It was a constitutional fraud that took place this week and it is entirely without doubt. For six months, discussions were had on the proposed Constitution between political parties, whereas the people were not informed with regard to the contents of these talks. Instead, speculation ran wild, based on newspaper reports and hearsay. It is however, the reprehensible combination of these two negative factors that lay the Government open to a fundamental breach of faith. And for those who would scoff at questions of process and maintain that the end justifies the means, the answer is clear and simple.
Process is fundamental to the issue.
Process is indeed what the entire system of justice in this country is founded on, the promise that justice should not only be done but must be seen to be done. These are not principles that can be thrown casually to the winds each time individuals feel that they have been marked by destiny to change a system, constitutional or otherwise, come what may. During the times of Junius Richard and his successors, the sight of ordinary Bills being rushed through the courts and Parliament without proper discussion of their contents, had been a common sight. It remained however for Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge to apply the same reasoning to a Constitutional document and bring about the entirely bizarre sight of indignant lawyers and citizens protesting before the Supreme Court regarding a reference of the Third Republican Constitution Bill which no one had been able to properly study. And incidentally result in a curious combination of bedfellows in the Court with liberal intellectuals and activists joining forces with the Sihala Urumaya and the Maha Sangha to oppose the reference.