Consensus vital for Constitutional reforms – Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva

By Uditha Kumarasinghe

The thirty-year political career of Irrigation and Water Management Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva is proof of the fact that he is a politician who practises gentlemanly politics and maintains close rapport with the Government and Opposition Parliamentarians. The outstanding characteristic of his political career is that he always remained loyal to his party and its Leader.

He is in the forefront among his peers who have a strong bond with his party, the SLFP. The Minister in an interview with the Sunday Observer said the UPFA Government is a broad-based alliance and its perceptions on the devolution and power-sharing may vary from one party to another. Some constituent partners of the Government such as JHU and NFF hold one extreme view while certain other parties approach another extreme view. The SLFP remains in neutral.

The Minister said to implement the devolution or amend the Constitution, consensus has to be reached by the constituent parties, without which we can’t pass this legislation since the support of 150 Parliamentarians is required for any constitutional change of this nature.

Discussions and debates are much important in issues of this nature. This is the process which the Government has adopted right now.

He said excesses on the part of certain politicians are not a permanent phenomenon.

Allegations had been made against the Opposition Pradeshiya Sabha members and Provincial Council members as well. If such an unhealthy conduct of politicians is to be stopped, the political culture too has to be changed. Referring to the recent incident where a UPFA North-Western Provincial Council member was involved he said that the SLFP had taken stern disciplinary action against him to ensure that provincial politicians would not behave in such an unruly manner in the future.

Asked whether a new code of ethics needs to be introduced to ensure discipline and good conduct of politicians, Minister de Silva said the problem is whether the politicians have adhered themselves to the code of ethics already in force.

Excerpts of the interview:

Q:The UNP Working Committee which met on June 17 has decided to form a broad-based political alliance with other political parties in the hope that an early Presidential Election would be held in 2014. Has the UPFA decided to go for an early election?

A: In terms of the Constitution, the earliest Presidential Election could be held only after November 19, 2014. There can’t be any Presidential Elections before it. The United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) which is the broadest alliance consists of more than 14 political parties representing Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims. No alliance could match the UPFA which is deep-routed in the political spectrum. The JVP is not a part of that alliance. The JVP is in split today. The UNP has also split into three or four factions. When they can’t unite their own party, how can the UNP form a broad alliance? These are mere slogans by the UNP. I don’t think at the ground level, any such broad political alliance will emerge.

Q: Some of those elected at the previous Provincial Council elections on the UPFA ticket had been charged with serious offences. The UPFA has announced that it would be very strict this time when nominating candidates for the Central and North Western Provincial Council elections. Could you elaborate on this?

A: Not only in Provincial Councils, in every other future election, the UPFA would take notice of such incidents. I should also say that there are allegations even against the Opposition Pradeshiya Sabha members, Provincial Council members and many other politicians as well. This is not a phenomenon associated only with the Government. If we want to eradicate them, the political culture too has to be changed. Referring to the recent incident where a UPFA’s North-Western Provincial Council member was involved, the Minister said that the SLFP had already taken stern disciplinary action to ensure that provincial politicians will not behave in such unruly manner in the future. I am sure, we would be able to reduce the number of such incidents.

Q: Don’t you think that the time is opportune to introduce a new code of ethics for politicians to ensure discipline and good conduct?

A: The Code of ethics is there. The problem is whether the politicians have adhered to it. For example, although we have a Criminal Procedure Code, still various offences are committed and people continue to engage in various crimes. Whatever laws in force some people violate it. That is why we need Army, Police to maintain law and order in the country. We should strictly enforce laws so that we can minimise such incidents.

Q: The Left parties are strongly opposed to any attempts by the Government to dilute or weaken provisions of the 13th Amendment. How do you look at this scenario?

A: The UPFA Government is a broad-based alliance. Our perceptions with regard to the devolution and power-sharing may vary from one party to another. If you take JHU or NFF they take one extreme view while some other parties would form another extreme view. The SLFP remains neutral.

To implement the devolution and amend the Constitution, a consensus has to be reached among all the constituent parties. Without consensus, we can’t pass this legislation, since 150 Parliamentarians should agree to any constitutional change of this nature. Therefore, we have to convince the people and that is why we should have elaborate discussions and debates on the issue. This is the process which we have adopted right now.

Q: Certain sections of the media had reported that the main Opposition UNP had decided to boycott the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) which will propose changes to the 13 Amendment to the Constitution. Do you think whether the PSC would be able to reach any consensus on this issue due to the absence of the main Opposition?

A: Actually there is no clear indication that the UNP is going to boycott the PSC. My understanding is that the Opposition wanted some more time to rethink about the issue of appointing members to the PSC. Our perception is that we would like them to participate so that there can be a very broad discussion on the issues to reach consensus.

The Government wants them to be a part of the PSC. But if they don’t come, we will proceed with and conduct deliberations on our own.

Q:What led the Government to introduce the 19th Amendment to the Constitution as an urgent Bill?

A: I think this had been very well explained. It is mainly on the merger issue. Under the Indo-Lanka Pact, the 13 Amendment was thrust upon the country. At that time there was provision for the merger of two or more provinces with the consent of the Provincial Councils.

That is opposed to devolution as we are making the Unit bigger. The other thing is we think that the power should be devolved to the smaller units. If we take the Eastern Province as an example, there is a cry that power should be devolved to smaller units. Likewise there are pros and cons of the whole issue. The Government has decided that it is fitting to ensure that this particular provision is removed. This has been done to some extent by a Supreme Court judgement.

Therefore, there is nothing new in it. Considering all circumstances and our experience in defeating terrorism, this is the best thing for the country. Hence the merger will not be possible.

Q: What is the danger in granting police and land powers to the periphery as opposed by the JHU and NFF since the final controlling power is vested with the Executive President at any crucial situation?

A: Devolving Police and land powers is a very broad topic which has to be discussed at length. Some may argue that devolution is good while some may oppose it.

I would like to give you an example that Sonia Gandhi could not go to Madhya Pradesh, because its Chief Minister said that he will get the Police to arrest her. Likewise, this will lead to many conflicts. Sri Lanka is a small country. Why do we want to have seven or eight Police forces? Is that practical?

The Chief Ministers will become more and more powerful with regard to the law enforcement in their areas. This could lead to abuse of power.

Of course, that is what the PSC will have to decide-whether we are in favour of devolution or Police and land powers and if so, to what extent or should we remove the whole thing? I can’t express my opinion about it, because we feel that it must be decided collectively by the PSC.

Q: Positive opinions are expressed by different political groups on the proposed constitutional reforms by the UNP including Maha Sangha. Have you scrutinized their proposals and if so what have you got to say about them?

A: They are only a set of proposals. There may be certain good proposals as well as those which are not suitable. We can’t say whether their constitutional draft is good or bad. We all should get together and discuss the present Constitution and see what amendments and changes are necessary for it.

Q: Among the other causes, the communication breakdown could be identified as the nearest for the recent tragedy of the fishermen in the South. Should not the Government introduce a better fool-proof system to signal the fishermen on imminent natural disasters?

A: I think a comprehensive answer to this was given by Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne in Parliament. With regard to certain loopholes and lapses, he explained what action the Government will take. Sometimes even in USA and many other countries there were natural disasters which could not be avoided.

We should have a very advanced pre-disaster information system. Natural disasters may happen. Minister Senaratne also explained in Parliament how some fishermen were saved by the Navy, Air Force and volunteers.

Q: Recently you celebrated your 30th anniversary in active politics. When you look back your long journey, are you personally proud of yourself and what is your future ambition?

A: My future ambition is to serve the people. I am very happy about what I have done for the people and my political achievements during the past three decades.