Making myself heard in Parliament and NGO role in peace process

Excerpted from vol. 3 of the Sarath Amunugama autbiography

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In Gomba facing Mount Fuji (Photo by Rukman Senanayake)

(Rukman Senanayake)

The main manner of communication in Parliament is through speeches delivered in the House on Government business and the responses of the Opposition before a vote is taken to ratify those proposals or to disallow them.

This is considered to be a democratic procedure since the House must approve — by majority vote - any expenditure of funds which are collected from the people. The principle of "No taxation without representation" was established in the face of a British sovereign's right to levy taxes. The approval of appropriations is the right of Parliament as seen in the title of the annual budget which is" The Appropriations Bill".

As rookie MPs we were very keen to participate in debates in the House. Usually it is the party leader who decides on his speakers list which is sent to the Speaker at the beginning of the days business so that the work of the House can be conducted in an orderly manner. With Gamini as leader and with my previous experience as a public servant and UN official, I could ask for a speaking slot with confidence while other new comers tended to bide their time. Thus I was listed as a speaker in the very first debate of the CBK regime which was on the new anti-bribery and corruption law. Many seniors were reluctant to intervene in this debate as they had many things to hide. Indeed the gossip in Parliament was that the new law would permit the arrest of Gamini on a corruption charge and thereby disqualify him from contesting the forthcoming Presidential contest with CBK.