Parliament

Controversial Bill passed amid howls of protests
By Chandani Kirinde, Our Lobby Correspondent
When Speaker Joseph Michael Perera quipped on Friday that the Members of Parliament were turning the August assembly into a "kolam maduwak", he probably echoed the sentiments of school children who have been flocking in record numbers to see the workings of the local legislature.

Where else would the Speaker have to repeatedly ask MPs to take their seats, not to talk out of line, pay heed to the Chair and even conclude that some of them were suffering from "kiri panu gaya?" It was the controversial Intellectual Property Bill, moved in Parliament on Wednesday that caused much of the uproar in the House but the government managed to push it through despite strong objections from the PA and the JVP.

Although the government claimed the Bill had been amended in keeping with the recommendations of the Supreme Court, opposition legislators charged that the government had introduced several new clauses that were not in the original bill.

When Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Ravi Karunanayake moved the second reading of the Bill on Wednesday, JVP Colombo district parliamentarian Wimal Weerawansa and Chief Opposition Whip Mangala Samaraweera both objected to it saying that as the government was proposing many major changes to the Bill that was submitted to the Supreme Court for determination which makes it almost a new one.
"The government must re-gazette this Bill and let members of civil society take a look at it before it's passed," Mr.Weerawansa said.

However, Leader of the House W.J.M.Lokubandara said the amendments suggested by the Supreme Court had been made and hence there was no need for a further delay in passing the Bill. Many arguments erupted and it was finally decided to debate the Bill.
Minister Karunanayake said the Bill would help Sri Lanka move ahead with international economies and help integrate "little Sri Lanka" with the rest of the world. "We are moving into a knowledge based economy and this Bill is a landmark piece of legislation," he said.

Gampaha district UNP MP Ravindra Randeniya said the Bill would be of great benefit to artistes as their intellectual property rights are being violated blatantly in the country. "Today unscrupulous people are exploiting the rights of actors, singers, writers etc. Their works are being exploited and they do not benefit in any manner," he said.
Mr. Randeniya said that some of the most popular singers in Sri Lanka, such as Amaradeva and Nanda Malini, have had their songs distorted and re-recorded but they are helpless to act against the offenders. However once the Bill becomes law, they would have legal protection.

PA Kandy district MP D.M. Jayaratne said there were numerous local inventors and they needed to be given protection so that people from developed nations would not exploit their inventions.

"This Bill has international implications but it must be used for the benefit of the local population. Patenting of products must be done very carefully," he said. Although the second reading of the Bill was passed without much objection on Wednesday, at the committee stage - at which point amendments are introduced to a Bill - the situation became chaotic.

The committee stage had been fixed for Friday as the opposition sought time to study the amendments that the government was seeking to introduce. Normally, the second and third readings of the Bill are done in one day.

The main objection by the Opposition was that the government had failed to make the necessary amendments to the Bill as suggested by the Supreme Court. They asked for a vote by division for several of the amendments but the government managed to get them passed quite comfortably with some support from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) members present in the House as well. However, the whole exercise was conducted amid shouts of protests by the opposition and the voice of Minister Karunanayake was barely audible amidst the confusion as he read out the amendments to the Bill.

At most times even the Speaker's voice could barely be heard as he tried to maintain order in the chambers. All that could be heard was the name calling by members on both sides of the House.

The Bill was eventually passed with a vote of 99 for and 59 against the motion but that did not stop the opposition protests as members sought an hour for an adjournment motion on the creation of the Railway Authority. The Speaker however ruled that there was only ten minutes left for the day's proceedings and adjourned the House.

On Friday, JVP’s Wimal Weerawansa made a special statement to Parliament seeking clarification from the government on the proposals for the creation of an interim administration for the North and East and asked for all the details to be divulged to the House.

Opposition leader Mahinda Rajapakse also raised in the House the sudden decision of the government to create the Railway Authority using a law that had been passed by the previous UNP regime in 1993.

"The government must seriously re-consider this move that will result in a service as valuable as the railways being lost to the people. This is another ploy by the government to privatise the railways," Mr.Rajapakse charged.

With another much talked about Bill coming up in parliament in the first week of August, the Land Ownership Bill, the divisive politics between the government and the two main opposition parties are set to continue.

Back to Columns