In a press statement issued today Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on behalf of President Barak Obama and the people of the United States, said the U.S. would assist post-war reconciliation to bring about a peaceful, prosperous, just and democratic future for all its citizens.
The text of the full statement by Secretary Clinton:
On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I congratulate the people of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka as you celebrate the 63rd anniversary of independence this February 4.
Since Sri Lanka's independence, our two countries have had a strong relationship based on mutual interests and a shared commitment to the ideals of democratic governance. Sri Lankans have made numerous positive contributions to American culture and America has been a partner for economic growth and development in Sri Lanka.
We hope to continue our efforts to strengthen this relationship by assisting in post-war reconciliation to bring about a peaceful, prosperous, just and democratic future for all its citizens.
I wish all Sri Lankans around the world a happy celebration and continued peace and prosperity in the coming year.
1 comment:
In a civilized society, the people must be empowered to directly participate in the governance of the country and the best way for the people to empower themselves is, a system of governance that would address the problems faced by various sections of the society - particularly the poor, the politically weak and the various categories of “minorities” who do not carry any “political weight” - would be to DILUTE the powers of all elected representatives of the people by separating the various powers of the Parliament and by horizontally empowering different sets of people’s representatives elected on different area basis to administer the different sets of the separated powers at different locations and thus throughout the country (a small fraction of the Parliament with defined powers and duties functions in each and every village, division, district and region)".
The best way for the people to empower themselves is with a system of governance that would address the various problems faced by various sections of the society - particularly the poor, the politically weak and the various categories of “minorities” who do not carry any “political weight” - would be to DILUTE the powers of all elected representatives of the people by separating the various powers of the Parliament and by horizontally empowering different sets of people’s representatives elected on different area basis to administer the different sets of the separated powers at different locations.
The present system is based on the principle that the “parliament is sovereign” whereas the new concept is based on the principle that the “people are sovereign” and further in the new concept of democracy it is ALWAYS COLLECTIVE LEADERSHIP with a tiny section of the Parliament functioning in each and every village and in ALL the various administrative areas throughout the country.
Through this system of representation and empowerment - different sets of representatives in different areas elected and empowered by different groups of people to implement different ‘distinct and defined’ functions of one and the same parliament - "corruption" in any form and at any level cannot easily arise. If there is no "corruption" then the Rule of Law will prevail making way for peace and good governance in the country, which is the need of the inhabitants of a country.
Since all political and other powers flow from the sovereignty of the people, it is proposed herein that these powers be not given to any ONE set of representatives but distributed among different sets of people’s representatives (groups) elected on different area basis (village and villages grouped) to perform the different, defined and distinct functions of one and the same institution - the Parliament – like the organs of our body – heart, lungs, kidneys, eyes, nose, ear etc. – performing different and distinct functions to enable us to sustain normal life.
In these suggestions the powers of the Parliament have been so separated and distributed among different sets of people’s representatives in different areas so as to dilute the powers of an individual representative or that of a set of representatives in any area. (Dilution is better than Devolution).
In my humble opinion this new concept of democracy while delivering good governance would preserve the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country and guarantee the due respect and dignity of the people – both collectively and individually, who are, under the present system, treated as their “subjects” by the “ruling class”.
Sie.Kathieravealu
Post a Comment