Wednesday, 21 January 2015 00:00
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The Parliament of Sri Lanka is the highest law-making authority in the country and its members are elected by the people of Sri Lanka, so reads the introduction on the Parliament website. Yet, in many ways this is often forgotten, not just by the people but also those that are within its hallowed hall.
Newly-elected President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe were among the politicians who lined up when Parliament was convened for the first time under the new Government. Sirisena no doubt would have recalled musingly how his last presence at the Parliament was as Health Minister, only to return a few weeks later, in the avatar of what could well be Sri Lanka’s last Executive President. Media flocked to the House anticipating a hoard of stories and a few juicy quotes. They were not disappointed.
Wickremesinghe fittingly opened proceedings in a speech that called for the ending of differences. He called for ethnic marginalisation to end, openly calling out former Housing Minister Wimal Weerawansa as the cause of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s defeat. He also insisted that the 100-day plan would be implemented inclusive of power devolution under a unitary state. There were also references by him and Sirisena regarding the restoration of the Parliament’s battered image.
This will certainly be welcome news to the public. The “circus” may finally leave town and the Parliament restored to its lost grandeur. So terrible had the situation become that schoolchildren could not sit in the gallery and debates could not be aired live. Now, as a restraint of sorts, there is early indication that live broadcast will be allowed. It would certainly make members hold to a higher standard of decorum.
JVP Leader Anura Dissanayake in his indubitable fashion hit the nail on the head when he said Parliament was now a historic mess. Insisting that his party does not want either the Government or the Opposition in its current state, he went on to say half of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) were now in power while the rest were in the Opposition. The President has appointed both the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader, noted Dissanayake, insisting this does not hold to the best practices of democracy.
However, one positive those fighting for freedom of expression can take heard in is the pledge given by the JVP Leader to back not just a Right To Information (RTI) Act but one with more teeth that currently being contemplated. This one measure alone could push Sri Lanka’s space for accountability ahead by decades.
Perhaps the most amusing moment was when Chief Opposition whip Dinesh Gunewardene called on the Government to protect the rights of free media and then followed it up by pointing out both he and Wickremesinghe were classmates. He also took time to laud former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and to “protect the human rights” of his supporters.
Tongue-in-cheek statements aside, a new chapter has opened for Parliament. Long undermined of its power and ignored, the role of Parliamentarians has come to the forefront once again. If they do not fulfil their mandate, then heads will likely roll when general elections are called in less than three months. Certainly, the countdown has begun.
