressive development of a country could be carried out by limiting the Presidency for two terms. It is more so in developing countries like Sri Lanka.  It is for the first time in the history of Independent Sri Lanka that we have an Executive President who carried out so much of development in so  little a time.

If we were to  oust the present Executive President Mahinda Rajapakse now,  to please a band of self seeking individuals to set up their own system, all the progress Sri Lanka has seen  under the Present executive President Mahinda Rajapakse will vaporise into thin air taking back Sri Lanka perhaps to what it was in 2005.  There can be no doubt about it as with an executive Prime Minister like Ranil Wickramasinghe the Western Countries  will make Sri Lanka  their play ground like Cuba under Baptista.

After  Baptista was removed  from Cuba and the country delivered from the American Mafia,  USA took revenge by imposing a trade embargo caring less for the people , with the  determination of ousting Castro. Fortunately Cuba did not have an intransigent opposition like in Sri Lanka and hence Cuba developed into an Independent country despite  American enemy on its door step. 

This is the intended desire of the West towards Sri Lanka, making the  elimination of terrorism a war crime to take the President  who gave his people peace and security, before a Tribunal.  That is purely  because the executive President of Sri Lanka is not one who would bend his back to please the Western Governments  which consider themselves still the masters of developing countries required  to exist on their handouts.

With regard to the independence of the Judiciary and making appointments of  high ranking officials the solution is in the  Special Parliamentary Committees under the 18^th Amendment.  It is no fault of the Executive President Mahinda Rajapakse that the different political parties that were requested to send their representative to the SPC deliberately refused to do so, thus making it impossible for the SPC to function democratically.

Then they also accuse the Executive Presidency for media curb.  Sri Lanka is today a developing country just out of a 30 year old suffering under terrorism, with a  debilitating  democracy constantly interfered into by the Western Democracies to stop the Development of Sri Lanka , least concerned of its Independent Sovereignty. 

The Sri Lanka media has still not taken into consideration that it should be people friendly and support the elected government doing a decent peace of work for the welfare of the people. Therefore the government has to some time instruct the press  to refrain from giving publicity to certain news items if they can be used by the West for the detriment of the Country. It is a necessary censure of information.

Daily Mirror, Sunday Times, Mawbima, Sunday Leader,  Ceylon Today,  are some of the miscreants in this respect.  The media curb to a cert        ain extent is necessary for Sri Lanka today and that should not be considered an abuse of Executive  power of the President.  The media has also to  contribute to the progress and development of Sri Lanka without highlighting certain news items which could be utilised by the west against Sri Lanka.

When mentioning writing an article about Executive  Presidency it was mentioned that it would be good to  write that there  are people in the villages who are poor and earn their living doing odd jobs for others. For these people the Budget does not mean much and their living conditions remain the same what ever is the budget and who ever is its  mover. Therefore it would be a useful innovation to require the PCs to have a register of these poor people and give them a small weekly or monthly remuneration to offset their meagre earnings.

Executive Presidency is useful  for Sri Lanka which has come out of a ruthless terrorism, to be watchful and stop a recurrence of it, keep away the unfriendly West from disrupting its progressive development, bring the Communities together as a Sri Lankan Nation without allowing fanatism to blind their patriotism, stop corruption at all levels, and allow the continuation of the development processes, to give the people happiness and prosperity.

UNP, JVP, JHU, DNA, TNA and Sarath N.Silva- the Birds of Feather Flock together.

Athureliye Ratana, Madoluwawe Sobita and Omalpe Sobita are naïve politicians playing into the hands of the political sharks of the opposition. They little understand that they are  being made the cats paw to draw political benefits for the opposition political parties. Ranil Wickramasinghe has now dropped every other catch phrase in favour of  “ implement the 19 Amendment presented by Athureliya Ratana of JHU ”.

 

With the Presidential Elections around the corner time is appropriate for the West to intervene to make an “Arab Spring” like situation in Sri Lanka.  In Libya all started with a small group in Bengazi manifesting against the government of Colonel Gaddafi  , which was immediately infiltrated into by the CIA Agents in hand, in American  Embassies supplying the manifestants ,  who the west called the rebels and later freedom fighters

 

“The impact of the Arab Spring concerns protests or by the way attempts to organize growing protest movements that were inspired by or similar to the Arab Spring in the Arab-majority states of North Africa and the Middle East, according to commentators, organisers, and critics. These demonstrations and protest efforts have all been critical of the government in their respective countries, though they have ranged from calls for the incumbent government to make certain policy changes to attempts to bring down the current political system in its entirety. In some countries, protests have become large or widespread enough to effect change at the national level, as in Armenia, while in others, such as Djibouti, were swiftly suppressed.” (Wikipedia)

 

There are dangers of  these proxi wars instigated by a major power which does not itself become involved.

 

The National Council for a Clean Tomorrow  or the Movement for a just society may well be considered as   movements  organised by concerned political leaders who want to change the present system of the President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s  government taking away the executive powers given to him under the constitution.  Thus making the President a wingless bird, a decoration.

 

But to what extent are these opposition manifestants aware they are probably in the collimator of the West as potential movements for a regime change.  Any attempt to repress such moments by the government would  result in the NATO forces kept alert,  with the American embassy and the UN moving in to warn the government to allow  these political movements to continue their manifestations  against the  Executive  Presidency thus  forcing  an internal struggle for power; to take side with a political leader already groomed to be their puppet.

 

Whole of West is playing a hypocritical  role in buying over the developing countries. “ The EU has always felt most comfortable working on its neighbors with the instruments of trade and aid. In this way it has bound them closer, helped them to become more like European societies – and often, in the end, brought them into the Union – (See more at: http://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_europes_role_in_the_arab_spring#sthash.L21p7RDo.dpuf)

 

This should be seen with the recent EU Court’s decision to remove the ban on LTTE and  refusal to buy Sri Lanka fish.

 

Therefore the Minister Champika Ranawaka should move into inform the misguided Athureliya Ratana thero of the dangers involved in going against the government;  If the government falls and  Mahinda Rajapaksa is to be sent home as you all want  that would be the end of all the progress Sri Lanka has  made since 2005.

 

These politicians of the opposition do not know what they may be in for with   modern methods of regime change the West is employing in a subtle manner,   first by financing them and then  advising them of different methods to adopt to make a success of their movements and then arm them if necessary.

 

It cannot be denied that there are already well trained NGOs amoung the manifestants to influence them to make  the peaceful manifestations take  an  uncontrollable dimension ending up in riots. Then it would be police and the army intervening  and one would not know where it would end……..” An Arab spring” ?

 

These movements  started by demanding the abolition of the executive presidency, but amoung the politicians present there were variations of these demands.  Sarath N.Silva said that as the SC has  ruled that the President Mahinda Rajapakse  can present himself for a Presidential election for a third term no one can now contest that decision, but can  continue their call for the abolition of the Executive presidency. 

 

JVP says that the Election is illegal and therefore they will be protesting against the Presidential election. UNP wants  the Amendment 19 presented by JHU accepted.   Madoluwawe Sobhita wants a modified version of the Executive President.  Hence they are not united in the demand they make.

 

UNP says that the President is not respecting the Parliament and acting as if it does not exist.  But every one other than Ranil knows, that the  President Mahinda Rajapakse is very democratic  and respects the Parliament. It is  unlike Ranil Wickramasinghe who turned his back to the President and to the elected President to sign a MoU with Prabhkaran the terrorist.

 

Omalpe Sobhita thera in the meantime wants the President Mahinda Rajapakse to be like the King Mahsen.   King Mahasen was a lucky man to have been born in that era, the problems today would have been beyond him to settle.  The Kings those days could fight opposition with impunity.  It was  not like it is today, to-day’s enemies are unpredictable and could strangle a nation in various ways.   Therefore to fight the enemies within and without  President Mahinda Rajapase has to have special powers.  Therefore the executive power is imperative to wade through the barriers put before him,  to develop the country and take it towards further development.

 

President Mahinda Rajapakse’s enemies are innumerable.  Sri Lanka now has no major problems but has to be left alone to develop the country.  But yet the West concentrates all its attention on  Sri Lanka, when they should turn to other centres of trouble and turmoil.  In Nigeria on the 14^th of April 2014,  276 girls from a secondary school  in Chibok  was kidnapped by the Nigerian terrorists Boko Haram.  To date no body knows of the plight of these young girls. 

 

So far neither the Western governments that interfere to question violation of human rights in the elimination of terrorists in Sri Lanka five years ago, or  Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein the UN Commissioner of Human Rights very keen on a probe into Sri Lanka  have not  taken any action to get these 276 girls released, though they( west and UN) are ever ready with their NATO forces and their bombs to solve political problems.

 

But these are Western countries, therefore  we have to keep our eyes  open to see their hypocrisy and their determination to stop poor countries of the so called third world from progressing  to development and parity with the developed  west.  They are watching  and the moment they see a political leader of a developing country organising the resources for development and prosperity, they  find various means to change such progress by their new method of regime change.

 

It is in the interest of our country  that every Sri Lankan should open their eyes to see these threats coming from the West and not allow themselves to be their cats paw for a regime change.  The Executive Presidency in Sri Lanka is a great boon offered by JR Jayawardhane even if some of us do not agree with his politics.  It helped greatly in the elimination of the terrorists and it is still useful to keep at bay the Western wolves at our threshold.

 

The American Centres in Jaffna and Colombo are very active.  They can influence young minds against our leaders who challenge the  West for the sake of the development of the country and bring peace, unity and prosperity to our people.  This is a time that we should be  very carful while being alert and watchful to see from where the dangers come  to our  President, his government, the people and the country.

 

It is in this situation that  it is sad to see our monks falling in line with the reactionary forces to  allow the deadly vipers of the west to slither into our midst to destroy every thing we have gained  since 2005 after elimination of terrorism.

 

The speech of Omalpe Sobita Thera’s speech invoking King Mahasen, at the Jana Raliya –National Council of Clean tomorrow ( cleanliness in what way) shows how ignorant these priests are of the implication of politics in a global sense.

 

When he says that Mahinda Rajapakse who once walked from Colombo to Kataragama calling for abolition of  the executive presidency could become another Mahasen, if he only listened to reason, it is he who should listen to reason, as  he confounds with time and place.  It was a different time  and the problems then were not as  serious as they were when Mahinda Rajapakse was elected President in 2005.

 

JR Jayawardhane had in fact abused the powers of executive presidency.

 

“One cannot compare President Jayawardena with President Rajapaksa. When the LTTE was cornered at Vadamaratchi, why did President Jayawardena agree to stop battling the LTTE?. He had the absolute ability to tell Rajiv Gandhi to stop bullying Sri Lanka in the manner that President Rajapaksa told all the Superpowers when they wanted him to stop battling the LTTE in May 2009. But President Rajapaksa could not be moved by all the Superpowers including the USA that at first cajoled him and later even threatened him. President Jayawardena abused his power in becoming a poodle to Rajiv Gandhi and even foisting the 13 th Amendment onto the Constitution of Sri Lanka. On the contrary President Rajapaksa stood by the people of the country and maintained the sovereignty of Sri Lanka in not stopping the assault on the LTTE.”  (Garving Karunaratne in Lankaweb)

This explains how well the President Mahinda Rajapakse  used his executive powers.  As Sri Lanka is still not really out of the terrorist menace and the Tamils refusing to cooperate with the rest of the communities to unite into one  Nation of Sri Lankans, and the Muslims  calling for a regional administration, the President should keep his executive powers intact as it may still be useful .

We saw lately the Chief Minister  C.V.Wigneswaran who was invited  to Tamilnadu  for a lecture making use of that occasion instead of making an ennobling lecture ,  to lash out at Sri Lanka Government projecting the Tamil ethnicity, and discrimination against the Tamils by the government keeping them under surveillance by the Armed Forces.

It is time that CM Wigneswaran realise at least now it is time to stop referring to ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka as they are  all  Sri Lankans.

Coming back to Omalpe Sobita thero’s speech, he said that it was true that the LTTE’s eventual defeat occurred under President Rajapaksa’s watch, but the abuse of his executive powers in the post war era, left much to be desired and there was no doubt that he had to change his ways. 

Here  Omalpe Sobita  failed to  mention what abuses of executive power the President has committed.  We the ordinary people know that he has been a model president respecting  democracy and looking after the welfare of the people and developing the country.  If Omalpe Sobita knows of  abuse of the executive powers of the President Mahinda Rajapakse  it is his duty to show them.

Omalpe Sobhita continued , “ We are willing to help the President mend his ways and the first step in this direction has to be the abolition of the executive presidency which, with its unbridled powers is the main cause of undemocratic  rule, rampant corruption, breakdown in the law and order situation and the unprecedented crime rate.”

The President should not listen to this mad ranting of a monk, corruption, break down in law and order cannot be wholely put to the President, who has not failed the people who elected him.  He has governed within the democratic norms.  It is Omalpe Sobita and other Buddhist monks who have abused their role of  Buddhist monkhood to leave the people behind to take to politics who are responsible for  unprecedented crime rate in Sri Lanka.

Omalpe Sobita stressed “that the executive presidency had to be scrapped for the greater good of the country and its people. He hoped that President Rajapaksa would listen to reason.”

This is certainly not good advice . The giving up of the executive presidency now is committing political suicide, in the sense it would  leave a gap that would open Sri Lanka for its enemies to do what hey want with it.  Sri Lanka’s continued existence as a sovereign state preserving what it has gained so far and what developments it has made depends on the re-election of the President Mahinda Rajapakse for a third term and more.

This ignorant  Omalpe Sobita says, “ The President, he noted, was trying to take all the credit for the war victory but he has forgotten that it was "One man cannot take all the credit for the sacrifices made by millions.”

Certainly the victory over the terrorists is to the credit of  the President Mahind Rajapakse.  If this man  was not elected President in 2005, despite  able  Military, Naval, and Air Force  Commanders , Officers and soldiers , the terrorism would never have been eliminated.    That these foolish people should understand. We should of course be very much thankful to our great heroic Armed Forces, but one man who made the victory over terrorism possible was none other than the President Mahinda Rajapakse.

To top it all another very power thirsty political monk Athureliya Ratana  has said , “The government has alleged that we are being backed by NGO’s funded by Western powers, but they have failed to realize that what you hear today is the people’s genuine voice. Our movement is gathering steam. It has the backing of a cross section of political parties, civil society, professional organisations and the masses. Many Ministers have told me that they would quit the government the day that Mahinda announces a presidential election. He will then realize the strength of our mission,”

These people little know how the West and its secret services work. The Western Secret Service Agents  will not make funding manifestants and influencing them to militancy and taking up arms openly.  They will not bother with the leaders of these movements. They will select a few influenceable unruly  elements  from the crowd and it is through them they will start their “deadly” activity.  This is how they did it in Libya, Syria, and recently in Ukraine.  This is how proxi wars begin.

JHU should go back to the President and support him to keep his executive powers  and win his third term in office as the Executive President of Sri Lanka.  It is for the good of all of us and the good of our motherland which we all love so dearly.

Another Constitution for Sri Lanka or Amendments to the Present Constitution should come later during the Presidents third term.

Do not sacrifice Executive Presidency to please errant politicians and yellow robed political pandits.

“In the corporate environment the “Executive President” is the officer that exercises the majority of control over a company. It is his/her job to lead the company and guide it into a direction of profit and success. They work often with the COO and CFO of the cooperation to govern the company as a whole. At some companies this title is also referred to as CEO, Chief Executive Officer. If a said company has a Board of Directors the Executive President/CEO will often serve as Chairman of the Board.”

It is the same with an Executive President. During the past nine years It has been demonstrated in Sri Lanka that the Executive President is a positive power centre to fight enemies efficiently and keep at bay intruding enemies to thwart  progress and development of the country, and bring peace and security to the people.  Sri Lanka needed that environment. An Executive President proved extremely useful in the situation it was found in 2005 when Mr.Mahinda Rajapakse was elected to the high Office.

It was more important that the hands of an Executive President were not bound by checks and balances and kept free to exercise his executive powers for the protection of the country and the welfare of its people.  In that the removal of the 17^th Amendment was useful and the  18^th Amendment that replaced it was essential to allow the Executive President to move freely in the exercise of his office. 

Checks and balances do not help very much a President who wants to provide people with welfare measure as it is well seen in USA today.  The President Barrack Obama’s welfare projects have been nipped away by the Congress and the Senate.  Do we want same thing to happen here bringing back the 17 Amendment to limit the powers of the executive President ?

Sri Lanka had not seen any major development since its independence except for a few irrigation schemes,  and  settlements.  The democratic Westminster Parliamentary system with regular changes of government deterred Sri Lanka’s independent development outside the colonial frame.  It was the breakaway from that system to fall back on national values that helped development and progress. 

Executive powers of the President is very important,  as  one,  Sri Lanka despite its sovereignty is still interfered into by the West, and  two, an unfriendly Tamil Provincial Council in the North and the Muslims in the east are claiming separate regional administrations.

It is comprehensible that the lay politicians of the UNP, JVP, SLMC and TNA are all out to bring an end to Executive Presidency as they see in that the key to oust the President Mahinda Rajapakse,  and  make Sri Lanka a West friendly underdeveloped mendicant Nation State. But what is not comprehensible is what the Buddhists monks have to do with the abolition of  the Executive President.

The Buddhists Monks taking to politics is the worst thing that could have happened to Sri Lanka with a majority Buddhist population. While a generation of lay Buddhist youth sacrificed their lives to save this country  five times sanctified by the visit of the Great Buddha from its enemies, the political Buddhist Monks  are paving the path to allow    terrorism to raise its head  once again to divide this country.

The Buddhists monks,  the Chief Prelates- the Mahanayakas, Madolowawe Sobhita and Ratana  have no place in politics.  They do not understand the fundamentals of politics.  Their place is  in the villages and with the Buddhist people to bring back the fast eroding Buddhist values amoung the Sinhala Buddhist. 

To day the rate of suicide in Sri Lanka is in the increase, criminality makes  Buddhist Sri Lanka stink beyond its shores.  Mothers throws their children in to wells and sea or  give them poison to kill, fathers smash the little heads of their babies on  rocks, fathers, and grand fathers  rape their children and grand children, love affairs end in stabbing the beloved through jealousy and anger, drug addiction, and intoxication amoung the Sinhala Buddhists is on the increase. 

Is Sri Lanka a Buddhist Country ?  What is happening  to the Buddha Sasana ? 

Who is there to  protect the Buddha Sasana and  help the Buddhists to follow the eightfold path to meditation to attain Nibbana  or are they also to follow the political monks to remove the Executive President through which to find the purity of Buddha Sasana ?

Buddha said to his disciples- the yellow robed monks: Go forth for the good of the many, for the happiness of the many, out of compassion for the world, for the welfare, the good and the happiness of gods and men. Let no two of you go in the same direction. Teach the Dharma which is beautiful in the beginning, beautiful in the middle and beautiful at the end. Proclaim both the letter and the spirit of the holy life completely fulfilled and perfectly pure. 

The Buddha did not ask them to spread hatred and work to change governments and do politics.  These are pseudo monks a shame to Buddha Sasana.  They should be despised by the Sinhala Buddhists, as they are  abusing the role they are meant  to play as wearer of the robe of a Buddhist monk.

Under SWRD Bandaranayake any progressive development of the country was hampered by Chelvanayagam-Sundaralingam Tamil crowd that pushed back National development by seeking separation of the people on the question of language, raised purely for the sake of selfish political power for the upper class Jaffna Tamils.

Nothing has changed today after 30 years of untold suffering of the whole of the people of Sri Lanka under terrorism, the Tamil politicians have brought Sri Lanka back to square one.  Nine years of enormous  development to the country,  from south to north and west to east  have not changed the mean mental attitude of the Tamils who still seek separation despite the lessons learnt in several riots followed by  an inhumanly  ruthless terrorism.

The Tamil People in the North have been given every thing that they never possessed before , electricity, water, an efficient transport system including a fast and modern train service, education and health facilities, IT communication system, Banks , an Industrial zone, and above all the right to elect their own representatives to a Provincial Council.

Nevertheless the CM  C.V.Wigneswaran  a supposed to be educated man  of  an  above average intelligence and a retired Supreme Court Judge has turned out to be  a virulent Tamil racist all out to keep the Tamil people separated from the rest of the Communities.  This shows the inadequacy of University education in Sri Lanka, which turns out graduates who pass exams merely reading books and notes without developing the ability to think independently to understand meaningful human capacity to  bring people together, rather than aligning towards primitive separatism with a tribal mentality.

Wigneswaran is one of those lacking  the  ability to think independently and intelligently, there by falling into uneducated sentimentality seeking cheap popularity amoung petty crowds to receive  their applause.  It is proved in his  visit to TamilNadu, unable to make  an intellectually ennobling lecture  blew nauseating venom speaking about his  country where he was born and educated. 

In TamilNadu Wigneswaran  was a TamilNadu Tamil,  rather than a visiting Sri Lankan intellectual.  He forget that the honour of his being invited to India to give a lecture was the result of the elimination of terrorism by the Government and the Armed Forces of Sri Lanka, and bringing back  democracy  and “civilization” to North. 

This is what this bafoon Wigneswaran said in Tamil Nadu:  "State violence in Sri Lanka

 continues. Tamils, though the worst affected by far, are not the only ones... Other minorities such as Muslims and Christians have been targeted with a view to project a government that is representative only of Sinhala Buddhists and to portray new enemies and targets,". 

He then called India’s interference into Sri Lanka…"India has legal and moral obligations to ensure the welfare of Sri Lankan citizens. 

"It should do so by holding the Lankan government to its promises and to its obligations under international law. It should lend support to international processes that were in furtherance of justice and truth.  It should do so by ensuring that the right of self determination of the Tamil speaking peoples of Lanka is realised within a united Sri Lanka," Then recalling his earlier contentions that militarisation of North in Lanka took place to "maintain a stranglehold" over Tamils, he said despite cases pending before the apex court, "Army continues to destroy whatever is left of the buildings, homes, holy places or hallowed school premises inside the High Security Zone." 

I do not think even  today’s Modi’s India will take him seriously though the TamilNadu terrorist friendly bafoons may give him accolade.

It is in this situation that it would be better for Sri Lanka to have  instead of an Executive President a leftwing Dictator, to put traitors into prison and halt Western interference and  govern the country with strong fist.  That is how China was able keep away the west, and break through poverty and underdevelopment,  to be the economic giant that it is today.

UNP knows that Ranil Wickramasinghe would merely  be an “also ran”  against President Mahinda Rajapakse. Sajith Premadasa with his big talk hasn’t the back bone to hold even the post of a Deputy  Leader of the UNP let alone presenting himself for a Presidential election. .  When he was once offered  the post of Deputy Leader some time back he shied away proposing that it should be given to  Karu Jayasuriya. 

Karu Jayasuriya is eagerly awaiting his chance to be nominated as the Common Candidate, but  he will not be a unanimous choice of the UNP, and may therefore be conveniently overlooked.   They are now proposing Chandrika Kumaratunga knowing that she will not win but may  divide the Sinhala Buddhist votes  putting President Mahinda Rajapakse into a difficult situation.  Kumaratunga may not have the accepted support from the SLFP. 

Who would want to back a loosing horse ?

But this anti Executive President band, is so divided and  antagonist towards each other they will not stand a chance to defeat the President Mahinda Rajapakse at the Presidential election.

Executive Presidency should be retained at any cost as Sri Lanka is not out of the tunnel of danger with the Tamils still marking time for a Tamil Eelam, and the terrorist sleepers are awaiting  a chance to wake up.

What is wrong in an Executive President ?  An Executive President is not a Dictator, though  a left wing Dictator may be more appropriate in the present situation.

An Executive Prime Minister is bound by the Parliamentary procedures and his executive authority has to be approved by the Parliament.  That would be a great handicap when quick decisions have to be taken to avert any danger to the security of the country from inside or outside enemies.

Open letter to President Mahinda Rajapakse.

H.E.President Mahinda Rajapakse,

Temple Trees, Colombo.

Your Excellency Mr. President

Some say they do not want you to present yourself for a Presidential election for the third time. Some  others say that you have no chance to win because the UNP Candidate Hiran Fernando getting  elected at the Badulla Provincial Council election, may be a sign the voters are coming back to UNP. Therefore it is likely that a UNP Presidential Candidate will win at the next election.  I do not see the logic in it but that is what they say. 

There are yet other political groups  looking for a  common candidate as they do not want an Executive President any more. But what do the common people care about an Executive President.  They want a President and they are quite satisfied with President Mahinda Rajapakse,  executive or not.  But your antagonists seem to be at a  lost unable to find one  who would be a challenge to your evident victory.

It was nevertheless  heartening that some at least say that you are the best out of the worst and therefore they may vote for you.  There is a cross section of these critics  of you Mr. President– mainly in the diaspora, and some amoung  the Colombian  intelligentsia, in websites.  Some of them are influenced by the UNP or are in fact from the UNP and may vote for any UNP Candidate.

They ( not all-thankfully) describe you in very uncomplimentary terms –one of them says

“ MR and his government have stalked and devoured everything decent, moral , principled, constitutional and legitimate in this country and provided the worst governance we have ever seen, and insulted the peoples intelligence, tested their capacity to bear the cost of living, corruption, nepotism, injustice, lawlessness , pompousness, arrogance, unaccountability and extremely bad governance. This government is cheating the people and how the poor and the powerless are being handled, while the maggots of society are being empowered and molly coddled.”

Mr. President, in Sanskrit poetry one reads that the Swan can separate the milk from the water  and drink the milk leaving out the water.  Similarly wise  or intelligent people aught to be able to separate evil from  good, appreciating the latter,  while condemning  former.  But not these pretentious political analysts who see only bad  and overlook the good as “absent”.  They are on a campaign to smear your good name.   Corruption Mr. President is a global phenomena.  We have confidence in you and believe you are not turning a blind eye to them, but abiding for the right moment to swoop to remove  corruption as you did with terrorism.

But these political maggots living on dirt, see only dirt and avoid looking at the  vast contribution you have made to Sri Lanka ever since you took office as the President of Sri Lanka.

I do not know where these  blind critics come from,  who see only the worst, and hear only evil.  Because Mr. President if people have eyes they will see what has taken place in Sri Lanka since 2005.  I have my doubts if any normal person in Sri Lanka will agree with these dark angels of doom, who unfortunately come from the so called educated class.  I heard some what similar statements made by Kiriella and Tissa Attanayake, and even Ranil Wickramasinghe to the shame of his Presidential ambitions. Some of these these inveterate critics may either be INGOs or in their payroll, like the man who wrote the Cage, or those from  the UK Channel 4.

Fortunately these critics are a separate category and do not fall amoung the majority of the people of Sri Lanka who accept you as a charismatic leader-one amoung them.  They do not doubt your patriotism, your devotion to Buddhism, your willingness to sacrifice your life for the welfare of them. You are not seeking popularity, because you are already a popular leader.  You are always there with the people in their suffering caused by  natural catastrophes, or  caused through human intolerance  or other exigencies, to pacify them and bring them peace and  comfort.

You can see some of your  critics,  like the devil quoting  the scriptures,  quote Buddhist terms to vilify you and bring  you shame  ignorant that when they look up and spit it falls on their own ugly faces.

JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake had said recently that  “the President  Mahinda Rajapakse’s  third term presidency will turn the country into a pool of blood.”  Anura Kumar is not new to   “ pools of blood”  They had made  enough of such blood pools during JVP’s dark days of evil which they cannot make the people forget.  A relative of mine had his head severed and stuck on a pole and planted in front of his house for  his wife and children to see the gory remains in the morning. Hence, it is not strange that he talks of blood pools now.

Mr. President JVP became civilised only after joining the UPFA and helped in the formation of the Governments of Chandrika Kumaratunga and later your own government. But having dreamt of popularity after  having gained  a substantial  number of votes under UPFA decided to go on  their own. Thus  slipped away their then popularity as a meaningful political party of promising young politicians. 

Now JVP has become a rebellious   political group misleading the young University students  with their  firebrand oratory taking them away from their lecture halls into streets making of them  worthless goons, and a problem for their parents , to the society and to the country.

It is also learnt Mr. President that the Leader of the JVP Anura K.Dissanayake is taking it on himself to interpret the Constitution to question your right to ask the opinion of the  SC whether you could present yourself as a Presidential candidate for a third term. It was a wise move Mr. President , but these goons blinded by power cannot understand the wisdom of it.

I think Dissanayake  is going a little too far in assuming that he is capable of challenging you, comparing  the votes JVP  received at Badulla and Moneragala PC elections; improving its  total votes to 4.67% from 2.36% in previous election  in Badulla and 6.61% from 2.82% in previous election in Moneragala. 

Mr. President, JHU is also a party that saw popularity being in the UPFA. Champika Ranawaka turned out to be an extremely good Minister making every Ministry he took over a success.  But now  he,  led by Venerable Athureliya Ratana thero has become a threat to your Government. Perhaps Venerable Ratana thero is taking  Venerable Madoluwawe Sobhita Thero for an example and become politically  ambitious dreaming of  becoming a possible Common Presidential candidate of the Opposition.

Minister Ranawake himself is taking up corruption as a serious  problem that has to be brought into the open before it  expands in to every aspect of government administration. He even published a book revealing some vital facts. It is by itself not a bad move , but we cannot understand why he waited until Minister Pavitra Wanniaaratchi pointed out a fraud of 150 million rupees in the CEB during his term of office as its Minister, to admit it. 

He admitted that  he was aware of the coal “traffic” but he had left it out from his book. He said  he  gave necessary instructions to stop it apparently without results.  He then stated that he has more information with regard to the “mafia” behind corruption with senior administrators in the CEB who continue to serve different governments  in the same places and thus continue their “ fraudulent “ activities unchallenged.  

He keeps saying that he will reveal the names but has not done so  yet.  But what is the use of complaining without making a clean breast of it and allow the government to put an end to the continuation of corruption ?

Neither the JVP nor the JHU is a threat to your re-election as the President for a third term.  All this commotion had been started by a retired Chief Justice and taken up by the JVP and  the UNP and your other antagonists, is merely to mislead and cast doubt to discourage you. 

But you are a statesman led by your own philosophy of development, and not moved to  deviate from the set path of taking the country to progress for the sake of popularity.  We see what has happened to USA President Barrack Obama, who having no “ Chintanaya” to follow felt the pulse of  the people to take action to please them which finally led him to be rejected by the very people who he tried to please.

Mr.President the controversy over your third term is to mislead the people.  It will not work.

You were even criticised for the impeachment of the  former Chief Justice Bandaranayaka.  But that impeachment was quite in terms of the Constitution of Sri Lanka, and no right thinking person could make even an indirect accusation of that impeachment being irregular and not in terms of the Constitution.

Please  let me give my opinion Mr. President about the Sri Lanka Constitution your antagonists hoist to claim that you have no right to present yourself for a third term Presidential election.  Mr. President,   the Sri Lanka Constitution which was promulgated in 1978 has been Amended 18 times.  Today the Constitution we have is completely different from what it was in 1978.  The present Constitution should be read with all its Amendments, and not at all along with the Acts which have been removed by the Amendments.  The Acts which have been  removed by Amendments are not valid any more.

Therefore Mr.President the Constitution today allows you to contest the Presidential election  for  a third term.  When you present your nominations for the Presidential elections you will be doing so as Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse  just another citizen.  The Constitution is not concerned with what you had been, therefore there is no rule that bars you from presenting yourself as a Presidential Candidate.  That is what it is Mr.President, and no Supreme Court could make  a different judgement. It may be pretentious on my part, but that seems to me the hard fact.

Then there are those who complain why when you  have a two third majority you do not want to remove the 13 Amendment. I also believe that 13Amendment has no place in the Constitution of Sri Lanka.  Further more it was introduced into the Constitution of Sri Lanka on a bilateral contract at the behest  of India in return for which India was to disarm the terrorists. 

But India left Sri Lanka without having disarmed the terrorists. Sri Lanka kept its part of the agreement to introduce the 13^th Amendment to the Constitution but India failed to keep its part of the agreement to disarm the terrorists.  Therefore the agreement between Sri Lanka and India became null and void the day the Indian Peace Keeping Force left Sri Lanka.  Hence there is no necessity for us to keep the 13^th Amendment any more in our Constitution.

But you may have your reasons for keeping the 13 Amendment, perhaps to remove it at the third term of your office. The PC System Mr.President has not given to Sri Lanka a national administrative system.  It should be substituted by a more effective village based system.  Such a system would also give us a greater independence as leaving the 13 Amendment in ourConstitution allows India to interfere in to  the internal affairs of Sri Lanka with its claim that  the 13 Amendment was introduced at their  demand.

Mr. President there is a lot of  activity not amoung the common people, but amoung  the Colombo professional crowd to see that you do not contest the Presidential elections for the third time as they know very well that no one has a chance against you if you present yourself for the Presidential elections.

The Foreign Embassies specially the UK and USA Embassies are already busy becoming very undiplomatic in their frenzy to change the regime.  British High Commissioner John Rankin visits even Veddhas and kicks protocol to dine with a UNP Provincial Councillor  completely over looking the Provincial Governor. 

In 1957 UNP election campaign was financed by the American Embassy in Sri Lanka.  This time too it would not be surprising if the CIA Agents are already in place and influencing possible traitors to the country against  the President to  realise their objective of regime change. 

It is in that light Mr. President it is  appropriate to ask what interest the BASL led by Upul Jayasuriya has in stopping you from presenting yourself for a third term.  The USA Embassy may perhaps be behind it  and  they may as well use the Opposition parties, the academics, and journalists against you.  It may perhaps be the reason why the British High Commissioner Ranking is even visiting the Veddhas perhaps to   enlist the villagers of Sri Lanka for the Western campaign of regime change.

The 18^th Amendment to the Constitution is a boon for the ordinary masses of Sri Lanka as it is they who want you  to continue to lead the nation for a few more terms until Sri Lanka is well on its way to become a developed country.

The countries as people may have some influence of the law of Kamma, it may be why Sri Lanka has been blessed by a leader like you Mr. President.  In 1948 when we became independent the leaders who took over the leadership of the country were still with their colonial mentality and nothing effectively changed.  But it was only  in 1958 when SWRD Bandaranaike broke away from the UNP to form the SLFP that  Independence became meaningful. Our language our religion, our culture,  and our dress as well took a National colouring, abandoning the Colonial values.

You Mr.President  has taken over from that National leader SWRD Bandaranaike and took Sri Lanka further on the path to give Sri Lanka a  uniquely Sri Lankan identity.  Chandrika Bandaranaike did not have that nationalist patriotism, and was a failure.  She cannot give any thing new to Sri Lanka even if she were to be elected to the high office once again.

We Buddhists believe Mr. President that the four Guardian Gods of our motherland  keep a protective eye on our country and its people. A great leader like you that arises  only at intervals when the country needs revitalisation and taken on the correct direction of progress and development, is proof of that blessing cast on  Sri Lanka by the four guarding Gods.

May they protect you and prevail on the people to make the correct choice when it comes to choose a leader of the Nation for the third time, for the protection of  the teachings of the Buddha, and take the country progressively forward as a true independent Sovereign State chasing away the Western enemies  with their heathen beliefs, and misguided culture.

Mr. President  we are grateful to you for  all you have done for Sri Lanka and its people.  If the Tamils were more understanding and ready to extend their hands of fraternity  to the Sinhala people  and accepted your charismatic, non-discriminatory leadership, the people would have been united and Sri Lanka  would have been a peaceful happy Nation keeping away the enemies of the West without allowing them  to undermine our hard won peace. 

We pray Mr. President  that  you continue to give Sri Lanka your able leadership for a third time and many more times to come.

Most respectfully, Mr. President

I remain hopeful of your return to give more  of your experience as a Asian Statesman for a further term,   to contribute more, with your brothers to help you,  to develop the country and unite the communities to make of them a great Nation of Sri Lankans.

Charles.S.Perera