Maithri-Ranil partnership a sine qua non for political stability

A silent revolution was brought about on 9 January in the backdrop of a political ambiance replete with violence, thuggery and intimidation. Since it was ‘silent’ and ‘non-violent’ people felt the transfer of power seamless and had it taken in a different form it would have been disastrous for democracy. 

It would be germane to consider the events that preceded the election on 8 January. People saw for themselves that public property and public money were being used wantonly to provide free food, incentives, gifts, and for mass transportation of people to augment the image for crowd gimmicks. Huge cutouts had been hung around the country. Financial gratifications and employment opportunities in breach of public administration circulars and were offered. Yet the results produced an unexpected and unbelievable result on the 9th morning.

Even the 2014 Budget proposals contained massive financial benefits for the people but despite all these incentives the outcome was a massive ‘shock’ for the campaign managers of the previous regime.

 

Post-mortem

Let us consider the reasons why the previous regime was sent home. The idea that family members were benefiting from the Government had been percolated to the masses as the symbol of family unity was shown through the ‘satakaya’ as it was worn by no less than five persons with immediate family connections. This had a serious image issue for the regime. 

The media had provided details of the budget allocations and it proved that large sums of money had been allocated for ministries with family connections and this provided credence for the stories that were being floated by the Opposition and the media. There was no media freedom and whoever tread on the toes of the family were hounded. 

Anyone who spoke against the Government at that time had ghosts haunting them. Political persecution could be seen on a daily basis. The treatment meted out to Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka and former Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake had a chilling effect on the ordinary people of the country. 

The negatives aspects of the Government had simmered over the years and had come to the brim. Had it prevailed for yet another two years the outcome would have been even more drastic. Despite the fact with the State resources and State media had been used extensively for propaganda, the expected outcome was 450,000 votes in favour of Maithripala Sirisena. Had there been a free and fair election the gap would have been even more. 

 

Interim Budget relieved people of economic pressure

The Interim Budget introduced by the Minister of Finance Ravi Karunanayake and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, within a very short period, eased pressure on people whose plight had been neglected since the 2009 war victory. City beautification and other capital projects with no benefit to the common man had taken precedence. 

The Sirisena-Ranil partnership should be commended for having restored sanity in the country. Media freedom, independence and integrity of Judiciary and space for democratic political discourse have been restored. The partnership had also restored the atmosphere free from political persecution.

 

Paradigm shift in foreign policy

The image of Sri Lanka had mercilessly been assaulted by the pro-separatist lobby overseas and it thrived on the vulgarity of domestic politics in Sri Lanka. There was widespread belief among international community that Sri Lanka was heading towards a repressive regime with no regard for civil and political rights of the citizens.

Sri Lanka’s domestic issues also reached the United Nations in New York and at Geneva and this was cannon fodder for pro-separatist lobby that was waiting for an opportune moment to capitalise on the treatment by the Government towards majority Sinhalese let alone the minority Tamils. The incidents in Beruwala and other utterances by ultra nationalist coalition parties added fuel for the pro-separatist lobby. 

In December 2013 the Catholic Bishops Conference of Sri Lanka issued an official statement reiterating the need to establish rule of law and the independence of Judiciary. The statement might have been picked up by the international community to strengthen the case against Sri Lanka.

 

Catholic Church critical of abuse of power

The statement says: “In this exercise the independence of the Judiciary should be preserved and defended at all cost. The Judiciary which has the sacred role of interpreting and applying the meaning of a given law should be totally free from interference by the other stake holders of power, the legislature and the executive. The contention that the Legislature is above the Judiciary is seriously flawed and is untenable. It is true that the Legislature draws up or approves laws which enter into the statute books of a country but it is the Judiciary that applies such laws to a given context. And its independence is the guarantor of true justice. 

“The Legislature should not assume the role of both framing the laws and then interpreting them which is an invasion of the role of the judiciary. Besides, no one should be placed above the laws of the country and no immunity from prosecution for anyone should be permitted in the Constitution as that would hinder any citizen from challenging any undemocratic or illegal actions of the executive. 

“The cardinal principle in this matter should be that absolutely no one is above the law. All those who are elected to power are at the service of the people and are firmly bound to follow the laws of the country in an exemplary manner. The legislature should not usurp the role of the judiciary and if the constitution allows for that, such authority should be removed.”

 

Militarisation of public service

There was yet another issue that bedevilled the previous regime. The public services was militarised by appointing retired defence service personnel. But the intensity of doing that had alarmed the international community. 

Even in the aftermath of the civil war, a civilian as Governor of the Northern Province should have been appointed instead of a retired military officer. A retired military officer would have justified only for two years until the ground situation had stabilised. To the utter dismay of the people of Northern Province the appointment was extended, thus creating doubts about the real commitment of the then Government on genuine reconciliation. The word ‘genuine’ had often been referred to in the diplomatic and official communications between India and Sri Lanka. 

Thanks to Minister Samaraweera the situation at Geneva could be restrained at least temporarily. The international community is watching the developments and has given Sri Lanka breathing space to reverse the incivility that was rampant during the last phase of the previous regime. 

All these events were possible because Maithri-Ranil partnership had established a good image and the duo had no prior record of abuse of power and had shown real commitment to good governance. The President himself had told that his term of office be reduced to five years and this was a demonstration of his conviction that is in variance with the popular statement by Lord Acton that is “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. 

The Maithri-Ranil partnership is just only eight months old and leading a minority Government and there are clear limits to its legislative intentions as was demonstrated in the defeat of the Local Treasury Bills Ordinance in the Parliament by the Opposition – being the majority.  

 

Masterpiece on good governance

The repeal of the 18th Amendment and the restoration of independent commissions was a masterpiece engineered by the Maithri-Ranil partnership and President Sirisena’s commitment to its passage through Parliament produced an overwhelming support from the legislators across the political divide. It created history in Sri Lanka. President Sirisena was seen in the Parliament ensuring its passage. 

The 19th Amendment is a salutary amendment that was meant to establish principles of good governance. Any change in this unique partnership does not augur well for the achievements during the last seven months and will have an impact on the international relations as well. The Maithri-Ranil partnership will surely steer the country towards creating political stability and economic development and of course a noble society. 

(This writer is a freelance journalist and a government affairs analyst.)