The drift .....

That a book titled “Dictatorship within a Democracy”, authored by the grandson of the Executive Presidency’s architect J. R. Jayewardene, was launched just when the Supreme Court sat last Tuesday to adjudicate on the 20th Amendment (20A) to the Constitution was sweet irony.

The incumbent President who is being accused of trying to draw virtual dictatorial powers through the democratic process (20A) had only a few days earlier uttered a jaw-dropper comment in a remote village near Haldummulla in the salubrious Uva highlands. He told a group of villagers, in effect; “My word is law”.

One has heard the saying; “My word is my bond”, but to say as he did that what an Executive President says orally needs no written or formal communication (by way of a circular or otherwise) is particularly significant at a time when the country is engrossed in this national debate on the powers to be vested in such an exalted office.

The President quickly backpedalled from what sounded a very monarchical statement - “The King’s word is Law”. In almost the same breath he said his officials would need to answer if the circular did not follow to what he said orally on any decision he made.

The announcement may have passed for just a good natured, good humoured comment to a group of villagers except that it was given front page publicity in the state print media and other state media channels. Thus, there was added gravitas that it was a serious statement rather than what could have been dismissed as an innocent remark by an inexperienced politician, and more of a technocrat.

So, read with the proposed provisions of 20A, it is manifestly clear; the President must have meant what he said. There is no doubt, a burning desire on his part to implement decisions quickly without being burdened by the red tape of administrative regulations (ARs) and financial regulations (FRs) that are the textbooks of the public service.

These ARs and FRs are an inheritance from the British civil service. They are slow in moving the cogs of the administrative machinery, but they are also safeguards against abuses, especially financial, of public funds by errant officials. Nowadays, many public servants have on the one hand exploited these regulations to feather their own nests, while on the other, honest officials have been put into great difficulties having to follow the orders of their political masters demanding they bend the rules.

The President underpinned his words by drawing attention to the manner in which “the war was won” (against the LTTE) under his guidance and direction. If everyone waited for circulars after a command from the top brass, the war would still be going on, he pointed out.

Clearly, there is a difference in fighting a real-time war having to take split decisions on the battlefield. That is why soldiers in times of war are provided indemnity cover from ordinary criminal prosecutions. It might seem the President wants this same principle extended to the field of governance. The immunity that is being sought for the President by 20A and curtailing the rights of citizens to challenge future laws appear moves in this direction.

Taken together, the drift is clear.