brand logo

Making the protests an opportunity for real change

10 Apr 2022

  • Focusing on creating a better system rather than overthrowing present Government
By Sumudu Chamara Even though the ongoing protests are often viewed as being against the prevailing economic and social crises and the incumbent Government, they can prioritise the greater purposes of changing the overall governing system, including the political culture that contributed greatly to put the country in the said crises, and establishing sustainable long-term economic and social reforms. To achieve this, the people should be aware of the reasons for, and consequences of, the prevailing crises, and fulfill their duties as citizens. During a discussion held by the Centenary Movement on Friday (8), these matters were discussed, with focus on what specific short-term, mid-term and long-term steps Sri Lanka can take.  Long-term steps According to Centenary Movement Director Board Member Prashan De Visser, several specific steps are necessary to make Sri Lanka a more developed and recognised country by 2048, the year Sri Lanka celebrates its 100th Independence Day. These include identifying what sort of political leaders Sri Lanka needs and supporting them by educating them; raising awareness among the general public regarding various policies to encourage and educate them to use their votes more wisely; and creating a platform for honest, transparent, and talented future political leaders. He stressed that Sri Lanka’s economy is in a very weak state, and that the country’s economy is among the fastest declining economies in the world. To address this situation, he said, a change in leadership is necessary, because the present leadership, including the Government and the President, have shown that it is not capable of taking the necessary decisions in future. In addition, he put forward several suggestions with regard to the present political and economic instability. Visser explained: “First of all, it is important to continue these struggles despite challenges. It is necessary to see a clear change in Sri Lanka, and save the country from political and economic instability. To do that, citizens’ activism is necessary. In addition, when holding protests, it is important to exercise non-violence and put forward clear demands for the country’s leadership and to Parliament. Protests must continue until those demands are fulfilled. “We see certain groups appearing during protests trying to create issues during these protests. Even though we are not sure who sends them, protesters can take photos and videos of them, and inform the media and the relevant authorities about the evidence. These groups are trying to negatively affect genuine protests, and there is a greater need to find out who they are. “What is more, reach out to public representatives in your area, and urge and request them to implement the 12 suggestions we are presenting. Some of them are saying that they are independent, and that now, they work according to their conscience. If that is the case, they should do what is right. If they supported the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, they should now take a stance and oppose it; if they supported the Executive Presidency, they should now oppose it. At least now, they should not be a slave of the legislature or their leaders.  “We now expect you, our public representatives, to have the strength to do what is right. We are watching you, especially when it comes to declaring assets. If you hesitate, we have to question whether you stole people’s money. We, as people, will tend to think that you hesitated to do what is right because you did something wrong.” He emphasised: “As Sri Lankans amidst these crises, we are working on short-term, mid-term, and long-term plans, and plans are underway to discuss the causes of and solutions to the prevailing economic crisis in due course.” Proposals for change During the discussion, Centenary Movement put forward 12 proposals that can help change the status quo for the better. Speaking for the Centenary Movement, Sahan Weeratunga said that their first proposal is that the Government or authorities hold daily press briefings regarding the decisions that are being made to take Sri Lanka out of the prevailing economic and political crises, in order to raise awareness among the people. Explaining the importance of letting the people know about these decisions, he pointed out that if politicians try to revive the country through decisions made behind closed doors, the people will oppose it. Expressing opposition against any form of social media ban or restriction is the second proposal, regarding which, he noted that such moves severely affect people’s freedom of expression. The third proposal is abolishing the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act No. 48 of 1979 (PTA). In this regard, Centenary Movement Team Member Attorney-at-Law Ishara Jayasena, said: “In Sri Lanka, there is clearly an economic and a political crisis, and it has turned into a social crisis. This 1979 law is today being misused by the authorities. The people express their opposition through protests, and the right to protest (the freedom of peaceful assembly) is a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution. The PTA is being used by the authorities to curtail such protests, which we condemn.” She alleged that when people were arrested in the recent protest near the President’s private residence in the Mirihana area, attempts were made to use the PTA against the protesters, and that these attempts were thwarted by lawyers. She further said that the PTA and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Act, as amended, are being used outside the limits they were originally introduced in. The fourth proposal is taking immediate action to audit former Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Governor Ajith Nivard Cabral, and the CBSL Monetary Board. Weeratunga explained the fifth proposal, which revolves around taking steps to change the Finance Minister, President’s Council (PC) Ali Sabry, stating: “We do not have a suitable Finance Minister at the moment. The Finance Minister is a crucial ministerial portfolio to a country, and having a qualified minister to provide leadership to decisions pertaining to the economy is important.” The sixth proposal suggests prohibiting Cabinet Ministers from leaving the country until a thorough financial audit has been carried out and their assets are declared. “Looking into how Cabinet Ministers got their assets is important. If we allow them to leave the country with stolen money, the citizens will lose the country’s resources. There should be a system for citizens to regain stolen resources, and ministers who cannot declare their assets properly should not be allowed to leave the country,” Weeratunga opined. He explained the seventh proposal: “Any member of the Rajapaksa family should be prevented from holding any Cabinet Ministerial portfolio until declaration of their assets, and until fair trials on existing allegations against them prove them innocent of any alleged crimes or abuse of power.” The eighth proposal stipulates holding the President accountable, and demanding and ensuring that the President remains true to the Constitution. It was explained thus: “A proper system should be created to monitor the President’s accountability. The President is appointed to serve the people, not to embezzle people’s resources or to worsen the country’s situation. The President should respect the majority’s opinion, and there should be some mechanism to ensure that the President is accountable.” Abolishing the 20th Amendment to the Consecution and also the Executive Presidency is the ninth proposal presented by the Centenary Movement. Jayasena explained this step’s importance: “We had the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. We do not say that it was perfect. However, it provided for establishment of independent commissions. What we are experiencing today is a result of lack of independent commissions, and this issue boils down to the replacement of 19th Amendment by the 20th Amendment. In this context, we urge the Legislature and the Executive to abolish the 20th Amendment and bring back the 19th Amendment systematically.  “The Executive Presidency is the reason for all the problems. We should not give one person unlimited powers, and this is one of the fundamental concepts of political science. From J.R. Jayawardena’s era, this issue has been dragged by every Executive President. They promise to work better, but unlimited powers corrupt them. This is not only an issue with the incumbent President; this has happened to all former Executive Presidents, and will affect future Executive Presidents as well. Therefore, we, as citizens, urge that the President and the Legislature abolish the Executive Presidency, at least now.” The tenth proposal, demanding absolute transparency in financial agreements, and revealing conditions of foreign loans taken by the Government, was explained by Weeratunga: “When it comes to loan agreements, details such as the conditions put forward by other parties should be revealed to the people. There should be 100% transparency. The people should have the opportunity to know under what conditions the Government signed those agreements. They (governments) refer to these deals as ‘this deal’ or ‘that deal’, but we do not know what the people and the country lose in the process.” Debt restructuring was presented as the eleventh proposal. In this regard, Weratunga said that the Government should share its plans with regard to restructuring debts and orderly default on the country’s loan payments due in July this year. He further said that through this measure, it will be possible to ensure that there is a mechanism for Sri Lanka to get out of the prevailing crises, and that taking one loan to pay another is unhealthy for the economy and does not help to create a strong economy. Under the twelfth proposal, it was said that the Government should provide the people with a clear strategic framework and an action plan for long-term stability and growth. The speakers said that only a methodical plan can help inform the people of how the country would be saved. As protests continue, various discourses about the objectives and the nature of protests began to emerge, and some of these discussions focus on making the present situation an opportunity to achieve long-term changes. As was pointed out during the discussion, the target is to create a better system rather than merely overthrowing the present Government, and creating a better political culture rather than opposing the political ideologies of a selected group.   


More News..