Reading news from Sri Lanka is depressing. Suffering of the people due to cost of living, loss of employment or small businesses, breakdown of welfare assistance from the government are some of the reasons. News from daily life of the people is also disheartening, full of crime, family violence, cheating, drug use, and stealing. All these are symptoms of a deeper crisis in society and a breakdown of a value system.
The day-to-day language that people use, as evident from some teledramas, and social media is also clear sign of social degeneration. Under these circumstances no one can blame the youth and the educated who try to migrate to other countries for living or for work.
The behaviour, the actions and the explanations of the politicians are a deeper reflection of the situation for they are also mainly responsible for the country’s deepening crisis. Take the example of the President. It is the duty and the responsibility of a country’s leader to reveal and explain his or her positions to the country, and even to the international community, about important policy matters.
In a democracy, there is nothing more important than elections. It was well known that local government elections were due in March. First, the President was obliquely silent. Then he started joking about it saying, ‘there is no election to be postponed!’
There is no problem to the people that this President is a jovial man. But there should be a limit. He should not repeat his Royal Collage jokes especially when the country is in dire straits. It is good that he often appears in Parliamentary debates. But his behaviour, arguments and jokes in those debates are reprehensible.
When he was appointed as the Prime Minister by Gotabaya Rajapaksa, he even joked about the economy. He said ‘We invite tourists. They even can join the Protests!’ He even joked about the former British Queen just two days before her death which was condemned by many international journalists. What a Joker! It is difficult to believe that he is serious about democracy or the economy. It is more difficult to believe that he will be trusted by the IMF although they might give priority to the country.
There is no doubt that compared to many other political leaders of the country he has some economic knowledge and experience. As a Minister (Finance or in charge of the economy) he can be good. But as the President of the country, he has so far proved to be hopeless, useless, and intolerable.
The local government system in Sri Lanka has a long history as Gam Sabha (village councils). It is not something just introduced by the British. Both the Colebrook Commission and the Donoughmore Commission acknowledged their importance. However, it was the British who introduced franchise to the system now under threat from the President. From what heritage has he got this undemocratic orientation?
Of course, there are some weaknesses within the local government system. But who created them? Present day politicians have done so. One of the major weaknesses of the present-day politicians is their rigmarole manner in addressing crucial economic, political and social problems. They appoint committees (or commissions) and committees and produce reports and reports. They lack common sense, principles and practicalities. They change positions very easily and forget what they said or promised even the last week! The reason is that they have come to politics for opportunistic purposes. Under the present ‘preferential voting’ system, it is difficult for the ordinary, the educated and genuine people to come into politics unless they go behind the opportunistic leaders.
The present President has a more precise heritage. It is not directly related to his family except they all were rich and cherished personal wealth directly and indirectly. Ranil Wickremesinghe’s heritage is more of something created by him. It is about power, glory and perhaps fun. He has been the Prime Minister five times in the past without delivering much, except creating crisis from crisis. Can he deny that he was involved in Batalanda torture chambers, and violence? This was revealed by a commission, although no action was taken against him.
There is a major task in the country to reform and reorient the youth for democratic processes and encourage them for positive, creative, and responsible activities. This cannot be done unless the established political parties and leaders like Wickremesinghe, Kumaratunga or Premadasa take a positive attitude. The universities, academics, and civil society organizations (NGOs) also can play a pivotal role in this endeavour if they free themselves from narrow party politics or similar orientations. A constructively worked out strategy is necessary.
In sabotaging the local government elections, planned to be held on 9 March, the reason given was lack of funds. However, millions were spent on Independence Day celebrations for the armed forces. Instead of the military, school children should have been mobilised for the occasion. The election is not an ‘essential service,’ according to the President. The Speaker has agreed however now to allow the Parliament to put forward a resolution to allocate necessary funds for the local government elections. Parliament is supreme. If it is approved (no doubt) the elections could be held somewhere in April.
However, there are other matters to be considered. Majority of the trade unions are on (token) strike on 1 March against the new high taxation and coercion against the working class. The situation reminds of the year 1980 where the present President’s maha-guru (big teacher), J. R. Jayewardene took measures to attack the working people and the trade union movement as a measure of economic reform. This is again the trend today.
Under the present circumstances, it might be good for the country to go for an overall political change by holding both Presidential and Parliamentary elections together and look for a new economic agenda with the support of the international community and closely friendly countries like India, China, Japan, EU, and other countries. This will save money and possibly bring a new agenda for democracy and development.