Why do we need a constitution? And what is a constitution after all?

" Please remember that you are an owner of the constitution. Our brothers and sisters in the remote villages gave their lives to bring an end to the third bloody war dreaming of a country where Sri Lankan citizens will live free and the constitution of mother Lanka would treat all her citizens as equal citizens. They never gave their lives to favor a particular group of relatives and friends. Respect them. Do not let your younger generation die again for the same cause, for that death will most likely be exploited by a future democratically elected king to consolidate power in the name of patriotism. Never let that happen again."
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BY THRISHANTHA NANAYAKKARA

(September 05, London, Sri Lnaka Guardian) President Mahinda Rajapaksa knows that majority of the literate voters do not know the answer or at least do not care to know. That is why he with due respect to this majority, sent the 18th amendment to the constitution as a “urgent bill” to the parliament by-passing the normal Gazette requirement for cabinet decisions.
Voters need not be constitutional law experts to discuss about the constitution. Did any of your favorite politicians who come on TV to explain complex international political issues in lay language or those who fast to death to protect the country, come on TV to explain what is in the 18th amendment to the constitution in lay language? No. They chose to leave it at its legal jargon for you to consult a legal expert if you care to understand it.

Well there are three things that affect our lives:

1. It removes the two term limit on the presidency. Now you might think it is all right, because you can vote him/her out of office in any of the presidential elections. Please listen to your own heart as to whether you feel that the last presidential election was held in such a way that people’s true voice was reflected in the election results? Ask if the state media and other public resources were not exploited by the ruling candidate. Ask if it is fair to assume that an opposition without a massive amount of campaign money can counter the mammoth state machinery to boost the image of the ruling candidate? This becomes harder and harder with the centralization of power around a president and his family. When a dam across a river blocks the water, the water level rises. If we deposit more and more concrete on the dam to block the rising water without strengthening the foundation, the pressure will one day break the damn at the bottom first and them all other structures. This happened three times in the post colonial Sri Lanka. No other British colony went through such bloody three armed wars after independence. We can not blame the British because we have had 60 years to correct the system. On the contrary, this 18th amendment makes a giant step in the wrong direction.
2. It is the constitution that sets out clear mechanisms to protect your rights if the president decides to abuse the power vested upon him. Our constitution allows the president to pardon a convicted criminal. How do we know that the president pardons his friends, and choses not to pardon his political enemies? In recent history, the president did not pardon General Sarath Fonseka was convicted by a court martial in the absence of any defense for the crime of doing politics while in uniform. However, his own son got on a political stage while in uniform. Did the president use law equitably? No. In another case, the president pardoned somebody who had murdered his mistress. Do you think this had nothing to do with any friendship between the president and the criminal? If not, what is the 18th amendment providing to improve the status quo? Nothing. On the contrary, it has diluted the mechanism of independent constitutional commissions to safeguard rule of law. Rule of law means, it is the law that should rule, not the political power that should manipulate the law. Politicians can pass laws, but the those laws should thereafter be applied to all citizens equally.
3. Major reason given to you to give a 2/3 majority to bring in constitutional reforms was to reform the electoral system and to give more powers to the parliament. Did that happen? The 18th amendment did the right opposite. So, do you think the president returned anything for the trust you placed on him? On the contrary, he is abusing your political Naivety and patriotic sentiments.



Please remember that you are an owner of the constitution. Our brothers and sisters in the remote villages gave their lives to bring an end to the third bloody war dreaming of a country where Sri Lankan citizens will live free and the constitution of mother Lanka would treat all her citizens as equal citizens. They never gave their lives to favor a particular group of relatives and friends. Respect them. Do not let your younger generation die again for the same cause, for that death will most likely be exploited by a future democratically elected king to consolidate power in the name of patriotism. Never let that happen again.

Martin Luther King, Jr. once said “History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.”

Therefore, show your simple opposition. Wear a black band around your wrist or wear a black shirt on the day the parliament passes this tragic 18th amendment to our constitution. It won’t do much to stop. But take a photo and keep it in your family records. But, one fine day, when your younger generation blame the senior generation, they will notice that you did your innocent part.