Archives

The Hindu on 'Sri Lanka's Political Experiment'

The answers to the riddles of Sri Lanka's constitutional conundrum will be determined by the manner in which the President and the Prime Minister interact as duly elected leaders with agendas, even visions, of their own for the future, states The Hindu, the Indian national daily, in its editorial on December 18.

The editorial, headlined Sri Lanka's Political Experiment:

"The difficult choice made by the Sri Lankan President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga, to personally relinquish her powerful portfolios, defence and finance, has certainly facilitated the relatively smooth formation of a new Government.

With her own People's Alliance being decisively rejected by the electorate in the latest parliamentary poll, she could no longer hope to have a political friend as the new Prime Minister under her executive presidency which remains unimpaired at this time.

Ms. Kumaratunga has, therefore, reconciled herself to the inevitable emergence of her chief political adversary, Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe of the United National Party, as the new Prime Minister. More importantly, however, she has surprised her critics by parting with the defence and finance portfolios without any significant political fight.

Having held these portfolios until the dissolution of the previous Parliament, she retained them during the transition to a new Government.

Under Sri Lanka's present constitutional web of power centres, the President can indeed breathe down the necks of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet at any given time. Her prerogative of being the Head of the Cabinet cannot be erased by the results of the latest general election.

With her term as President yet to run its full course, Ms. Kumaratunga will stay as the legitimate Head of state as also the Head of Government.

Now, as a duly elected Prime Minister, Mr. Wickremesinghe too commands a definitive majority within the new Parliament. However, a grey label marks the political complexion of his constitutional prerogative of sharing power with the President, who belongs to an opposition outfit.

As the two key opposing figures within the mainstream political spectrum, Ms. Kumaratunga and Mr. Wickremesinghe are strangers to the politics of accommodation. Their efforts or struggles to coexist as two distinctive functionaries, who also need to cooperate, promise to turn into a salient experiment in constitutional politics.

An issue that has troubled Sri Lanka is one of constitutional architecturing. The principle of harmonious construction, which is often cited in constitutional jurisprudence, will now be put to a serious test.

Ms. Kumaratunga and Mr. Wickremesinghe need to manage a state that is prone to endemic crises on account of the majoritarian politics of the Sinhala community and the psyche of deprivation among an alienated minority, which consists of Tamils and Muslims as separate groups with historical connections.

In a practical sense, the answers to the riddles of Sri Lanka's constitutional conundrum will be determined by the manner in which these two interact as duly elected leaders with agendas, even visions, of their own for the future.

An immediate confrontation been averted, because the President has had no hand in shaping the new Cabinet. However, her status as the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces is no residuary function, although she has given up defence. The simple but profound reason centres on the Sri Lankan military's long and controversial forward deployment within the country in the ongoing fight against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

A disturbing sign in this overall context is that the President and the Prime Minister have not been able to fashion a Government of "national reconciliation".

Irrespective of who is to blame, the fact is that the two, known for their different styles, may wish to see how far they could influence each other on policy matters.

Mr. Wickremesinghe has struck a relatively more conciliatory posture towards the LTTE in recent months. So, the more immediate questions, which directly impinge on Sri Lanka's future, pertain to the scope for any fresh political move to engage the LTTE.

To be closely watched is the direction that Sri Lanka's foreign policy might take in this new context."

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager