The constitutional path to tyranny is a well-worn one; its many previous travellers include a former corporal named Adolf Hitler.Sri Lanka took a giant leap along this path with the 18th Amendment. The Divineguma Bill, prepared in equal secrecy and propelled with similar unseemly haste, constitutes the second gigantic leap.

The 1978 Constitution created an overweening executive. The 13th and 17th Amendments sought to correct the resulting power-imbalance. The 17th Amendment was a 100% home-grown product; the consequent absence of a foreign protector enabled the Rajapaksas to hatchet it, with the 18th Amendment.

The 13th Amendment remains a major impediment to the Rajapaksa-project. The siblings do not dare to decapitate it at one go, because it was an Indian construct. Instead, they will undermine it, measure by measure, until devolution evaporates.

To understand the Divineguma Bill, ignore the rhetoric and study the budgetary figures. Ministry of Defence and Urban Development, (under Mahinda and Gotabhaya Rajapaksa) will get the biggest financial chunk in 2013 as well. Currently, only Rs. 88.9 billion is allocated to Brother Basil's Ministry of Economic Development. Once the Divineguma Bill is through, the new mega-Divineguma Department will be given Rs. 80 billion. This massive financial-injection will make Brother Basil's fiefdom second only to Brother Gotabaya's, in terms of budgetary allocations.

According to the Bill, all Divineguma employees will have to sign a secrecy-clause. Such a requirement, while normal in matters defence, is utterly abnormal in matters development. This clause is another step in infusing (anti-democratic) military ethos into the economy and turning development into the new 'war' (this transmutation will enable the regime to affix the 'terrorist-label' to anyone opposed to its development projects - be it urban poor, farmers, professionals or environmentalists). The secrecy-clause will also give Minister Rajapaksa a carte blanche over that gigantic stash of cash.

The Bill also mandates the creation of several layers of unelected organisations from the Grama Niladhari division upwards, another Rajapaksa army, 'waiting for a sign'. In a familial state, all of this is as it should be.

Last week all elected provincial councils approved the Bill. The succumbing of the SLMC was an expected shock. By gifting the Eastern PC to the UPFA and approving the devolution-denuding Divineguma Bill, the SLMC opted for that kamikaze-path taken by the old left and the JVP; discredit, fraction and irrelevance is the invariable fate of any party which becomes the subaltern partner of the SLFP.

The only remaining obstacle to the Rajapaksa power-grab is the Northern PC. The democratic solution would be to have elections and let the elected-council decide on the Bill. But the Rajapaksas would know that the UPFA and its Tamil proxies will not be able to win the Northern PC without an unaffordably massive electoral highway-robbery. So the regime will argue that the Governor can decide. Since the Governor is a presidential-appointee, his decision is a foregone conclusion. Hopefully the matter will be referred to the Court. Hopefully Rajapaksa attempts to subjugate the Judiciary will fail.

If the Bill becomes law, it will open the anti-democratic floodgates. Other Rajapaksa-strengthening measures will follow, such as the Bill to subordinate the CMC and several other councils to a mammoth 'Corporation' under Gotabaya Rajapaksa; and the amendment to empower the regime to acquire any land by declaring it of religious/economic import.

And tyranny will become an everyday experience.

The Rajapaksas (like Vellupillai Pirapaharan) are guilty of what the late great historian Eric Hobsbwam termed "a strategically blind maximalism" (Revolutionaries).The Divineguma Bill tells the Tamils that the regime is hell-bent on obliterating devolution. When the same government which denies the very existence of an ethnic problem and scrapped the national anthem in Tamil denudes the provincial councils of their power, it will inadvertently accord the dead Vellupillai Pirapaharan a prophetic-mantle. The LTTE always maintained that in its absence, Colombo will render Tamils powerless. The Divineguma Bill will create a host of receptive ears for that deadly message.

The government, by bending the SLMC to its will over the Bill, has sent the wrong message to the Muslims as well. Schisms will follow the SLMC's stark inability to defend its mandate; irrelevance may be its end. The question is: what sort of entity will replace the SLMC in the East?

The SLMC, for all its lacunae, is a democratic party firmly committed to peaceful methods. Its successor might not be either, at least to the same degree. An ethno-religious enemy may benefit the Rajapaksas, because there is nothing like a 'threat' to justify those despotic-powers and tyrannical-practices needed to bolster familial rule. But another alienated minority is the last thing Sri Lanka needs. Divineguma, India and China

During his recent visit to Delhi, President Rajapaksa was reminded again of the need for a political solution. The Divineguma Bill, if it is bulldozed through without being approved by an elected Northern PC, will render a reasonable political solution impossible and embarrass Delhi.

A series of mutually offsetting balancing acts is what often passes for India's policy towards Sri Lanka. Delhi wants to keep Colombo out of a Beijing-Islamabad axis and further Indian economic interests, without antagonising Tamil Nadu. In this context the interests of Lankan Tamils are often just asides and afterthoughts (for this de-prioritisation, the LTTE's murderous conduct was considerably responsible). For instance, 8,000 Sampur residents were reportedly evicted (forcibly) to make way for an Indian-funded coal power plant and a Special Economic Zone. This rank injustice is a perfect example of cohabitation by Indian and Lankan establishments to further mutual economic interests, at the expense of thousands of hapless Tamils. While the elected representatives of those Tamils downplay the iniquity, for fear of antagonising Delhi!

This absence of a coherent Lankan policy has created loopholes for irresponsible extremist elements in Tamil Nadu to engage in juvenile and violent practices, such as the attack on innocent pilgrims to a Christian shrine. Delhi's tolerance of Chennai's Tamil extremism is the concomitant flipside of its tolerance of Rajapaksas' Sinhala supremacism. The 'Do nothing' policy applies both ways; Delhi ignores or glosses over the Rajapaksa regime's many broken promises even as it gives Tamil Nadu a semi carte blanche to perform anti-Colombo antics.

Its inability to save the 13th Amendment may propel an embarrassed Delhi into greater tolerance of Tamil Nadu extremism; plus ensuring that Sri Lanka's UPR report is more unfavourable than favourable. In return the Rajapaksas will cling tighter to the Chinese. The sudden outbreak of virulent animosity between China and Japan over Diaoyu Islands is an indication that Beijing's conflictual international relations extend beyond Washington and Delhi. Not the most sensible time for a small Asian nation to be identified as a Chinese-satellite.

The patron-client relationship with Beijing is essential for Rajapaksa power and survival.

But for Sri Lanka it can open an unnecessary Pandora's Box. Let us not forget that the Cold War was fought most destructively not in the US, the USSR or Europe but in client Third World states.

The Sri Lankan government has commenced a campaign to promote the country ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo this November. Secretary of the External Affairs Ministry Karunatilaka Amunugama said the government will also attend a meeting to be held at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London this week. He has explained that Media Ministry Secretary Charitha Herath would be heading the publicity team in Sri Lanka while Sri Lankan High Commission missions overseas are also carrying out separate campaigns ahead of the summit. External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris had also briefed his Ministry staff last week on the preparations for the summit in November.

China Development Bank Corporation will lend $580 million to Sri Lanka to help implement key infrastructure projects, a government document released on Wednesday showed. The loan will bring CDB's total lending to Sri Lanka to more than US$1.4 billion. China's increasing influence in the island nation has stoked concerns in neighboring India. According to the document, $300 million of the loan will be spent on developing roads and $200 million on water supply projects, with the rest going to the national business school. It said CDB had already extended $652 million for road development projects and $214 million for an irrigation project. The loan announcement comes ahead of a four-day official visit to China by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa has requested all MPs to be present in Parliament when Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra addresses the House on May 31. The request from the Speaker was read to the House by Deputy Speaker Chandima Weerakkody yesterday. He said that PM Shinawatra would address the House at 2. 45 pm on May 31, on a special request by Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa. Security in and around Parliament had been increased and the MPs' rooms and lockers would be inspected by the members of the security forces on May 30 and 31 as a part of those security arrangements. On that day the public gallery would be open only for invitees.

Leader of the National Freedom Front - Minister Wimal Weerawansa, who was recently hospitalized, has been discharged last night (22). He was admitted to the Colombo Nawaloka Hospital four days ago. Doctors had said that the flu that the minister was suffering from had led to pneumonia. Doctors have advised him to rest for a few days, reports say.

A further 31 Sri Lankan irregular maritime arrivals are being returned to Colombo after failing to meet Australia's international obligations, Australia's Immigration and Citizenship Minister Brendan O'Connor said. The group departed Christmas Island on Wednesday to be flown back to the Sri Lankan capital. Their return takes the number of Sri Lankans sent home to 1161 - 950 of them involuntarily - since August last year. Mr O'Connor said returning the group to Sri Lankans sends a powerful message. 'The Gillard Government is making it crystal clear that those who pay smugglers are throwing their money away and risking their lives in the process,' Mr O'Connor said.

The Sri Lankan government on Wednesday said that it will use a key Commonwealth summit in November to showcase the post-war developments in the country. The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) will be held in Sri Lanka in November this year, and heads of state from almost all the Commonwealth countries, including Britain's Prince Charles, will attend the summit. The Sri Lankan Ministry of External Affairs said that Sri Lanka will be able to show the developments following a three-decade separatist terrorist conflict and the vast economic opportunities available in the country.

High Commissioner of India Ashok K. Kantha (left) and Minister of Industry & Commerce of Sri Lanka Rishad Bathiudeen at the launch of the Handbook on Indo-Lanka FTA in Colombo. Outgoing Indian High Commissioner Ashok K. Kantha says Sri Lanka needed to enter into a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) between the two countries, more so than India did, because economic growth prospects are linked with that of Asia and the ASEAN grouping. "The rest of the world does not wait for us. India has signed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPAs) with many other countries. I myself was involved in launching CEPA talks with Japan, Korea and Malaysia and all three came to fruition. Therefore I feel little uncomfortable that there are so many completely baseless apprehensions about a more comprehensive framework in forming business relations with other countries.

The Indian Housing Project was launched on the ground in the Eastern Province today jointly by Hon. Basil Rajapaksa, Minister of Economic Development and H.E. Ashok K. Kantha, High Commissioner of India. In events organized at three different locations in Batticaloa district, certificates were handed over to some of the selected beneficiaries. Hon. Basheer Segudawood, Minister of Productivity Promotion, Hon. M.L.A.M. Hizbullah, Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Hon. V. Muralitharan, Deputy Minister of Resettlement, Hon. Rear Admiral (Retd.) Mohan Wijewickrama, Governor of Eastern Province, Hon. Najeeb Abdul Majeed, Chief Minister of Eastern Province and Hon.

UNP and Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said, in Parliament yesterday, that the government was getting ready to arrest a number of UNP politicians who participated in a workshop coordinated by the Friedrich Neumann Foundation. The Opposition Leader said that the issue would be taken to international fora and the MPs who attended the workshop had been accused of trying to overthrow the government. "Yes, we are trying to topple this government but that is through democratic means, through electoral process, by the ballot. That is our sole right as the Opposition. Now, the government has got the CID to harass our MPs accusing them of trying to topple the government through undemocratic means."

A controversial Buddhist organization in Sri Lanka, the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), says that the government had not made sufficient effort to reconnect with the Tamil people following the end of the war. BBS General Secretary Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thero said although the government built roads and developed the infrastructure in the North, it would not win the hearts of the people. Explaining that the war had prevented the Sinhala people from connecting with the Tamil people, the Thero said the BBS wants to build a rapport with the people in the North. According to the Thero, there are over 400 Christian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the country, which did "nothing for these people".

A part of the 50,000 housing aid promised by New Delhi for the war-affected people in the North and East is planned to be used for demographic genocide in the East at the village of Kachchat-kodi in the Paddip-pazhai division of Batticaloa district, according to Eastern Provincial council member R. Thurairatnam. The village, which was predominantly Tamil a few years ago and was affected by displacement during the war, now has 2 new Sinhala Buddhist Viharas constructed and a number of Sinhala families brought from outside settled with the assistance of Buddhist priests.

Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe charged in Parliament today that there was an attempt by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to take in a few UNP MPs for questioning over their participation in a workshop organised by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, a German organisation promoting liberal politics in the world. Mr. Wickremesinghe said the UNP as a party, engaged in electoral politics and undertook training on election campaign management under a workshop conducted by this organisation. He said this Foundation had brought down a resource person to conduct the workshop, ahead of the Northern Provincial Council Election planned to be held in the near future.

External Affairs Minister of Sri Lanka Prof. G.L. Peiris has questioned why Canada is relentlessly trying to stop the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) from being held in Colombo this year. The Minister has told parliament that Canada's stance was due to the influence of LTTE sympathizers in that country. "Why is Sri Lanka pursued relentlessly and castigated by some representatives of the government of Canada. Even though the LTTE is not presented physically their influence is still there," Prof. Peiris has asked. Minister Peiris noted that since October 2011, Canada has attempted to stop the CHOGM from being held in Sri Lanka but all such attempts by Canada had failed as most countries had supported Sri Lanka.

'Misconceptions regarding Buddhists in Sri Lanka are spread worldwide through websites. Now is the time to change those misconceptions which were being spread for the last 30 years, Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa states. The Defence Secretary made these comments addressing a function after opening a student hostel and a Dana Sala, as well as laying the foundation stone for a new hostel and library at the Pravachamodaya Maha Pirivena in Molligoda. The ceremony was held under the auspices of Ven. Ittapane Dhammalankara Anunayake Thera .

Sri Lanka Army has said that it would reduce the number of military camps in former rebel stronghold of northern Jaffna and hand over lands back to their original owners. "We will reduce the existing 17 military camps in Jaffna to just three," Army chief Lt Gen Jagath Jayasuriya said. The fourteen camps pulled out from different parts in Jaffna would be relocated in the main Palaly cantonment, he said yesterday. Lands which located the camps would be handed back to their original owners and lands that would be difficult to be handed back due to national security considerations would be subject to compensation, he said.

Tamara Kunanayakam, Sri Lanka's former Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, was re-elected as Chairperson-Rapporteur of the UN Human Rights Council's Intergovernmental Working Group on the Right to Development, which held its 14th session from 13 to 17 May, in Geneva. This is the third time that Ms. Kunanayakam has been nominated by the Non-Aligned Movement for the post, which is an honorary non-remunerated position, and has received the unanimous support of all members of the United Nations for her expertise on the right to development and her remarkable leadership. This, despite attempts last year by Sri Lankan government to prevent her from presenting the report of the Working Group to the Human Rights Council in Geneva and to the UN General Assembly in New York, through a letter addressed to Navi Pillay and in violation of UN rules and procedures, well informed sources told The Island.

The Prime Minister of Thailand Yingluck Shinawatra is set to address parliament on May 31, Deputy Parliamentary Speaker Chandima Weerakkody stated today (May 22). Addressing the parliament today, Weerakkody said that the Prime Minister of Thailand will address the Sri Lankan parliament on May 31 at 2.45pm.

Vanni District Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarian, Siva Shakthi Anandan, was interrogated by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) sleuths at the fourth floor, over his alleged mobile phone conversations with Tamil detainees at the Vavuniya Prison. Anandan was grilled for more than two hours from 10 a.m. to 12.15 p.m. yesterday. Informed sources said, the CID sleuths had questioned the parliamentarian as to how he developed mobile phone contacts with the Tamil prisoners, who staged a hunger strike, which finally ended in a prison riot at the Vavuniya Prison last year.

The main opposition United National Party (UNP) said yesterday it was considering a change in its stance on power devolution and instead opt for a new system of devolution depending on the will of the people. However, it said as of now it would stick to its policy on power devolution based on the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake told a news conference that his party would listen to the views expressed by the people and propose a system of devolution accordingly. "We will leave this matter to the people," he said.

The TNA yesterday requested the government to take action to "genuinely implement" the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) resolution on "Promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka and to reverse the latter's current actions pertaining to the land issues in the North and East. TNA Leader R. Sampanthan, moving an adjournment motion in Parliament, said that the government's actions had resulted in deterioration of the human rights situation in the North and East. "Two statements were made on the floor of the House on April 09, 2013 by the Leader of the Opposition and the Minister of External Affairs, pertaining to the resolution No: A/HRC/22/L.1 on 'Promoting Reconciliation and Accountability in Sri Lanka' adopted by the Human Rights Council.