EXECUTIVE PRESIDENCY MUST STAY UNTIL TAMIL SEPARATIST THREAT IS OVER
Jayantha Liyanage,
General Secretary,
Sinhala Janatha Peramuna
The present hybrid Government appears to be determined to abolish the executive Presidency that was incorporated into the 1978 Constitution.
Rohana Wijeweera contested the Presidential election held in 1982 and received around 2.5 laks of votes. Did he promise it to abolish it in the event he becomes the President? Even if he did so at that time, it would have been nothing more than a political promise to appease the then voters like so many Presidential contestants promised to do so.
Since 1994, there is an overwhelming call to abolish the executive presidency when the JVP first called to abolish it. The basic argument behind the call is that excessive powers leads to abuse of political powers especially in the field of corruption.
In the Presidential election held in 1988, the JVP wants Sirimavo Bandaranayake defeated and prevented the voters in SLFP strongholds from voting thereby engineered her defeat.
The JVP’s reasoning at that time matches exactly the LTTE’s reasoning in 2005. Get a person elected to the throne without an international support base and knock him out through terrorism. Sirimavo had the necessary international backing to put down the first JVP revolution in 1971, hence the JVP did not want her as the President once again. So was Prabakaren, who wanted MR as the president because he did not have any international support base at that time. Frighten him through terrorism and get his Eelam. Ranil wanted the American navy stationed in Trincomalee, which could have caused an endless stalemate.
In both attempts, the strategies went wrong because President Premadasa had the executive powers to defeat the 1988 – 1989 JVP revolution through black cats and MR used it to face up to the international pressure by taking speedy decisions himself thereby bypassing the parliament to get approval for various war strategies. Thus the country was saved from two terrible disasters. The question that one should ask is then who wants it abolished. The vast majority of ordinary people may blindly repeat what various political groups express to achieve their own political aims.
The JVP want it abolished in order to launch their third revolution. They may have already worked out the most suitable strategy, which would be very different from the two previous ones in 1971 and 1988. Most leftists political parties support it blindly not knowing that in the event JVP comes to power through their third revolution, they all would be dead. On the other hand there are civil organizations funded by Tamil Diaspora in order to get their Eelam and late Sobithe thero was with them most probably out of his ignorance.
Financial corrupt practices by an executive President would not do any permanent harm to the country but not having it may give rise to a one party Marxist state as exited in Cambodia under polpot. Present day JVP leaders were not kids in 1988. They were fully aware of the barbarian nature of the JVP and they had no problem of accepting Somawansa as their leader that means they too have that barbaric nature waiting to be released under chaotic political conditions. Also it may give rise to the Tamil Eelam state.
The SJP wants the executive presidency stay because a Sinhala nationalist President could put everything right for the Sinhala Nation.
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