Recognizing the importance of the subject, the Chair emphasised the need to educate ourselves about the developments in our neighbourhood.

P Sahadevan

The present political development is significant. Though there is nothing new in substance, the present crises differ from the earlier ones in two aspects:

·         The emergence of Constitution as a source of instability; and

·         The linkage between political stability and peace process.

Though Sri Lanka is a vibrant democracy, vindictive politics is not new to the Island. The present Constitution is a highly centralised one with the President at the apex; legislature and judiciary are marginalized and there is no concept of ‘checks and balances’. In this backdrop, President’s November 4 move of taking over of three ministries and prorogation of Parliament were constitutionally right, but politically wrong for two reasons:

·         It was ill timed. The Peace process was at a crucial stage with the submission of the counter-proposals by the LTTE. Moreover, it was done when the Prime Minister was out of the Island making her move appear as a coup.

·         The reasons given for the move were unconvincing. It was a desperate act and not out of national security consideration. The rationale was purely political.

The President’s stand since then has also been inconsistent. Initially she dubbed the present peace process as a major threat to national security. But later she offered her continued support to the process. Similarly, after initially questioning the legality of the ceasefire agreement (CFA) between the LTTE and the UNF government she directed the armed forces to respect the CFA. The stand on the LTTE counter-proposals was also paradoxicalâ€â€