Firing the first salvo for press freedom
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C.P. De Silva |
President Sirisena's defection is
now portrayed as an exercise to uphold democratic norms, while C.P. de
Silva's cross-over was described as a move taken to safeguard press
freedom. The 1964 cross-over was meticulously planned by some political
masterminds of that era after the government made an abortive attempt to
introduce the Ceylon Press Bill on October 7, 1964.
by Uditha Kumarasinghe
C.P. de Silva, Minister of Land, Irrigation and Power in the
SLFP-LSSP Coalition Government of Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike
would go down in history as the politician who fired the first salvo for
press freedom in Sri Lanka.
Minister C. P. de Silva along with 13 other MPs defected from the
SLFP Government of Sirimavo Bandaranaike on December 3, 1964 and crossed
over to the Opposition in a dramatic fashion protesting against the
Ceylon Press Bill, which resulted in the defeat of government which he
himself helped to set up, by one vote in Parliament. Consequently,
Parliament was dissolved on December 17, 1964 and fresh polls held on
March 22, 1965. A new UNP-led National Government, castigated by the
Opposition as Hath Haula consisting of seven political parties was
formed by the then Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake.
Charles Percival de Silva's cross-over 51 years ago has become
significant in the present day context. The fifty first anniversary of
C.P. de Silva's cross-over fell on December 3. This has naturally
aroused some interest about the political transformation which took
place 51 years ago. The first- ever political cross-over took place when
S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike along with D.A . Rajapaksa and a few others broke
away from the ruling United National Party (UNP) in 1951 and formed the
Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). C.P. de Silva's crossover ranks second
in Sri Lanka's political history.
Democratic norms
The fourteen MPs who defected from the SLFP Government on December 3,
1964 were C. P. de Silva (Minneriya), Mahanama Samaraweera (Matara),
Wijebahu Wijesinghe (Mirigama), P. P.Wickremasooriya (Devinuwara), A.H.
de Silva (Polonnaruwa), Chandrasena Munaweera (Rattota), Edmund
Wijesuriya (Maskeliya), Indrasena de Zoysa (Ampara), W.G.M. Albert Silva
(Moneragala), S.B. Lenawa (Kekirawa), Lakshman de Silva (Balapitiya),
Edwin Tillekeratne (Ratgama), Sir Razik Fareed (Colombo Central) and R.
Singleton Salmon (Appointed MP).
President Maithripala Sirisena and some party seniors also defected
from then UPFA government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa in November,
2014. There are similarities between these two Rajarata stalwarts who
were both senior leaders of the SLFP at the time of their defection.
C.P. de Silva informed Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike in
writing about his intention to cross-over on the morning of December 3,
1964. However, the strategy adopted in President Maithripala Sirisena's
cross-over was different. He didn't give prior notice to then President
Mahinda Rajapaksa about his cross-over in the way C.P. de Silva did.
President Sirisena didn't make a statement in Parliament about his
proposed action as in the case of C.P. de Silva. It was announced by way
of a media conference where President Sirisena was flanked by former
President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge, some ministers and MPs who
crossed over with him.
President Sirisena's defection is now portrayed as an exercise to
uphold democratic norms, while C.P. de Silva's crossover was described
as a move taken to safeguard press freedom. The 1964 cross-over was
meticulously planned by some political masterminds of that era after the
government made an abortive attempt to introduce a Ceylon Press Bill on
October 7, 1964 which stated " Provide for the appointment of a Ceylon
Press Council to tender advice on matters relating to to the Press in
Ceylon, for the investigation of offences relating to the printing or
publication of certain matters in newspapers and for the trial of such
offences by the Press Tribunal, and for matters connected therewith or
incidents thereto."
After the introduction of the Press Bill, the government also
introduced draft legislation for the takeover of the Associated
Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (ANCL) and this was seen by many analysts
as the first major blow to media freedom.
The new proposals were described by the Opposition, particularly the
UNP as a threat to press freedom and the same view was shared by some
government legislators as well.
Stabbing in the back
Before the enactment of the Press Bill, the efforts of C.P. De Silva
and 13 other party stalwarts paved the way to defeat the Sirimavo
Bandaranaike Government on December 3, 1964 at the vote on the Throne
Speech (the government policy statement delivered by the Governor
General). Following his dramatic crossover in the House, former Minister
of Land, Irrigation and Power and Leader of the House said that he was
sacrificing both posts so that he might make, " Whatever personal
contribution he could to ensure that our people shall continue to live
as free men and that he might continue to live among them as a free man
among free men and also as a protest against the attitude of the
Coalition towards the advice of the Maha Sangha."
However, Premier Sirimavo Bandaranaike launched an onslaught on C.P.
de Silva whom she accused of stabbing her Government 'in the back' by
crossing the floor of the House.
When fresh elections were held on March 22, 1965, the majority of the
14 defectors formed a new political party under the leadership of C.P.
de Silva. The party named Sri Lanka Freedom Socialist Party (SLFSP)
contested 32 electorates under the symbol of the sun and secured five
seats.
When SLFP veteran and then party General Secretary Maithripala
Sirisena crossed over and announced his historic decision to contest as
the Common Opposition candidate for the January 8 Presidential Election,
media freedom had been suppressed to a great extent and that was one of
the reasons for his cross-over. He pledged to restore media freedom if
he is elected President. Fulfilling a long felt need, the Cabinet of
Ministers approved the Right to Information Bill a couple of days ago
which would ensure the public to have access to information from state
institutions. Several attempts were made over the past few decades to
pass the Right to Information Bill in Parliament but it was always
opposed by the majority of lawmakers. |
