Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

06 October  2020

 

 

CP De Silva, Senate & Ethnic Solution

The spirit of a person becomes ‘Common’ once the person passes away. A Tamil believer could therefore invoke the spirit of a Sinhalese and v.v. Likewise ownership.

During my analysis of the Parliamentary election results as reported, I stated in relation to Jaffna district that effectively the Preference voting was voting for Senate. This was due also to my Australian experience. That is the way with the common mind.

Then this morning I read the Daily Mirror article - CP Voted against Sirimavo’s caste-based ‘Atrocities’ - by Mr KKS Perera as a memorial tribute to the Hon C P De Silva. KKS presents the following picture:

‘CP was virtually the Prime Minister in the Lower House of Parliament as Ms. Bandaranaike was in the Upper House or Senate [1960-64]’

When reading up some background information about Mr C P De Silva, I came across the following in Wikipedia:

[Having sat for the Ceylon Civil Service (CCS) entrance exam in the United Kingdom, de Silva was admitted in 1935 and on his return to the island was appointed as a cadet in the Jaffna Kachcheri.]

Then there was the following report by Asian Tribune on 29 April 2010, under the heading ‘Upper House in Sri Lanka - a new move to devolve powers

 

[After the successful Presidential and Parliamentary Elections, United People's Freedom Alliance Government is seriously considering to do away with the unicameral parliamentary system and to introduce a second chamber, to be henceforth called the Senate.

It is reliably learnt that the ruling UPFA is seriously considering to amend the Constitution and the present Electoral System minus the preferential voting that was introduced through the 1978 Constitution by President J. R. Jayawardena.

While introducing the amendments to the present Constitution, it is reliably learnt that the government is considering the idea of introducing the Upper Chamber of Parliament which is popularly known as the ‘Senate’.

The government is considering this idea of setting up a Senate, in order to facilitate a peaceful solution to the ethnic conflict. The government thinks the idea of establishing the Senate will satisfy the needs, aspirations and the participation of all sections of the community.

The government proposes to elect around 45% of the Members of the Senate from the Lower Chamber - the House of Representatives - that's the present Parliament. The balance 60% of the Members will be appointed by the President considering the recommendations made by the Maha Sangha and other Religious Heads, the Civil Society and from academics, intellectuals and veteran media personnel.]

 

The question that arises in my head is as to whether the caste based separation and the two house systems have common mind structure?

 

On 03 October, I wrote as follows under the heading ‘Not Preference but Proportional Voting system’:

 

[Recently when I discussed the Lankan voting system, a young member of the Tamil Diaspora stated that Mrs Sashikala Raviraj had misunderstood the system and hence the adverse publicity about her seat. ]

 

The above person stated also that Mr Sumanthiran, Mr Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam & Mr Wigneswaran would all speak well in Parliament but not Mrs Raviraj.  This contributed to my article on 04 October under the heading ‘Jaffna Woman Suppressed by Man’

As per my discovery, those who are comfortable in living with the junior status they have, continue to do so until the senior becomes weak and the tables get reversed. Then they discriminate – as in #MeToo movements.

 

All this happens through the natural system that is inbuilt. The interesting part for me was how this government achieved the ‘Senate’ outcome through the Preference voting. In the case of Jaffna – Mr Angajan Ramanathan & Mr Sivagnanam Shritharan and Mr Douglas Devananda who won highest preferences and whose parties were listed as first in their divisions are from the lower house. Mr Wigneswaran and Mr Ponnambalam whose parties did not come first in any divisions would be the Tamil parallel of the following highlighted above by Asian Tribune:

 

‘The balance 60% of the Members will be appointed by the President considering the recommendations made by the Maha Sangha and other Religious Heads, the Civil Society and from academics, intellectuals and veteran media personnel’

 

This can happen the same way, I seem to have connected to Mr C P De Silva’s corporate wisdom including in Jaffna’s Public Administration, through my commonness with Mr KKS Perera. Makes one wonder whether the current government is more honest to itself than the previous one which was more like a Senate only government.

 

Whatever it may be Truth when manifested empowers all structures that supported the discovery. If so – the above mentioned ethnic  solution will happen provided there is no interference from externals who lack insight into Jaffna and/or Sri Lanka.