Mangala taking sagacious initiatives

Constructive paradigm shifts in politicians

must be welcomed

Secretary John Kerry and External Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera

by Kumar David

Many have been wary of Mangala Samaweera

(ManSam) because of Wayamba and because he has jumped from one
party to another rather too often. The Sunday Leader once said "The
infamous Wayamba 1999 election is the biggest black mark in Sri Lankas
violence riddled election history" and ManSam was the point man who
masterminded this infamy; a shame not to be forgotten or forgiven! He
has somersaulted between UNP and anti-UNP camps more often than I can
remember; his loyalty was of concern even in the run up to the recent
presidential poll. However, to give the devil its due, in the last 100 days as
Minister of External Affairs (MEA) and on political issues, he has blossomed
into rather a sensible bloke. Still, it is imperative that we treat it all with
caution for a while more.
As MEA he smoothed Indias ruffled feathers after the Rakapaksas kerfuffle
and prepared the ground for successful Sirisena-Modi sessions that
mended Indo-Lanka relations. He met Kerry in Washington and travelled to
Beijing, both successful visits. Kerrys remark, "One thing about this Sri
Lankan Government seems clear: the president, prime minister and the
foreign minister are not afraid of tackling tough issues", is perhaps a little
too generous to the first two.

ManSam also paved the way for the delicate negotiations with Ban Ki Moon
and High Commissioner Zeid Raad Al Husseinwhich secured a deferment
of a potentially harsh UNHRC report on human rights violations and war
crimes of the Rajapaksas and the military. Let me add, lest there be
confusion, that I support an international inquiry and I believe the truth
will not out without international pressure, but I also support deferment of
the report till after elections and the final rout of the pro-Rajapaksa
bandits. The truth is that political consciousness of the Sinhalese people
has not matured to where they can stomach censure of the military and
denunciation of Rajapaksa racism. A negative report would have been
manipulated by the bandits to eviscerate the Sirisena-Ranil alliance and to
drive a wedge between the government and the international community.
This needed to be prevented; lets wait till September and pressurise the
government to act after that.
Sensible noises
There are three interventions by ManSam worthy of approbation;
recognition that 19A is imperfect, need for a new constitution, and
discussion of a tripod on which Lankas foreign policy should stand.
Speaking on 19A in parliament he affirmed:"January 8 should be remembered as the day which heralded the
beginning of the end of the all- powerful executive presidential system.
Since introducing the First Republican constitution in 1972 we journeyed
from a Westminster form to the all-powerful Executive Presidency of the
Second Republican constitution. However both Republican constitutions
were inadequate to meet the aspirations of all communities. . . This
amendment alone will not be the panacea for all problems. Reduction of
the executive powers of the Presidency is only one important step . . .The
Supreme Court held that to abolish other powers, a referendum is needed.
It will be the task of the next parliament to abolish the executive system in
favour of parliamentary democracy".
There is much that is correct here. First it recognises that the enactment of
19A, its many defects notwithstanding, is a significant forward step,
second the better option is full parliamentary democracy and abolition of
the executive presidency, and third hope that the next parliament will
complete the unfinished tasks. True it does not spell out the defects; but it
would not make sense for a Minister to stand up in parliament during the
19A debate and undertake this expose. That task belongs to political

analysts and though I have done before it is of such great importance

(crikey, it is the nations Constitution we are dealing with!) I do not think
the Editor will deny me a repetitious paragraph to articulate what ManSam
should have but maybe will utter on another occasion.
The first major defect in 19A is that two
overlapping centres of power - elected
President and strong Cabinet and PM - is a
deadly decoction for instability. Secondly
the Council of State is a vacuous imitation
of a second chamber. And now we have a
capitulation on the composition of the
Constitutional Council (CC) which vets high
level appointments (Judges, IGP, AG,
Bribery C and many key posts). CC was to
include seven independent persons of high
repute appointed by the President upon nomination by the PM, Leader of
Opposition, political leaders etc. Sirisena-Ranil in a sick act of supine
capitulation agreed to replace them with seven MPs. The incestuous
relationship between the CC and Parliament undermines the division of
power between Legislature, Executive and Judiciary and frustrates the
effort to restore the checks and balances of 17A which Rajapaksa axed.
The expectation of a new constitution or substantial further changes within
a short timeframe is nave. Once a country goes through the arduous and
unsettling process of complex constitutional revisions, 19A in point, it is
ingenuous to believe that the body politic will have stomach for doing it all
over again. This is the reason I was so aggressive in my criticisms of the
shortcomings of 19A; it is nave to expect correction of these defects any
time soon. For better for worse we are married to JRs excrement,
moderately decontaminated by 19A, till death do us part.
Foreign policy orientation
In a sensible presentation entitled "Sri Lankas Foreign Relations: Three
Policies We Can Adopt" on the web, Minister Samaraweera laid out what
we can take as a statement of policy. The three pillars: India, China and
the Diaspora (by implication both Tamil and Sinhalese). No more need be
said on the first two but the stress on the diaspora is sensible in more
ways than one. There is an implied commitment of the government to do
its bit to ease senseless hatred between Sinhalese and Tamils in the

diaspora; a reciprocal loathing worse than anything I have seen at home,

deriving from the mutually exclusive ghettos in which they live, brood and
breed. The worst imbeciles are beyond redemption but the majority inhabit
a middle ground where bridge building is possible. If officialdom can help
good. The Minister had better energise his minions in the embassies.
The rise of China, post-Deng, is an exemplary case where the diaspora was
the seed element in the resurgence. In the first five to ten years post-1979
it was money and goodwill of overseas Chinese that watered the shoots of
growth; the rush of global companies and MNCs came later in the 1990s. I
was in Hong Kong from 1983 and saw it at first hand. Hong Kongs small
industrialists and entrepreneurs set up plants (garments, textile, shoes,
durables, toys) on an ever expanding scale in Guangzhou Province.
Financiers who fled Shanghai in 1948 and prospered into tycoons in Hong
Kong were conduits for big money, trade and shipping. (In those days it
was disconcerting for leftists like yours faithfully to behold Chinese
Communist leaders and Hong Kongs magnates in a cuddle; one is
accustomed to it now).
Then there was eminence grise Dengs celebrated visit to Singapore in
November 1978 on a tour that included Thailand and Malaysia. The
delegation was met at the airport by Lee Kuan Yew, Deputy PM Goh Keng
Swee, Foreign Minister Rajaratnam and Finance Minister Hon Sui Sen. They
went on a state drive followed by meetings in the Cabinet Room
stimulating Singaporean investment in China. The visit so impressed Deng
that it sowed the seeds of joint ventures, sparked the Suzhou Industrial
Park and stimulated further expansion of Shenzhen and Tianjin. The point
is that in the early stage overseas Chinese loyalty and pride in the
motherland played a leading role. ManSam has hit the nail on the head if
he desires to replicate this on a slimmer scale with the Lankan diaspora.
The restoration of dual nationality is eminently sensible but processing
needs to be expedited; it should be alright unless there are
disqualifications such as a criminal record. Every dual national is a source
of psychological and financial support and loyalty for the nation. Many
countries, for example the UK and Canada I believe, but I am not sure, do
not rescind the citizenship of those who acquire naturalisation elsewhere.
As for the EU, what is ones nationality? It is time to grow up and let Sri
Lankans belong to the world.
However ManSams three pillars omit a fourth as important as the other

three. The West; Europe including the UK and the US is our largest export
market. Historical, cultural, language and educational ties with the English
speaking world have put down deep roots. The reason for ManSams
reticence on this score is the Mahinda scumbag-pack howling hypocritical
anti-imperialism. Marxists need no lessons on imperialism from protofascist froth and understand the rapacious interests of investors whether
from West, Far East or across the Palk Strait to the North. Capitalists invest
for profit, not for love of God. Third World nations need to drive hard
bargains and play the game; they need investments and markets and they
also need to protect the interests of their people. Even Cuba and Iran have
come round to this realisation.
Nevertheless, as a practical matter ManSam deserves credit for facilitating
Kerrys masterly statecraft at the Kadirgamar Institute last week. The two
men have warmed to each other and Lanka can benefit from mending
relations with a great power while preserving rapport with China and India.
I will dangle one more provisional carrot before ManSam. Provisionally
because the man has to prove that he has staying power on a matter
where many blossom and flourish and then wither and perish; I am
referring to the national question. I have noticed, and others have
commented that ManSam is the Cabinet Minister who has spoken most
frequently and fervently of the need to reach out to the Tamils. Thats a
good start to be translated into action; if he keeps it up I am prepared to
raise the C+ credit-grade implied in this piece to a generous B. The Global
Tamil Forum, a diaspora group, has made a firm statement in support of
19A, no doubt responding to the governments friendly outreach to Tamils
at home and abroad.
Posted by Thavam