Archives

A Federal solution - some lessons and analogies

by Dr. Ruwantissa Abeyratne

The intrinsic and basic characteristic of a federal political structure is the involvement of the citizenry in the democratic process both at provincial or State level and also at the level of central government.

Now that there is renewed hope that a pro-active peace process is headed toward a non-confrontational solution based on federalist principles of political governance in Sri Lanka, it becomes necessary to examine the process of federalism particularly in the light of analogies around us. Not that these analogies will necessarily dictate or act as prototypes in the political process of Sri Lanka, but because we need to be aware of the "nuts and bolts" of federalism in their historical and political setting. Also important is to study characteristics that have emerged under some federalist systems.

Federalism is a mode of political organization that unites separate States or other parties within an overarching political system in such a manner as to permit each other to maintain its basic and essential political integrity. Federalism is also alluded to as federal government which could be, in the instance of Sri Lanka, a political system in which two levels of government control the same territory and citizens.

The word "federal" is a derivative of the Latin term "fidere" which means "to trust". Countries with a federal system of government are composed of a central government as well as individual political units called States, provinces or territories. The United States of America, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Germany, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria and Switzerland have federal political systems, to name just a few.

The essence of a federal political system lies in the fact that it devolves power and resources between central and regional governments. Most federal systems grant substantial regional autonomy to state or provincial governments. Some inevitable and essential powers of a central government over its provinces would involve running the armed forces for the entire nation, building major roads and establishing and carrying out foreign policy for the entire country.

This would include negotiating and signing treaties with other sovereign nations. In some countries the central government would also play a major role in the overall education policy including building schools, and community planning.

As against the federal system, there is the unitary government system which Sri Lanka has at the present time. Some other examples of unitary states are Colombia, Cameroon, Great Britain, France, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Morocco, Spain, South Korea, Sweden and Uruguay. Under a unitary system, the legislature, judiciary and the executive are centralized and are solely vested in the central government, although it may delegate duties to cities or other administrative units. The central government in a unitary system has considerably more power than does a central government in a federal system.

A third system, called "confederation" , which is similar to a federal system, also forms a type of governance. A confederation gives less power to the central government than does a federal system. The basic difference between a confederation and a federal system is that the former gives each of its states absolute control over its territory and citizenry.

What are the various steps to be followed in establishing a federal system?

If Sri Lanka were to become a nation with a federal political structure, firstly the federal relationship between the central government and province, territory or state as the case may be must be established or confirmed through a perpetual covenant of union, usually to be embodied ion a written constitution. Such a constitution will lay down the terms by which power is devolved, divided or shared.

A federal constitution can be amended, revised or altered only in extraordinary circumstances and remains a covenant between the people, the central government and the state or states under federation.

Secondly, the constitution must essentially create self sustaining units as federal provinces territories or states. The diffusion of power upon such units is called "non-centralization". Thirdly, an essential element of any federal structure is the entrenchment or form establishment of territorial democracy.

Fundamentally, territorial democracy will use areal divisions to ensure neutrality and equality in the various groupings involved in a non centralized political system. Territorial neutrality has been seen to be highly successful and useful in constantly changing societies, where people could vote in favour of their own interests in relatively equal territorial units. This accommodation of territorial interests among social groupings within a federated area ensures political integration while at the same time preserving democratic government.

Fourthly, a cohesive union between the peoples of a country under a federal political structure and their provincial government as well as their central government must be maintained. For this, direct communication lines between the citizenry and all the governments that serve them must be established and maintained.

The people should be given the right to choose and elect representatives to all governments and in turn all governments may administer programs that would directly serve the individual citizen. It is this direct nexus or linkage between the people and all governments involved that makes federalism distinct from confederation.

A successful federal system of government will ensure a balance between central government and provincial, territorial or state government. If there were to be an imbalance between constituent polities, as occurred in Germany in the late 19th Century when Prussia was significantly more powerful than other German territories, the impotent federal states will not be able to offer the leadership needed in their own territories to ensure democratic neutrality in the nation.

A successful federal system also has to ensure permanence and stability of their internal boundaries. If boundary changes have to be made, they must be made with full agreement of all governments and people concerned.

A non-centralized federal system should be strengthened by guaranteeing constituent polities representation in the national legislature, thus giving them substantial influence over the constitutional amendment process of the country. In addition, a guaranteed role in the national political process must be given to the provincial, territorial or state legislatures. The most important characteristic or element that brings to bear the distinctive success of a federal system is the existence of a non centralized party system.

Non centralized parties are able to forge a certain healthy decentralization of the political structure of a democratic nation, thus ensuring individual political development in a federated system.

An example of this process is seen in the United States, where the political parties work as coalitions of the state parties that come together as national units only for the Presidential elections held once every four years.

Federalism requires that both the nation and its constituent polities are composed of independently governing complete institutions of their own who have the right to modify their institutions, work processes and mode of governance within the limits set by the federal constitution.

To achieve this objective, it is necessary to establish both separate legislative and separate administrative institutions. Both the central government and provincial governments must share responsibility in fiscal, administrative and policy matters. In federal systems, this is usually accomplished on a contractual basis. The contract acts as an efficient legal device that enables governments to be joined in responsibility toward the citizenry while at the same time remaining independent of each other.

The Quebec Analogy

It is a political truism, particularly in the present context, that no modern nation can achieve successful governance only from a central point. An example of devolution of power lies in municipalities being let to the administration of local governments.

The distribution of power among different levels of government is essential for the proper constitutional organization of a nation. However, acting on this principle, federalism must not be considered a "quick fix" to draw boundaries at random, just in order to achieve a paradigm shift from confrontational hostility to symbiotic coexistence.

A conversion from a unitary Nation to a federal one has to be a carefully thought out exercise that would ensure and preserve regard for ethical boundaries of ethnicity, religion and race. Julanar Green, in his article "The Federalism Option" (Asiaweek, 4 August 2000) cites the case of Indonesia as a historical study where, the country which was established as a federation of 15 autonomous states in 1949, abandoned the structure within a year in favour of a highly centralized system of governance. The rationale for this shift was that a federal organization would disintegrate and weaken the identity of people as Indonesians.

On the other hand, Green cites the cases of the Philippines and Sri Lanka which are forging ahead pro- actively to solve their ethnic problem with a workable federalist solution.

Modern social science has fatefully erred in the presupposition that modernization and globalization would abolish boundaries between nations and create larger entities. An undeniable conclusion that modernization has reached, on the other hand, is to bring about a certain collective distinctiveness amongst people who have got closer to one another and become similar to one another. This is essentially a post-modernist corollary - that the central focus on human identity in the current sense, has through social mobilization fostered nationalism and a reinforcement of linguistic identity.

Quebec is a good analogy that reflects strife for separatism under a federalist structure. In 1960, a new provincial government brought about far reaching and sweeping reforms at the cultural, political and social levels.

Most Canadians welcomed these long awaited reforms as fostering homogeneity among Canadians and being a step toward bringing the people of Quebec more to other provinces of Canada, thus making Quebec more like other provinces. Contemporaneous with the Quebec impetus, the Government of Canada followed a policy of modern Keynesian economics for the " welfare of all Canadians".

This was indeed a pro-active measure for a federated country which sought unity among the duality of the French and English speaking peoples of Canada. The efforts of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) for example, of having two channels of broadcasting in French and English was, on the face of it, one such move, calculated to bring Canadians together.

However, the exclusive French channel only succeeded in polarizing the Quebecois toward each other, as a distinct ethnic group, away from the rest of English speaking Canada. Quebec therefore prides a useful lesson in post-federalist experience which should not be ignored.

Under such circumstances, Quebec's modernization, instead of helping integrate Canadians together, brought about an atmosphere of rivalry, causing the provincial government of Quebec to create its own cultural, welfare and economic programs. Economic institutions created by the provincial Government of Quebec such as Hydro-Quebec, the Quebec Deposit and Investment Fund and the General Investment Society, contributed to a dynamic mind-set among the Quebec people that Quebec could and indeed should go it alone as a separate nation.

Quebec began to think of itself as a "different people" thus wanting to master its own decision-making in education, social security and health, showing a certain economic affirmation that Quebec was capable and needed to have the power to set up its own financial and economic institutions.

Although, even at this stage, Quebec was quite content to leave vital responsibilities such as defense, external affairs exchange rates, customs, central banks, postal services and citizenship in the hands of the central government, a gradual and immutable evolution of nationalistic fervor led, in 1976 to the formation of the Parti Quebecois to come into power in Quebec, espousing secession and sovereignty for Quebec.

In the least, the Quebec government claimed, in a report issued in 1979, that the province of Quebec, containing a French speaking majority, should be recognized. It was claimed that Quebec is distinctive and should, within a viable Canada, have the powers necessary to protect and develop its distinctive character.

The lesson of Quebec stands out as an example of the pervasiveness of nationalism within an ethnic group which has proved that a distinct ethnic identity can be a natural corollary of federalism. Therefore any system of federalism, however desirable, must take precautions to effectively preclude increased regionalism that could cause more enmity than before.

Federalism - an effective device of governance

by W.T.J.S. Kaviratne, Ambalagoda Special Correspondent

Fortunately, after two decades of North-East war,the parties to the conflict the LTTE and the Government could reach consensus on finding the most suitable system of governance.

The peace negotiations took place between the LTTE and the UNF Government with Norwegian facilitation proved to be very successful in comparison to the previous discussions. The secret of the success is that both the LTTE and the Government are equal participants attending peace negotiations in a neutral country with confidence and dedication.

From the speeches made by the veteran politicians of the calibre of Late Prime Minister, S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike and a cross section of scholars in Political Science, it is evident that Federalism is the most effective system of governance on the resolution of conflicts inherent in a pluralistic nature of society found in Sri Lanka.

On 17th July, 1926, 'Morning Leader' newspaper carried a speech made by Late Prime Minister, S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike on the system of administration found in Sri Lanka during the reign of ancient Kings. As far back as 1926, Mr. Bandaranaike had stressed that the systems of administration found was a form of federalism which proved to be functioning smoothly with the allegiance to the King.

In his speech, S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike had stated that the Kings of Sri Lanka had resorted to decentralisation of administration to grass roots levels and the smallest unit of administration was the village under a Village Headman. A hierarchy of Ministers had been appointed by the King and in addition the Kingdom was divided into different provinces, zones and sub zones to facilitate the administration. Village Council was the smallest unit of administration of the Kingdom. Later, centralised administration to Sri Lanka was introduced by the Britishers.

Late S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike had mentioned in his speech that in countries comprised of multi-ethnic, multi-religious communities, a centralised administration could create numerous conflicts.

In a federal system of government, every unit possesses a high degree of self-government but important issues affecting the whole country could be discussed in one or two Assemblies which are components of Federal System.

Federal System of Government providing administrative autonomy is found in USA, Australia, South Africa, Switzerland and in Canada. As far back 1926, Late Mr. S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike had correctly predicted that Federal System of Government found in Switzerland as the most suitable model for Sri Lanka. He had given a detailed account on the Federal Government smoothly functioning in Switzerland.

Mr. Bandaranaike had stated that every province of Sri Lanka should possess powers of self-government.

There could be great opposition to this system of government and he had stated that federal form of government was the only solution for the conflicts. If there was a better plan, he had asked to bring it before the people.

Late. Dr. S.A. Wickremasinghe addressing the Parliamentary debate on Official Language Act of 1956, had stated that it was important to study several forms of Federalism functioning indifferent countries. In the Soviet Union, there was an inter-connected system of federal administration. In accordance with the requirements of different states more or less administrative autonomy was given in the Soviet Union.

If our country decided to follow a federal system, situation prevailed in the country should have to be taken into consideration.

Dr. Navaratne Bandara, Faculty of Political Science, Peradeniya University had mentioned in an article written by him on Devolution of Power, Democracy and International Experience", that experimentation on systems of governance having Federal elements was not a novel experience in Sri Lanka.

Federal characteristics were found even in the Provincial Council System introduced in 1987. Federalism did not pave the way for the division of countries. For instance, when Nigeria gained independence in 1960, from Unitary system, the power of the Central Government was devolved to the Units with administrative autonomy, thus shifting to Federal System of Government. Devolution of Administrative Power of the Central Government of Nigeria originated with only 5 States but later under Military rule, 12 States were formed and Federal System was continued.

Now Nigeria was comprised of 21 States united under Federalism. No attempts of Separatism were found in Nigeria, he had mentioned in his article.

There were nearly 70 countries in the world having Federal Systems of Government, and out of them nearly 20 countries found federalism as an effective device to prevent the tendency of division and threats of separatism. Belgium resorted to federalism to devolve power. Between the minority and the majority communities power was equally devolved in the federation of Belgium as a model of success of federal administration, according to the article of Dr. Bandara.

According to a statement made by the Leader of Federal Party, Late. S.J.V. Chelvanayagam in 1960, Federalism was a device to unify the aspirations of the communities of the provinces with that of the unity of the nation. Federal Party wanted to provide liberty and justice to all citizens of the country.

In addition Sri Lanka should be fully developed in every aspect. Our message to the Sinhala community was to follow the policy of 'Live and Let Live'. Federalism was neither a novel concept nor a creation of the devil but a system of governance to resolve the conflicts in multi-ethnic, multi-religious communities.

Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, Visiting Lecturer, Department of History and Political Science, University of Colombo, and Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies on his article Nation Building in Sri Lanka, Federalism for Unity" had stated, three constitutions, armed insurgency and ethnic conflict had demonstrated the bankruptcy of entrenched prejudices in our political culture and emphasized the pressing need for the serious consideration of alternatives.

At the heart of the dilemma is the obsession with a centralized state and its ostensible employment as the principal agency in forging a nation in the image of the majority. The over concentration of power in a unitary state for this purpose has debilitating consequences for fledgling liberal democracy and is ultimately self-defeating.

The real challenge therefore is to adopt a framework that secures authority and the collective good through empowerment of all the people and recognises their diversity as a source of strength. The attractions of federalism in this respect are manifold.

In a unitary state, provincial or regional governments are subordinate to the regional or provincial units. In a federation, the relation of the centre and other units is non-hierarchical. Neither centre nor units are subordinate. Rather they are co-ordinate in an equal partnership of governance.

Federalism requires a clear-cut constitutional delineation of the powers and functions of the centre and the units that comprise the federation. Both the federal authority (centre) and the federating units must have independence to act within their limited spheres. Consequently, a federal system is distinguished by a written constitution and an independent judiciary authorized to interpret the constitutions and safeguard its integrity.

Furthermore, the consent of the centre and federating units is necessary for amending the constitution, thus providing a further check and balance to the untrammelled exercise of majoritarian power.

Insufficient attention has been given to its unfying properties and to its liberalising effects. The principal argument in its favour is that it strengthens liberal democracy and national unity.

By empowering groups, it diffuses the sense of minority grievances. This negates the attractions of secession and thereby enhances overall security - not least of all for the majority.

No state which has incorporated the essential features of federalism like the liberal democracies of the US, Canada, Australia Switzerland and Germany faced with division or dissolution.

A flag for the Human Race

Bhadra Marapana showing his creation.Picture by Sumanachandra Ariyawansa.

by Sarath Malalasekera

A flag for the Human Race has been designed by Purandara Sri Bhadra Marapana of Ratnapura.

The theme of the 'Human Race Flag' according to the designer:

There is only one caste - the caste of humanity,

There is only one language - the language of the heart,

There is only one religion - the religion of Love.

Dharma preached, explaining the Cosmos, Macrocrosm, Microcosm, by the Buddha, nearly 2550 years ago has inspired Bhadra Marapana to create the Flag of Humanity.

The flag symbolises, the sun and the moon in red and yellow, the cosmic father and the mother of the Universe, the people in black and white emerging together are the children of this earth.

'The whole humanity is one drop of blood in the centre of the world,' says Bhadra Marapana.

The Human Race flag was designed and hoisted by Bhadra Marapana on April 18, 1973 in gem land, Ratnapura.

Quoting the Buddha in Vasetta Sutra in Majjima Nikaya, Brahmana Vagga, Bhadra Marapana said that the Buddha was the first to preach that all people belong to one race, and cannot be divided, like other living beings, like animals, birds, snakes and insects.

Marapana says that in designing the Human Race Flag he addresses the intelligent people of this threatened planet, it is a psychological and social sickness that has divided human beings within and without into warring factions.

The total and golden peace is only within our group. Our survival is now an open question doubted by no one, yet nothing improves or changes.

In the world the news is read repeatedly in every possible language informing about war, famine, AIDS, chemical weapons, holes in the Ozone layer, global warming, pollution, nuclear destruction, loss of tropical forests, loss of species, trees, plants animals, insects.... over population, drugs and violence.

It is just now that we all should use our intelligence to voice against this stupidity, time is running out.

This planet is the inheritance of every one of us, either we all benefit or we lose. This is one earth and one 'Humanity'.

Marapana emphasised that global suicide is the ultimate outcome of all our culture and all our philosophies, because nobody ever thought of the whole world and the most dangerous thing is that this preparation for our suicide by all the nations, in the name of war and victory, which is absolute stupidity.

"When a child is born to the world, they do not belong to any religion, nationality, race or caste.They are just innocent and pure, within days all conditions are laid down. As an accepted rule of society, people are bound to it, but this is not the Truth or Reality, they are only conditioning. If this is understood clearly the achievement would be within ourselves," Marapana said.

"It is only by non-conditioning to any philosophy or ideology of religion that one could, have the real feeling for Humanity. This would happen only when one's conditioning are thrown out. If one could see the "Whole" one becomes "Wholly". "Religiousness is the flowering of your own heart," he said.

The famous Scientist Dr. Lee A. Drabij of National Science Institute, USA had said: "This earth belongs to all and they should make use of this Earth. Every living being, the people belong to one human race. One cannot grade and divide, human beings, like animals such as lions, tigers, goats and buffaloes. This is against the natural laws. Until man understands himself and knows the basic laws of the universe, even with the highest scientific knowledge, the man would not be able to make real use of this earth."

Bhadra Marapana, an artist and a naturalist by profession says this flag is designed into a picture post card.

People could buy it for a nominal price. He hopes to donate the proceeds to the Cancer Hospital. The sales and distribution of this picture post card is to be done by the Government of Sri Lanka or any other honorary institution.

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