18/01/2005 - Daily Mirror
Avoid a political tsunami
So far so good. Most politicians who matter most from both sides of the divide continue to play the alluring tune of cooperation and collective effort to rebuild the nation.


Minister Mangala Samaraweera who displayed his keenness about government - opposition unity by getting opposition politicians Milinda Moragoda and Ven. Attureliye Rathana Thera to participate in the discussion at the Matara Secretariat, was heard saying that politicians should take off their shirts of different colours and lock them up in their wardrobes for a few years.


However, while such enlightened views are expressed by most politicians on both sides, some obviously with narrow, and partisan interests seek to prolong the agony of this country by attempting to magnify the minor differences. On the other hand some media persons with misplaced loyalties are poised to carry on with their vicious campaigns of setting one party against the other. A recent newspaper cartoon, which portrayed an elephant being belaboured with a cudgel branded 'state media', clearly brought out this situation.


Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe's alleged castigation of a diplomat appointed by the previous government for making arrangements for US Secretary of State Colin Powell to visit this country, has now become grist for this media mill. According to them, the opposition leader is simmering with rage and envy because of the foreign assistance the country is getting at the moment. Can any reasonable person even imagine a responsible leader who talks so much about the well-being of this country and welfare of the people will behave in this fashion? However, those political commentators and analysts who wish or stand to gain by political party rivalry - irrespective of what happens to the country - have pounced on these unconfirmed and unreliable media reports to promote their selfish interests. They have also begun to cavil about the UNP's proposals submitted to the president. They interpret the case made by the party for giving priority to rehabilitation of destitute people as a ploy to score cheap popularity.
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It is, therefore, clear that unless these destructive forces on both sides, whose motives are other than the good of this troubled land, are effectively checked, it would be extremely difficult for the ideal of cooperative and consensual politics to be enthroned. They have to be persuaded to be silent at least temporarily because what they pave way for, is a political tsunami that will destroy the country completely. The vast majority of those who sincerely support the present thawing of relations among political parties, should, meanwhile, make every endeavour to thwart the efforts of these selfish, self-serving and unpatriotic sections.


What they must do immediately is to formulate a clear-cut programme to consolidate the present spirit of cooperation. JVP Leader Somawansa Amarasinghe has said that all 225 members of parliament have a role to play in this programme. It will not be possible to get their cooperation unless they are given the responsibility to be equal partners in the nation building task. This responsibility has to be given under a legal framework. The ideal system would be to convert the whole parliament into executive committees, each to be headed by a minister. What is advocated, in other words, is a quick return to the Donoughmore system with appropriate modifications. Many were the shortcomings of the Donoughmore constitution under which this country was governed for over 15 years. The government under that system was compared to a chariot drawn by horses going in different directions. However, those weaknesses pale into insignificance when they are viewed against the damage caused to this country under subsequent constitutions. The country suffered irremediable divisions and economic ruin under the latter. The executive presidential system, which was introduced mainly to overcome some of these problems, has also been proved ineffective now.


So, what appears to be imperative is a radical change in the political system one that can bring to fruition the people's aspirations for peace, harmony and progress in a country devoid of political rivalry and turmoil.
 
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