Editorial
Democracy in danger

Friday 9th February, 2024
Parliament is having a debate on the government’s policy statement, presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Wednesday, but some MPs yesterday took up the recently-passed Online Safety Act (OSA). However, it turned out to be a welcome digression in that it shed light on serious flaws in the new law and the questionable manner in which the Online Safety Bill (OSB) had been rushed through Parliament.
Dissident SLPP MP Gevindu Cumaratunga pointed out that the Attorney General (AG) had sought permission to amend 31 out of the 56 sections of the OSB even before the Supreme Court (SC) had begun to hear the petitions against it. He argued that the OSB would have been passed with all sections inconsistent with the Constitution if the SC had not been moved against it. He demanded to know if the AG’s Department was willfully acting in violation of the Constitution. One cannot but agree with him.
The AG’s Department has drawn heavy flak for defending bad Bills full of sections inconsistent with the Constitution. But governments apparently consider the AG omniscient and infallible. When the Provincial Council Elections (Amendment) Bill was presented to Parliament in 2017, the Joint Opposition (the dissident group of the UPFA) insisted that it had to be approved by the Provincial Councils (PCs) as well, but the then Speaker Karu Jayasuriya claimed that he had consulted the AG, who said there was no need for the Bill to be referred to the PCs. It is the SC that should be consulted on such matters.
SLPP MP Jayantha Weerasinghe yesterday claimed that the OSB had been passed properly, with all amendments recommended by the SC incorporated into it. But Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa pointed out that nine sections in the OSA were at variance with the SC recommendations. He urged Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena to summon a special party leaders’ meeting to discuss the issue and find a solution. Premadasa’s arguments were cogent, and the government must take his views on board instead of trying to bulldoze its way through.
The AG is required to represent the state, and not the government in power. Unfortunately, in this country, the AG stands accused of being a mere appendage of the ruling party and serving the interests of the powers that be. There are fiercely independent, intrepid officials in the AG’s Department, and they courageously defend the interests of the public, but sadly the political biases and servility of their superiors have brought their institution into disrepute.
There have been some instances where unauthorised sections were smuggled into vital Bills even after their ratification. The Parliamentary Elections (Amendment) Bill pertaining to the National List (NL) was altered after its passage in 1989 to enable political party leaders to appoint persons of their choice to fill NL vacancies.
Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe told Parliament yesterday that the OSA was a fait accompli and there was nothing the party leaders or even the SC could do about it. He was right. The Constitution does not provide for the post-enactment judicial review of legislation. But are we to allow governments to steamroller draconian Bills through Parliament and use them to suppress the people’s democratic rights and freedoms? Thankfully, Dr. Rajapakshe admitted that there were some inadequacies in the OSA and agreed to sort them out. This, we believe, is the right approach.
The OSA is one of the worst laws this country has made, and all criticisms of it are valid. There is no gainsaying that the digital realm has to be regulated, and no one should be allowed to enjoy the freedom of the wild ass. Reputations of people are dragged through the mud via social media, which are governed by Rafferty’s rules. Women and children have become the main targets of perverts and fraudsters in cyberspace.
This fact has been borne out by an apology Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who runs Facebook and Instagram, had to extend, during a recent US Senate hearing, to the families whose children had been harmed by social media. But it was not out of any concern for the vulnerable sections of the public that the SLPP-UNP government introduced the oppressive laws at issue to control social media; it has sought to muzzle the web-based media it cannot keep under its thumb.
There has arisen a pressing need to protect the public against both cyber predators on the prowl and the paranoid SLPP-UNP government, which is ready to do anything to retain its hold on power.
Editorial
Arrogance of power

Friday 16th May, 2025
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has begun to sound just like his predecessors, who succumbed to the arrogance of power and alienated the public. He has declared that he is ready to do everything in his power to enable the JVP-led NPP to secure the control of all local councils it has won with or without absolute majorities. Speaking at a ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the JVP, on Wednesday, Dissanayake said he would not hesitate to make use of the government’s two-thirds majority to achieve that goal.
The problem with power is that it goes to the heads of the wielders thereof and makes them take leave of their senses. Executive presidential powers can act like a mind-sucker, draining empathy, humility and rational thought from even the most grounded politicians. This has been our experience over the past several decades. Hence the aversion of the champions of democracy to the executive powers of the President. Even some defenders of democracy who secured the presidency with good intentions let their executive powers get the better of them.
In 1994, Chandrika Kumaratunga became the President, vowing to eliminate corruption (dooshanaya) and state terror (bheeshanaya), but her rule became a metaphor for political violence, election malpractices and corruption. The less said about J. R. Jayewardene, Ranasinghe Premadasa and Mahinda Rajapaksa, the better. President Maithripala Sirisena also abused his executive powers unflinchingly; in 2018, he sacked the UNF government, appointed Mahinda Rajapaksa Prime Minister, and then ordered the dissolution of Parliament in violation of the Constitution. Thankfully, a historic Supreme Court judgement restored the status quo ante.
Even non-elected President Ranil Wickremesinghe was intoxicated with executive powers from 2022 to 2024; he caused the local government elections to disappear and suppressed democracy. D. B. Wijetunga served as the President only for a brief period from 1993 to 1994 following President Premadasa’s assassination, and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa could not complete his term.
It is against this backdrop that President Dissanayake’s aforementioned declarations and warnings that border on veiled threats should be viewed. General Secretary of the ITAK, and former TNA MP M. A. Sumanthiran has torn into President Dissanayake for his declaration that he will use his presidential power to secure control of local councils which, he thinks, the NPP deserves to run, in all parts of the country. The ITAK apparently feels threatened as the NPP has won a considerable number of seats in the LG bodies in the North and the East. If only the ITAK/TNA had defended democracy so ardently while the LTTE, which did not have representation even in a local council, was controlling the North and the East.
It is a supreme irony that President Dissanayake has said that he will not allow anyone to trifle with the NPP’s popular mandate. He has either forgotten or chosen to ignore that popular mandates come to naught when governments fail and public resentment spills over onto the streets, with thousands of people baying for the rulers’ blood. Gotabaya, who won the executive presidency outright in 2019 and helped the SLPP secure a two-thirds majority in Parliament in 2020, had to run away and resign during Aragalaya in 2022 as he and his government mismanaged the economy. The JVP, which had only three MPs, at that time, almost succeeded in marching on Parliament. Now that a bad precedent has been created, the Presidents who fail in the future may have to hightail it like Gotabaya. It is popularly said in this country that no clay pot is too big for a wooden pole.
It is only wishful thinking that the NPP will be able to arrest the decline in its national vote share and shore up its support base by gaining the control of the local councils, where it has not obtained absolute majorities. Not even its hold on the executive presidency and Parliament has helped the NPP prevent a severe erosion of its vote base during the past six months or so. It finds itself in this predicament because it has failed to live up to people’s expectations. Instead of bellowing rhetoric and issuing warnings and threats, the NPP leaders must solve the burning problems faced by the public. They must at least try to make salt freely available at reasonable prices.
Editorial
Right initiative: Follow-up needed

Thursday 15th May, 2025
There appears to be no let-up in road accidents in the central hills. A van plunged down a precipice in Ramboda, injuring 11 passengers, yesterday.
The police swing into action after catastrophic road accidents—not to address the root causes of those mishaps but to adopt band-aid solutions to deflect criticism. Following Sunday’s fatal bus accident, which killed 23 passengers near Kotmale, they have launched a programme to inspect long-distance buses at night. This measure is welcome, but it will have to be coupled with roadside drug tests to enhance their effectiveness. Drug addiction is believed to be prevalent among heavy vehicle drivers. One can only hope that the new scheme will not end up being like the practice of placing night patrol visit books at houses and shops after break-ins and forgetting them after a few weeks. The night-time bus inspection scheme however has the potential to keep bus workers and their employers on their toes.
Much is spoken about substandard medicinal drugs used in the state-run health institutions. An ex-Health Minister and some former Health Ministry panjandrums are facing legal action for the fraudulent procurement of medicines, etc. The need for such drastic measures to rid the Health Ministry procurement process of corruption, bring the corrupt to justice and ensure the safety of patients cannot be overstated. Worryingly, there has been no such public debate on the substandard buses in operation, endangering the lives of passengers and other road users alike.
Convener of the Road Safety Task Force Dr. Sanjay Perera has, in a recent television interview, told some home truths about the public transport sector and its deficiencies. Besides factors such as overloading and drivers’ fatigue, the poor quality of buses on Sri Lankan roads also contributes to ever increasing road accidents, he has said.
Dr. Perera has pointed out that most buses are not worthy of the name, for they are actually truck chassis fitted with seats; these ‘truck-buses’, as it were, are without any safety features, and, worse, have metal bars for headrests, which could pose a serious risk of neck injuries and spinal cord damage in the event of accidents. No wonder most commuters complain of back pain, neck and shoulder strain, postural problems, etc. These are believed to be the results of frequent travel in boneshakers with poor suspension and cramped seating. Dr. Perera has stressed the need for importing modern buses like the ones in operation on expressways.
Although the state-owned bus service has been drawing a lot of flak of late due to the Kotmale tragedy, the private bus operators are the worst culprits. Dr. Perera has called upon the SLTB and the transport authorities to enforce the laws and regulations already in place to ensure road safety. But the incumbent government apparently lacks a clear vision to develop the SLTB. It is also without the courage to tame the private bus owners, who have risen above the law just like the wealthy rice millers. The bus Mafia has effectively put paid to the government’s efforts to remove unauthorised accessories from private buses.
Successive governments have done very little to standardise the bus service. Their focus has been on fare systems and scheduling, and nothing has been done by way of improving driver training and behaviour and maintenance protocols. Private bus operators therefore are under the impression that they can run their buses the way they want.
The government should seriously consider making it mandatory for all bus workers to wear uniforms besides abiding by laws and regulations governing the transport sector. Enforcing discipline among bus workers will be half the battle in ensuring road safety.
Editorial
Rides into the jaws of death

Wednesday 14th May, 2025
It never rains but it pours. Less than 48 hours after Sunday’s tragic accident, where an SLTB bus careened off a winding road and plunged down a precipice near Kotmale, killing 22 passengers and injuring 35 others, a private bus veered off the road, injuring 30 passengers, in Kandy, on Monday night. Thankfully, there were no fatalities. The mishap has been attributed to a brake failure. The Grim Reaper has been in overdrive on Sri Lankan roads.
The police are reported to have appointed a committee headed by SDIG Ajith Rohana to probe Sunday’s fatal accident. It is hoped that the committee members, who are senior police officers, will conduct a thorough investigation, and action will be taken, based on their findings and recommendations, to prevent road accidents.
No sooner had Sunday’s accident had occurred than some SLTB officials claimed that the ill-fated bus had experienced a sudden brake failure while negotiating a bend. But an inspection of the vehicle, or what remains of it, has reportedly revealed that it experienced no mechanical defect. Some media reports have said the driver of the bus had been working for more than 12 hours continuously and was fatigued. The SLTB is overstaffed, and it defies comprehension why its workers have to exert themselves to the point of burnout.
Safety regulations require that heavy vehicle drivers work for only about six hours a day lest they should be fatigued and drowsy. Road safety experts inform us that most road accidents occur due to human error—drivers become either reckless, distracted or fatigued; due to the circadian rhythm, most drivers become drowsy between midnight and 7:00 a.m. and between 2:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. This is believed to be the main reason for most crashes on expressways as well as other roads. It has to be addressed as a national priority to prevent crashes and make roads safe.
As for drowsiness or sleep-related road accidents, which have become a significant concern, there is a need for more rest areas along the expressways. Besides, technology provides solutions. There are electronic devices that detect signs of fatigue or distraction of drivers and alert them to prevent accidents. Modern vehicles come fitted with them, and some drowsiness detection systems can be retrofitted to older vehicles to help save lives. Making such technologies available at affordable prices should be part of any road safety programme. Most of all, measures should be adopted to ensure that heavy vehicle drivers are well-rested and sober before getting behind the wheel, and all vehicles must be inspected to ensure their roadworthiness.
Meanwhile, the police should reveal what action they have taken against the NPP activists who parked buses on the Southern Expressway illegally on May Day. A few days prior to that incident, the police had fined the driver of a bus carrying a group of schoolchildren for the same offence, we are told. If the culprits are allowed to get off scot-free because they are NPP supporters, a very bad precedent will be set, and the government’s approval rating will plummet further. Sadly, the culture of impunity, which the present-day leaders promised to do away with, persists.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, taking part in a television interview a few days before the recent local government polls said those who were responsible for the expressway incident would have to face legal action. He also said they may have been compelled to stop on the expressway as the rest areas had been full of vehicles. If so, they should have taken the next exit, had lunch and re-entered the expressway. Nothing can be cited in extenuation of the serious offence they committed.
The success of any programme to ensure road safety hinges on the strict enforcement of traffic laws. Impunity undermines public trust and compromises road safety efforts.
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