Sale of National Independence

Tucked away unobstrusively in the Bill for the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, which repeals and replaces the Constitution, is a provision which, when known, should Start a forest fire of protest from all those who love the sovereign independence of our country. That provision is Article 158 in Chapter XX, which is headed "General." The Article, far from being general, is as particular as it can be both in its Machiavellian content and its neo-colonialist purpose. We set it out in full:-

"158. Where Parliament by resolution passed by not less than two-thirds of the whole number of Members of Parliament (including those not present) voting in its favour, approves as being essential for the development of the national economy, any Treaty or Agreement between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Government of any foreign State for the promotion and protection of the investments in Sri Lanka of such foreign State, its nationals, or of corporations, companies and other associations incorporated or constitute under its laws, such Treaty or Agreement shall have the force of law in Sri Lanka, and no executive or administrative action shall be taken, in contravention of the provision of such Treaty or Agreement."

Here, in black and white, is taken, constitutionally, the power and right to sell our national independence to foreign capital for hard cash. The medium of the transaction will be a Treaty

or Agreement with a foreign State. The outcome will be national enslavement to foreign capital. For, the object of agreement will be "the promotion and protection of the investments in Sri Lanka of such foreign state, its nationals; or of corporations, companies and other associations incorporated or constituted under its laws." Than which, nothing can be more comprehensive, descriptively, of private capital in any capitalist country-and of big private capital, at that.

National humiliation can no further go. For, this Article opens the way to a complete return to and consolidation of political dependence in relation to a foreign State – a condition which we firmly and finally shook off with the making of the Constitution of 1973. The very making of that Constitution and the procedure adopted in that making were an assertion of national independence. We acted as a free people and not by permission or negotiation with the British Crown and Parliament. Constitutionally, in 1972, we seized our independence.

What we are seeing here is the culmination of a process which started with Mrs. Bandaranaike's deliberate and calculated break-up of the S.L.F.P.-L.S.S:P.-C.P. United Front Government in 1975. What in fact we are seeing is J. R. and the U.N.P. carrying forward to a decisive stage a fateful process which Mrs. Bandaranaike and her right-hand man Felix, leading the S.L.F.P., set going after the 1975 break with the L.S.S.P. The celebrated open-arms invitation to big foreign private capital to feed freely on Sri Lanka's pastures, made by Finance Minister Felix R. Dias Bandaranaike in his new course budget speech in November 1975, will not be forgotten by those who have political memories. That is where this sell-out td big foreign private capital began.

The Sirima-Felix scheme was to pass a Foreign Investment (Guarantee) Law which would protect foreign capital from being assailed by the Left, with their nationalisation policies, their control of foreign exchange and their measures against the export of capital. But Mrs. Bandaranaike was thwarted in her plans, by the L.S.S.P. from outside, in the Opposition, in alliance with the Left and progressive forces inside the Government. During the General Election, Mrs. Bandaranaike tried to make a virtue of her defeat by the Left; but nobody was deceived by her laboured apologia.

Mrs. Bandaranaike also had another plan: namely, launching a Free Trade Zone. Here too, the Left in alliance with the progressive forces thwarted her in her plans. The only legacy she left the U.N.P. continuators was her brother.

The U.N.P. has carried the S.L.F.P. process with gathering speed: and there was none m Parliament to say them nay. There was too much identity in the matter of both foreign capital generally and of the F.T.Z. between the S.L.F.P. and U.N.P. for the S.L.F.P. to be able to take a plausible oppositional stance. Besides, Mr. Seevali Ratwatte figured too big on the U.N.P. side for Mrs. Bandaranaike herself to be able to retort effectively to Government's mocking taunts.

When the U.N.P. in turn came up with their F.T.Z. legislation, they were found to be thorough in their betrayal. Theirs was an F.T.Z. unlimited; though, characteristically, they presented it as limited in scope. In face of the attacks of the Left, Mr. J. R. Jayawardene, then Prime Minister, blandly admitted that the F.T.Z. was planned by him to give complete freedom of exploitative operation to the international robber barons; that is to say, especially the multi-national or

transnational companies. He said he would keep the rest of the country free for his own "socialist" operations.

The fact is that lie didn't and couldn't keep the rest of the country free for his operations, "socialist" or otherwise. His F.T.Z. was not even geographically limited: it was extensible by multiplication and it spilt over into the rest of the country through special agreements with enterprises not confined to the declared geographical zone. And he found that what he bad done was not attractive enough to big foreign private capital, which was his quarry. Cheap and educated labour was not enough. The financial and other reforms, including heavy devaluation; the 'liberalisation' which threw Sri Lanka wide open to the exploitative operations of

international capital in the world market; the abandonment of nationalisation and the

substitution process in manufacturing industry and even in agriculture – all this too, though welcomed by tile international agencies of imperialism, was not enough. Big foreign private capital wanted security; absolute security! Which meant the right of unhindered exploitation of local labour and local resources; the right to take away the proceeds and also when there was no more to be got, the right to take away their capital. In short, they wanted a Government that was run in their interests and not in the interests of the people of under-developed Sri Lanka. They wanted unconditional surrender.

Now, the U.N.P. Government has surrendered. That is the meaning and significance of Article 158, which has been smuggled into the Bill after the Select Committee had sent in its own draft. It is a back-door move at the last moment which leaves no time for protest to develop in an yet unobservant and uncomprehending country. By the time what is being done is sufficiently known, it will be too late for effective opposition. The country will be faced with a fait accompli.

It will be a most shameful episode in our history and in the life of Mr. J. R. Jayawardene; and one from which it is not easy to recover. One major purpose of the constitutional changes is to make constitutional change itself so difficult as to be nearly impossible. And this provision, which is nothing less than a betrayal – indeed, a sale – of our sovereignty and independence to foreign capital, is in the Constitution! It is a Machiavellian stroke; a brain-wave worthy of Mephistopheles.

What is happening should be clearly and widely understood. This country is paying with its sovereignty, freedom and national independence for the already widely-regretted electoral error of giving the U.N.P. monopoly power in Parliament one year ago. The U.N.P., open agency of the neo-compradores, whose only ambition is to be servitors of big foreign private capital, has moved further and faster than was perhaps anticipated even by some on the Left. J. R., their captain, will go down in history as the man who sold away once again our hard-won national independence. He will he in line with an old tradition in our history which, in our national pride, many amongst us are apt to forget. The struggle for political independence against imperialism has to start anew. The first need in that struggle is to fight this anti-national, neo-compradore U.N.P. Government relentlessly to the end.

It is no doubt to hamper, hinder and, if possible, hamstring and prevent that struggle that Section 157 too has been smuggled into Chapter XX "General":-

"157 (1). Any Person who advances, attempts, abets, instigates, participates or engages in any conspiracy for the amendment, whether by way of alteration or addition or repeal or replacement of the Constitution or any provision thereof otherwise than in accordance with the provision of Chapter XX ("Amendment of the Constitution"), shall be guilty of an offence and shall by on conviction by a High Court after trial without a jury, be liable to imprisonment for a period not exceeding ten years or a fine or both and shall also forfeit all his property…"

"(3). Where such offence is committed by a recognised political party or any candidate, the nomination paper submitted by such party or the nomination of such candidate, as the case may be, shall be null and void for all purposes whatsoever."

The Leopard is baring both its teeth and its claws. Only the masses in their movement can blunt them.

July 1978