Sunday Times 2
Sri Lanka at crossroads: Democracy and national unity vs. authoritarianism and sectarianism
On December 29 at Kumbukgate in Kurunegala, a gang led by a local politician of the ruling coalition attacked an unarmed group of artistes who were exercising their democratic right of expressing support for the opposition presidential candidate.
The sordid details of this ugly and undemocratic act need not detain us here. Rather the point that we wish to underscore is that while local artistes were being given the third degree treatment in theKurunegala district, the President was welcoming in Colombo a Bollywood box office ‘star’ imported to boost his flagging campaign.
The contrast could not have been sharper. Our own artistes have no freedom of expression. Their foreign counterparts (assuming a box office ‘star’ may be considered an artiste!) are given free rein, with red carpet welcomes to boot.
This single isolated incident serves to capture not only the dissonance of the Rajapaksa campaign but also the profound decay and degeneration of our ‘political culture’.
On January 8, Sri Lankans will make a historic decision, the outcome of which will determine the future direction of our country and society. Will we continue to repose our trust in a vile administration that is guilty of flouting even the basic norms of democracy or will we opt for a fresh start that holds the promise of a more refined and fluent governance style?
Amid rising election law violations, it is alleged that Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya has been reduced to a hapless public servant deprived of government support to do his job efficiently and effectively
As every discerning observer of the passing political scene knows, the decay and degeneration is systemic and not limited solely to the conduct of elections that are violent and manipulated. These gross misdemeanours at election time are glaringly illustrative of the overall vulgar horror that pervades all of the enterprises of the Rajapaksa administration. This decay and degeneration have spread like a canker throughout the body politic of our country and led to the general degradation of such vital sectors as governance, the administration of justice, management of public enterprises, the relationship between government and private business, institutions of education from primary, secondary to the tertiary levels, health care and every other aspect of public life that tangibly impact on the welfare of the people.
Good governance
Good governance is a concept that is broad and sweeping. It encompasses within it all that is congenial to the betterment of public life. Critics partial to the Government have attempted to denigrate good governance on the grounds that it is an ‘imported’ alien concept. This criticism, to put it mildly, is laughable. Governing a country with scrupulous adherence to the laws and ethos of the land with the welfare of every citizen in mind is very much in harmony with our indigenous traditions and values. The concept of Dhamma encapsulates righteousness.
In the Agganna Sutta of the Digha Nikaya, the Buddha clearly underscores the importance of a virtuous and efficient ruler for socio-political progress. The definition of a king or ruler as given in the Agganna Sutta is ‘one who makes others happy by righteousness’.
The Buddha has also spoken of the Dasavidha Raja Dharma (Ten Royal Virtues) that a ruler should ideally abide by. A close perusal of these virtues which include Charity, Morality, Altruism, Honesty, Rectitude, Self-discipline, Forbearance, Non-violence, Magnanimity and Benevolence will indicate that they are as good if not better than any ideas on good governance that the West has come up with.
The problem that we in Sri Lanka are up against is that most of our rulers, the current lot in particular, violate consistently every one of these Ten Royal Virtues that have traditionally been accepted in our culture as an integral part of governance of any morally responsible ruler throughout our near 3,000 year history. We Sri Lankans are thus heirs to a sophisticated set of principles in regard to civilised governance that are embedded in our long history, religion and culture. Hence the arguments of those who seek to defend the indefensible and make excuses for Rajapaksa (mis)rule by alleging that ‘good governance’ is an alien Western concept that has no relevance to us need to be dismissed with the contempt that they deserve.
The Western concept of good governance is based on the essence of democracy where decisions are made with the participation of citizens to arrive at a consensus based on accountability and transparency. Adherence to the rule of law and inclusivity are also crucial to good governance.
The concept as a whole has a strong orientation towards modern democracy. The ten-fold virtues of a ruler are much more integrated and have a much stronger moral basis. But these two sets of concepts have much in common. For example, non-violence is the very basis of human rights. True democracy is inconceivable without self-discipline, tolerance, and integrity. Good economic governance requires honesty and benevolence. The basis for progressive taxation and poverty alleviation is benevolence.
Underpinning all aspects of good governance is morality. No amount of laws will make a society a good and civilised society unless there is morality. Morality cannot be legislated. It is a value that all citizens must cultivate diligently and one which society as a whole needs to respect and live by. It is the extraordinary absence of morality that underpins the rampant uncivilised behaviour that we witness today in our society. There are plenty of examples that we can cite to support this argument. We shall take a few salient examples for purposes of illustration.
Rule of Law and Justice.
Rule of Law and justice will prevail in a society so long as both the rulers and the ruled show respect for them. In the absence of a sense of decency and self-discipline, a society will not be moral and upright. The sacking of Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake was possible only because our government had turned immoral and unjust. That flawed impeachment process by which the Chief Justice was removed illustrates the extreme politicisation of our judiciary that in turn led to a flagrant violation of due process. The case of Deputy Minister Nishantha Muthuhettigama who violated the law with impunity and was allowed to leave the country from the VIP lounge of the Colombo airport no less is something that would happen only in a country where neither morality nor integrity is respected in the conduct of public affairs.
Election campaign
That the Government has violated the Presidential Elections Act No. 15 of 1981 is a well-established fact. The Elections Commissioner has been reduced to a hapless public servant deprived of government support to do his job efficiently and effectively. How has our self-proclaimed virtuous President conducted himself? Abominably, is the short answer to this question. Under President Rajapaksa’s watch, state resources have been misused for election purposes on a scale that is unprecedented in this country. The violence that has been unleashed to-date on political opponents shows a near total absence of integrity, self-discipline, tolerance and ahimsa.
Child malnutrition
In Sri Lanka in 2009 (latest year for which data is available) of those children in the age group 3 months to 59 months, 21% were moderately or severely underweight, another 19% stunted (inadequate height for age), and 12% were wasted (inadequate weight for height). About 20% of babies were born with low birth-weight because pregnant mothers could not afford nutritional food. In the light of these grim statistics, no government that considers itself moral would consider spending Rs. 27 billion obtained as a loan from China on a grossly underused international airport. Neither would it import Lamborghinis that are worth Rs. 30 million each before tax for the merriment of a few. These monies could surely have been used instead to help one of the most vulnerable groups of our society — babies and small children and expectant mothers of our poor. How debased we have become as a society!
Economic growth
Sri Lanka has produced in recent years a fairly decent economic growth rate that has averaged about 6 to 7% per year. From the point of view of efficient use of scarce available resources, the economic performance that these figures represent, if we are to be charitable, may be described as poor. For example, multi billion rupee no-bid contracts at rates that are double, treble or even quadruple the true cost are a gross waste of tax money.
In Sri Lanka, the poor pay higher proportion of their income in taxes than the rich do. The reason is simple. Government relies on commodity taxes for 80% of its revenue and on income taxes for only 20%. Commodity taxes on, say, food or clothing, by definition impose a higher burden on the poorer people. For example, a person who buys a pair of shoes priced at Rs. 2,000 with his monthly income of Rs. 20,000 pays a tax of 10% (Rs. 200) which is 1% of his income as tax. But if somebody who earns Rs. 100,000 a month buys the same pair of shoes the tax of Rs. 200 would be only 0.2% (or one fifth) of the share of his/her income. Since the government collects most of its taxes in the way that is described above, it is grossly dishonest and utterly immoral to inflate contracts paid for with tax money to benefit politicians, contactors and wheeler-dealers.
Bad policy decisions
Sri Lanka is a nation that emerged from colonial rule as a free nation in 1948 with significant strengths. The economy was strong and our foreign reserves then were substantial. The country was peaceful. Democratic governance introduced in 1931 was beginning to deepen and grow. Literacy was relatively high. Schools and a health care system funded by the state made our country a model social welfare state among the less well-off countries of the world. The future looked bright.
Unfortunately, the country took several wrong turns in the course of the next few decades. One was the flawed implementation of the language policy of 1956 that divided the nation along ethnic lines. Another was our “socialist” economic policy that discouraged private enterprise in preference to a state-controlled economy that eventually led to the near collapse of our economy in the mid 1970s.
JR right and wrong
J.R. Jayewardene, without damagingly dismantling the welfare state, made a course correction with regard to economic policy in 1977 by scaling back the role of the state and allowing the private sector to grow. That policy continues to remain in place and is currently in need of certain modifications in the light of global changes that have occurred in the first decade and half of the 21st century.
For all of his good work on the economic front, the gravest political error that Jayewardene committed was in his creation of the all-powerful executive presidency. That over-mighty institution together with the flawed language policy of S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike unleashed a set of forces that led to a bloody civil war that lasted nearly three decades. It also helped in the creation of an unhealthy system of governance that today has become both more corrupt and authoritarian than any of its predecessors.
8th of January
On January 8, we have an opportunity to choose between two dramatically different paths. The country is badly divided and polarised. Mahinda Rajapaksa offers more of the same that has been on offer since 2005. As most of the non-Sinhala segment of our electorate has lost confidence in Mr. Rajapaksa, he in turn has to rely almost exclusively on the Sinhala community for electoral success. The prospects for more democratic and inclusive politics that would change Sri Lanka from a post-war to a post-conflict country will thus be bleak should candidate Rajapaksa succeed in securing a third term as president.
In 2009, after the war ended President Rajapaksa had a glorious opportunity to make this country a model post-conflict state that all decent and politically mature Sri Lankans wish for. Friends of Sri Lanka in the world outside of our shores were willing and eager to help us and welcome us into such a blissful state. Mahinda Rajapaksa, sadly, opted to remain a mere politician instead of becoming a statesman beloved of all of Sri Lanka’s citizens and respected by those outside. Talk of missed opportunities!
Now Maithripala Sirisena heads a coalition of forces that consists of the UNP, a section of the SLFP, the JHU, the Democratic Party and others. The Tamil and Muslim political parties and formations have also declared their support for him. Compared to the UPFA that has little non-Sinhala support, Mr. Sirisena’s coalition is a diverse and formidable political force that is truly representative of the diversity of our country. It is multi-ethnic and multi-religious. It has the support of a cross-section of urban and rural communities, and of citizens from different socio-economic backgrounds.
The JHU with its Sinhala nationalist credentials can play a decisive role in the harnessing of support of the Sinhala voters for national reconciliation. The thoughtful leadership of Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera and Champika Ranawaka bring to mind the attempt that Ariel Sharon made in Israel as Prime Minister (2001-06) to bring a rapprochement between the Jews and the Palestinians.
The TNA and the Muslim parties can paly a similar role in respect of their own communities.
Nobody should be under the illusion that such a disparate coalition of forces would find it easy to agree on a common programme of action. But the strength of this coalition lies in its diversity. Mr. Sirisena has promised to form an all-party national government to address some of the most fundamental issues that Sri Lanka faces. That such a programme is difficult to formulate is obvious. But what Sri Lanka needs today is precisely such a programme to forge ahead as a united and democratic entity where every citizen, regardless of gender, ethnicity and religion, has a decent opportunity to partake of the fruits of socio-economic advancement. It is, therefore, up to the people of Sri Lanka to make a wise decision on January 8.