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Friday, 24 April 2015 01:38 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
On completing his 100th day as President of Sri Lanka, Maithripala Sirisena issued a clarion call to the national legislature to pass key constitutional reforms that will slash the powers of his office and strengthen democracy and freedom in the country.
In a measured and clear 30-minute address to the nation, telecast live across electronic television networks, President Sirisena spoke humbly about the risks he had taken to contes
t the presidency on 8 January and vowed that he remained equally resolute about fulfilling his election pledges to the people.
“The decision I made to contest the presidency was like I had decided to jump into the deep sea with my children,” he said.
He urged members of Parliament to seize a historic opportunity next week, to pass the 19th Amendment to the Constitution that reduces the powers of the presidency and restores independence to state institutions.
“Become a stakeholder in establishing democracy and freedom in this country,” he urged Parliamentarians during his speech.
Passing the 19th Amendment was crucial to preventing the emergence of dictatorship and to creating a democratic and civilised society, the President explained. “It is necessary to prevent one person taking control of state power, state assets, the Judiciary, Parliament, as a result of the powers of the Executive Presidential system,” President Sirisena said.
Addressing criticism about his leadership style directly, President Sirisena told the people that they had elected him to reduce the powers of the executive presidency, so he had refrained from using the full authority and force of his mighty office. “Some say I lack strength. Some say I am weak. Some say I am not a leader.
But I say to all these detractors and my people that I will not use the unlimited powers of this office. You appointed me to this position. But you appointed me to reduce these powers,” he charged.
“No leader in the world, afforded such unlimited power has been as flexible as I have been, about trying to get rid of them,” the President said, quickly insisting that he was not trying to heap praise upon himself.
His own constitutional advisor had gone before the Supreme Court when the draft bill came up for consideration and argued for the reduction of powers, the President explained.
In his 100 days in office, President Sirisena said he had never once personally approached members of the Bribery Commission or the judiciary. “Nor will I ever interfere. This is necessary for good governance,” he claimed.
He vowed that there would be no room for corruption within his administration. “I will act against it. When decisions need to be taken, I will take them. And I will take them fearlessly, the way I did when I decided to contest this election,” President Sirisena asserted.
‘Extreme racists’
Stressing the importance of fostering unity and reconciliation in the country following a 30-year conflict, President Sirisena strongly defended his Government’s decision to return land to its original owners in the island’s North.
“During the armed conflict the armed forces took private land for their use not only in the North and East, but also in the city of Colombo. Therefore, is it wrong to give these lands back to their original owners? Should we not return the large extent of private property acquired in Colombo Fort near the President’s House, around Temple Trees without any compromise on national security or weakening of and security camps?” he charged.
In marked contrast to his predecessor, the President did not shy away from calling those who sought to create divisions in post-war Sri Lanka “extreme racists”.
He hit out against those spreading falsehoods to create communal tension on social and mainstream media, President Sirisena called them the most extreme form of racists.
“It is regrettable that our political opponents are using the internet and some media to spread false information that the armed forces are to be reduced or removed from the North. That land had been given to LTTE terrorists in Sampur. That more rights had been given to the Tamils and Muslims than to the Sinhalese. Such stories are entirely spread by extreme racists. Please don’t send these messages out into the world. This only results in misleading Sri Lankans living overseas,” he said.
In a major broadside to forces gathering around his predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa, President Sirisena said that as with many revolutions around the world, the democratic revolution in Sri Lanka on 8 January 2015 had also brought about a counter-revolution.
After Abraham Lincoln’s administration abolished slavery in America, for a season, some slaves claimed to prefer slavery to living as free individuals in society. They believed for a while that living as slaves was better than enjoying freedom granted and building themselves on their own strength. This is the nature of human society,” he explained, even as his administration faced criticism about doing too little in its first three months in office.
When action was being taken against corruption, there were people who thought like the slaves first did in America, President Sirisena said. “They seem to prefer a corrupt system and attempt to mislead the people when action is being taken to root out corruption and fraud,” he charged.
Scores of demonstrators have rallied against investigations into the conduct of top members of the former ruling family by the police and the Bribery Commission over the past week.
Despite the criticism about the lack of action in the 100 days, President Sirisena said democracy and freedom had already been restored in Sri Lanka.
“Some people ask about what has been done in the last 100 days. So much has been done,” he said.
Some of the most precious freedoms restored, were not tangible things, things that could be seen or touched, President Sirisena explained.
“Today the media is free from the control and pressure of politicians. The Judiciary is independent. A world that was divided because of Sri Lanka, has recognised our resolve to ensure the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms of our people today,” the President said.
