Thursday, 30 April 2015 00:00
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Tectonic shifts in our island’s political culture are well underway with the passing of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. Sri Lankans were treated to an entirely novel sight as their political representatives managed to perform a feat previously considered to be well beyond them, namely, the ability to reach across party lines and work together in furtherance of the common good.
19A had its detractors prior to its presentation in Parliament, and even now, difficult and important questions are being raised as to the effectiveness of several aspects of the new amendment. However, whatever its flaws, the fact remains that – for the first time in a long time – a coalition of political parties managed to overcome their ideological differences and self-interest in order to hammer out a consensus.
There was little grace and even less finesse on display throughout the 19A’s bumpy road to Parliament. This too is something new for the Sri Lankan people who have grown accustomed to a political culture where constitutional reform was only possible through landslide election victories and the unrestrained dominance of a single party or coalition in Parliament.
The essence of democracy has long been simplified by nationalistic elements into the notion of majority rule with minority rights. However, in truth, democracy is much more complex. It can be messy, unpredictable and occasionally downright irrational, but it is built not on the notion of majorities lauding over minorities, but instead on the fundamental understanding that every voice has value.
The State is after all merely an artificial representation of the people designed to fulfil the often-ignored objectives set out in Article 27 of the Constitution which includes inter alia: the full realisation of the fundamental rights and freedoms of all persons, the promotion of the welfare of the people by securing and protecting a social order in which justice (social, economic and political) guides all the institutions, and the equitable distribution among all citizens of the material resources of the community and the social product, so as best to serve the common good.
In that context, Opposition Leader Nimal Siripala De Silva’s comments at the end of Tuesday’s frantic sessions are truly noteworthy: “It is the people’s wish that the 20th Amendment to the Constitution is also presented and adopted as soon as possible.” De Silva also said that the Parliament could not be satisfied with the passage of 19th Amendment alone, but a similar bipartisanship was required to approve the crucial electoral reforms via the 20th Amendment.
With the passing of the 19A, Sri Lankan politicians – wittingly or unwittingly as the case may be – ushered in a new paradigm. Now the focus must be to refine this process while holding firm to the animus that gave life to such change in the first place.
If lawmakers succeed in genuinely enshrining the right to information as a fundamental right in our Constitution, if they sincerely pursue the anti-corruption agenda, and if they succeed in formulating a new set of electoral reforms that enables a balanced and accurate representation of all Sri Lankans within the Legislature, then perhaps our nation will possess the firm foundations required to enable the people to finally discover the true meaning of what it means to be Sri Lankan.
