Opinion
TNA seeks an ‘almost separate state’

The TNA has submitted its proposals to the Experts Committee appointed to draft a new Constitution (The Island 04.01.2021). What it has asked for is far in excess of devolution granted by the 13th Amendment. The powers that are demanded exceed those granted to the states in India, which is a federal country. They seem to have forgotten that they also must show some conciliatory attitude, when everybody is talking about reconciliation and communal harmony. They must know what is possible and what is not. They must know that extremism begets extremism. There are on both sides of the divide people, with extremist points of view on sensitive matters like land, language, religion, etc. If peace and harmony among communities are the desired goals of everybody, particularly political leaders, they have to be more flexible. Asking for more and more following on the steps of SJVC who adopted a “little now and more later” policy will not help.
The TNA has asked for Regional Councils, virtually with all the powers except defence. The Executive presidency is to be abolished, and all executive powers are to be taken over by the Cabinet of Ministers. The president would be a figurehead. The governor of the regional council, who will be appointed on the recommendation of the chief minister, will not hold executive powers, and these would be taken over by the ministers of the proposed regional council. Nature of the state obviously will not be unitary but united. These powers, if granted, would be far in excess of those granted under the 13th A.
The proposed regional council would obviously comprise North and East merged as envisaged in the original 13th A. These two provinces were demerged by an order of the Supreme Court on the 16th October 2006, which declared that proclamations issued by President J. R. Jayawardene, temporarily extending the tenure of the merged North-Eastern Province were null and void, and had no legal effect. The proclamations by JRJ were necessitated due to the fact that a referendum on the merger was not held as required by the 13th A. It was well known that the Muslims and the Sinhalese in the Eastern Province were against a merger. However if a referendum had been held in the two provinces together, the vote would have been in favour of a merger as Tamils would be a majority when the two provinces joined for the referendum. However the Sinhalese leaders did not want to merge these two provinces as it would go against the interests of the Muslims and Sinhalese. TNA does not seem to have taken these issues and their implications into serious consideration. They seem to be still stuck in their four Thimphu principles.
The TNA proposals have to be seen as an attempt to delink their areas of habitation as much as possible from the writ of the central government. It seems that the proposal is to devolve to the Regional Council all powers and functions that can be carried out at the level of the regions on the basis of the principle of “subsidiarity”. It is on the basis of a similar conceptual framework that the separatists have been agitating for an independent state in the Northern and Eastern provinces since 1972. The principle of subsidiarity is defined as “the principle that the central authority should have a subsidiary function, performing only those tasks which cannot be performed at a more local level”. Obviously, subsidiarity may be suitable for big countries but could be an unnecessary financial burden on small countries like Sri Lanka.
The powers the TNA has asked for include those pertaining to land and police. Land is a subject under the 13th A that had given rise to controversial rulings by the Supreme Court. Once it held that state land can be utilized by the Provincial Councils for their projects, but later in 2011 it ruled that state land should remain under the ownership of the central government for the utilization at national level. Police powers had not been allowed to be taken over by the PCs though it is provided in the 13th A. These two subjects, if devolved, could give a PC that has a centrifugal tendency much leverage to work towards its goal. For instance an independent police force could engage in subterfuge and subversion with the connivance of the provincial politicians. A terrorist who commits an act of terror in the South could escape into the North, and find refuge. We must not forget that separatism and terrorism have not been totally eliminated in this country.
The TNA proposals tend to change the nature of the state quite significantly, and also the single sovereignty of the people in Sri Lanka. In the present constitution, people’s sovereignty is reposed in the executive president by people’s franchise. The President may delegate his executive powers to other institutions such as the ministers, and also in accordance with the 13th A to the governors he appoints to the provincial councils. By abolishing the executive presidency, the need for an executive governor who represents the president — forming a link between the centre and the periphery is got rid of. The executive powers of the governor are to be taken over by the ministers of the RC.
The TNA proposals seek to do away with the concurrent list of subjects that come under the purview of both the central government and the regional councils. This is another delinking measure that TNA wants to be adopted, to strengthen the autonomy and independence of their regional government. Such an arrangement would be federal in nature, no matter what it may be called.
Worse, it would be a federal state based on ethnic lines. It has not been very successful in countries where it was tried, eg. Ethiopia, Pakistan, South Sudan.
Liam D Anderson, who has done an in-depth study of the subject, concludes that Ethno-federalism is the worst form of institutional arrangement (2016).
The TNA seeks to get more than federalism as can be seen from its demand for powers to deal directly with foreign countries for aid, loans and investment. What the TNA is asking for is almost a separate state. If all these powers are granted, their struggle to strengthen the case for the legal establishment of a separate state would succeed to a great degree.
The TNA proposals, if granted, would have adverse effects not only on Muslims and Sinhalese living in the North and East, but also on Tamils. These adverse effects would be felt mainly in the economic, social and cultural spheres. Tamils have a huge economic interest in the South, in the Sinhalese community. Cordial relations between communities is essential for the development of economic connections. For instance the wholesale market in Colombo, in which the Tamils have a huge presence, cannot thrive unless there is trust and understanding among different communities involved in this business. A political rupture in the sensitive areas like land, language, religion could affect their relations.
The Muslims and Sinhalese who live in the North and East would feel that they have been made minorities, and may be subject to discrimination. Such sentiments would not help reconciliation, but promote discord. Social and cultural relationships will be hampered and the whole country may not progress very much socially, culturally and economically.
It is time the TNA took into consideration the present realities and also politics in the Tamil areas. Adopting a more extremist posture in an attempt to boost its flagging popularity is not what is needed. What is needed is a course correction, and develop reconciliation strategies that would be beneficial to the Tamils who live not only in the North and also elsewhere so that everybody could get together and develop their country.
N.A.de S. AMARATUNGA
Opinion
HW Cave saw Nanu Oya – Nuwara rail track as “exquisite”

Plans to resurrect the Nanu Oya – Nuwara Eliya rail track are welcome. The magnificent views from the train have been described by H W Cave in his book The Ceylon Government Railway (1910):
‘The pass by which Nuwara Eliya is reached is one of the most exquisite things in Ceylon. In traversing its length, the line makes a further ascent of one thousand feet in six miles. The curves and windings necessary to accomplish this are the most intricate on the whole railway and frequently have a radius of only eighty feet. On the right side of the deep mountain gorge we ascend amongst the tea bushes of the Edinburgh estate, and at length emerge upon a road, which the line shares with the cart traffic for about a mile. In the depths of the defile flows the Nanuoya river, foaming amongst huge boulders of rock that have descended from the sides of the mountains, and bordered by tree ferns, innumerable and brilliant trees of the primeval forest which clothe the face of the heights. In this land of no seasons their stages of growth are denoted by the varying tints of scarlet, gold, crimson, sallow green, and most strikingly of all, a rich claret colour, the chief glory of the Keena tree’.
However, as in colonial times, the railway should be available for both tourists and locals so that splendid vista can be enjoyed by all.
Dr R P Fernando
Epsom,
UK
Opinion
LG polls, what a waste of money!

If the people of this country were asked whether they want elections to the local government, majority of them would say no! How many years have elapsed since the local councils became defunct? And did not the country function without these councils that were labelled as ‘white elephants’?
If the present government’s wish is to do the will of the people, they should reconsider having local government elections. This way the government will not only save a considerable amount of money on holding elections, but also save even a greater amount by not having to maintain these local councils, which have become a bane on the country’s economy.
One would hope that the country will be able to get rid of these local councils and revert back to the days of having competent Government Agents and a team of dedicated government officials been tasked with the responsibility of attending to the needs of the people in those areas.
M. Joseph A. Nihal Perera
Opinion
What not to do

By Dr Upul Wijayawardhana
It is immaterial whether you like him or not but one thing is crystal clear; Donald Trump has shown, very clearly, who is the boss. Surely, presidents of two countries are equal; perhaps, that is the impression Volodymyr Zelensky had when he went to the White House to meet Trump but the hard reality, otherwise, would have dawned on him with his inglorious exit! True, the behaviour of President Trump and VP Vance were hardly praiseworthy but Zelensky did what exactly he should not do. Afterall, he was on a begging mission and beggars cannot be choosers! He behaved like professional beggars in Colombo who throw money back when you give a small amount!!
Despite the risk of belonging to the minority, perhaps of non-Americans, I must say that I quite like Trump and admire him as a straight-talking politician. He keeps to his words; however atrocious they sound! Unfortunately, most critics overlook the fact that what Trump is doing is exactly what he pledged during his election campaign and that the American voters elected him decisively. When he lost to Biden, all political commentators wrote him off, more so because of his refusal to admit defeat and non-condemnation of his supporters who rioted. When he announced his intention to contest, it only evoked pundits’ laughter as they concluded that the Republican Party would never nominate him. Undaunted, Trump got the party to rally round him and won a non-consecutive second term; a feat achieved only once before, by Grover Cleveland around the end of the nineteenth century. His victory, against all predictions, was more decisive as he got more collegiate votes and, even though it does not matter, won the popular vote too which he did not get when he got elected the first term. Even his bitterest critics should accept this fact.
Zelensky was elected the president of Ukraine after the elected pro-Soviet president was deposed by a ‘peoples revolution’ engineered by the EU with the support of USA. After this, the EU attempted to bring Ukraine to NATO, disregarding the Munich agreement which precipitated the Russian invasion. He should have realised that, if not for the air-defence system which Trump authorised for Ukraine during his first term, Russian invasion would have been complete. It may well be that he was not aware as when this happened Zelensky may still have been the comedian acting the part of the president! Very likely, Trump was referring to this when he accused Zelensky of being ungrateful.
Zelensky also should have remembered that he disregarded requests from Trump, after his defeat by Biden, to implicate Biden’s son in some shady deals in Ukraine and that one of the last acts of Biden was to pardon his son and grant immunity to cover the alleged period. Perhaps, actions of the European leaders who embrace him every time they see him, as a long-lost brother, and invitations to address their parliaments has induced an element of the superiority complex in Zelensky that he behaved so combative.
Trump wanted to be the mediator to stop the war and spoke to Putin first. Instead of waiting for Trump to speak to him, egged on by EU leaders Zelensky started criticising Trump for not involving him in the talks. His remark “He should be on our side” demonstrated clearly that Zelensky had not understood the role of a mediator. His lack of political experience was the major reason for the fiasco in the White House and the subsequent actions of Trump clearly showed Zelensky where he stands! PM Starmer and President Macron seem to have given some sensible advice and he seems to be eating humble pie. In the process Trump has ensured that the European nations pay for their defence than piggy-backing on the US, which I am sure would please the American voter. By the way, though Macron talks big about defence France spends less than 2% of GDP. Trump seems vindicated. Of course, Trump could be blamed for being undiplomatic but he can afford to be as he has the upper hand!

Ranil on Al Jazeera
Zelensky has shown what not to do: instead of being diplomatic being aggressive when you need favours! Meanwhile, Ranil has shown what not to do when it comes to TV interviews. God only knows who advised him, and why, for him to go ‘Head to Head’ with Mehdi Hasan on Al-Jazeera. Perhaps, he wanted to broadcast to the world that he was the saviour of Sri Lanka! The experienced politician he is, one would have expected Ranil to realise that he would be questioned about his role in making Sri Lanka bankrupt as well, in addition to raising other issues.
The interview itself was far from head to head; more likely heads to head! It turned out to be an inquisition by Tiger supporters and the only person who spoke sense being Niraj Deva, who demonstrated his maturity by being involved in British and EU politics. The worst was the compere who seems keen to listen his own voice, reminding me of a Sinhala interviewer on a YouTube channel whose interviews I have stopped watching!
Ranil claims, after the interview was broadcast, that it had been heavily edited reduced from a two-hour recording. Surely, despite whatever reason he agreed to, he should have laid ground rules. He could have insisted on unedited broadcast or his approval before broadcast, if it was edited. It was very naïve of Ranil to have walked in to a trap for no gain. Though his performance was not as bad as widely reported, he should have been more composed at the beginning as he turned out to be later. Overall, he gave another opportunity for the Tiger rump and its supporters to bash Sri Lanka, unfortunately.
Medhi Hasan should watch some of David Frost interviews, especially the one with Richard Nixon, and learn how to elicit crucial information in a gentle exploratory manner than shouting with repeated interruptions. He does not seem to think it is necessary to give time for the interviewee to respond to his questions. I will never watch Al-Jazeera’s “Head to Head” again!
Ranil’s best was his parting shot; when asked by Hasan whether he would contest the next presidential election, he said “No, I will retire and watch Al-Jazeera and hope to see you better mannered”!
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