Both, Government and Opposition legislators who joined the nine and a half hour debate on the recent flood and landslide disaster ironed out their political differences to call for a proper disaster management mechanism to prevent such catastrophes in the future. The Joint Opposition members who aired their views also pledged their fullest cooperation towards the Government’s post-disaster relief activities. The issues raised by Government and Opposition members were not looked at from a political perspective and all agreed to provide a viable solution to avoid such disasters.
The highlight of the lengthy debate was that most of the MPs were keen to speak on the subject matter, and the Opposition members during their speeches drew the Government’s attention to the shortcomings in providing relief assistance to the affected people. JVP Parliamentarian Sunil Handunneththi who moved the Adjournment Motion queried about the preparedness of the relevant Government institutions and pointed out that the regional authorities lacked boats, generators and water bowsers to be used in such an emergency situation. MP Handunneththi alleged, the evacuated families are being resettled in the same risky locations and pointed at Morawakakanda and Ayagama as examples. The MP said, the Government would need Rs 8,886 million to pay compensation for those who lost their lives and for the fully damaged houses.
Debate
Parliament facilitated the debate on the disaster extending the sitting time till 8 pm on Friday (June 9). The debate continued even without a lunch break to provide time for more Parliamentarians to air their views. However, this led Parliament to bear an additional cost in facilitating the nine and a half hour debate. On a previous occasion, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya told Parliament that Rs. 4.6 million has to be spent on each Parliamentary sitting.
Although many Government and Opposition legislators were keen to join the debate, it was witnessed that only a handful remained in the chamber throughout the debate. This led some Opposition members to draw the attention of the chair to the lack of participation of Government Ministers in the House while they expressed views on a matter of national importance. The absence of Deputy Minister Palitha Thewarapperuma who received recognition for his active contribution to assist the flood-affected people was noted during the debate.
Responding to the queries raised during the debate, Disaster Management Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa told Parliament that nearly Rs.8,869 million is required to rectify the damages caused by the recent floods and landslides. However, the Minister said, this amount could be recovered from the insurance trust fund due to the insurance policy implemented by the Government covering all the people and the houses in the country. He said they have already received an advance of Rs.150 million.
Joint Opposition Leader Dinesh Gunawardena who joined the debate requested to set up a Standing Committee in Parliament to monitor the progress of the post disaster relief activities and the payment of compensation to victims. The MP said, all districts affected by the recent floods and landslides should be represented in the Committee. Despite attempts by the JO to make a big hue and cry on the floor of the House through the Adjournment Motion moved on the UN Resolution on Sri Lanka, Finance and Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera giving an analytical response said, the motion moved by MP Dinesh Gunawardena is fundamentally flawed, misguided in its assertions and clearly motivated to show division in the motherland and aimed at returning the country to the status of a “pariah state” on the world stage, that they reduced us to during their tenure in office from 2005 to 2014.
Moving the Adjournment Motion, MP Gunawardena attempted to portray that that the report of the Office of the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Sri Lanka was a deceitful report and its recommendations were harmful to the nation. He was of the view that the UN Resolution co-sponsored by Sri Lanka would have harmful consequences to the country. Gunawardena noted that the Resolution calls for international judges in judicial matters of the country and added that it is a breach of the country’s sovereignty. He further said, the Constitution does not provide for hybrid courts or a local judicial system consisting of international judges or lawyers. MP Gunawardena claimed, as a result of the Resolution, a witch-hunt was carried out against members of the Armed Forces and they were arrested and detained in a vengeful manner without granting bail.
Sovereignty
Categorically denying MP Gunawardena’s claim that the National Unity Government by co-sponsoring the UNHRC Resolution 30/1 of October 1,2015 and the Resolution 34/1 of March 23, 2017 has undermined Sri Lanka’s sovereignty, Minister Samaraweera told the House Sri Lanka reasserted its sovereignty after many years by co-sponsoring these two Resolutions under the leadership of President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. The Minister called upon the JO members to stop lying, as there is nothing in the Resolution to say that we are accepting the recommendations in the report by the High Commissioner’s office.
Minister Samaraweera requested the JO members to read the report and the resolution and see for themselves whether the recommendations they claimed are included in the resolution. The Minister enlightened the House as to how 48 countries stood on behalf of Sri Lanka on March 23 this year and said, it is something we all need to be proud of because 48 countries mean one quarter of the globe. If the Government was not changed, the report would not have been in our hands and added that it would have been used to escalate action against the country. However, the National Unity Government turned back the tide and brought all actions, investigations and mechanisms to the local realm.
Ports and Shipping Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe who joined the debate said Sri Lanka did not deliver what it undertook to implement in 2009 and the foreign policy was implemented in a way that sent wrong signals to the international community. Minister Samarasinghe said, to make matters worse, then President Mahinda Rajapaksa went to see Libyan leader Gaddafi and Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and took photos with them. They appeared in newspapers and it gave wrong signals to the countries that helped us. The Minister told the House that the UNHRC accepts the National Unity Government’s policies since its foreign policy is non-aligned. He said we did not implement a foreign policy that we practise today. Foreign countries expected there would be reconciliation after the war. They did not speak of an international inquiry in 2012.
Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera told Parliament that the Sports Act would be amended to bar sports-persons from selling their medals won at international events. Moving a motion in respect of the Sports Act for debate, the Minister said the winners at international games had to be prevented from selling the medals they secure, while representing the country. The Minister said the Sports Act needs to update and radical changes had to be introduced to meet present-day needs and added that a committee has been appointed for that purpose. Minister Jayasekera said, the new Act would ensure the independence of sports associations and help eliminate political interference in those outfits.
Speaker Karu Jayasuriya expected the support of all MPs for the passage of the new Parliamentary Standing Orders. Making a special announcement when the House commenced its sittings, the Speaker said the final draft of the new Parliamentary Standing Orders had been placed on the desks of each MP. He said he was hopeful the House would debate and pass it soon. The Speaker said the current Standing Orders were three decades old and had been last amended in 1993 so that they needed to be updated to meet present day Parliamentary requirements. New changes, such as the introduction of sectoral oversight committees and the electronic voting system need to be included in the Standing Orders. The Speaker said concepts and ideas proposed by international experts in the field, proposals of the Parliamentary Committee on Standing Orders of the previous 7th Parliament would be considered by the current Parliamentary Committee on Standing Orders.