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Sajith Premadasa’s salutary call to refrain from causing ethnic strife in the pursuit of political power
View(s):One of the most striking features of Presidential Election campaign 2019 has been the absence of a discourse on the critical concerns that the country has been faced with. Usually, a National Election should provide the opportunity for the candidates to articulate their own vision of what trajectory the country should take, and attempt to convince the public that the policies they espouse will best serve the interests of the nation.
In the past, particularly in the ’60s and ’70s, the rival parties would provide the voter with the option of choosing between diverse policies and strategies for development. For instance, the UNP would canvas for capitalist policies, while the Left parties would argue that socialist policies would better serve the needs of a developing country. The UNP and like minded groups would argue that an economic structure that allows for the free interplay of market forces is more appropriate for Sri Lanka, while the Left would argue that, only when the commanding heights of the economy is in the hands of the State, that the interests of the poor and marginalised would be better served.
The SLFP would, instead, offer the country a set of middle path policies, where the shortcomings of the competing interests of Capitalism and Socialism would be mitigated by choosing the middle ground, while ensuring that development needs were met, simultaneously ensuring that the poorer sections of society are not deprived of social justice. One of the leading lights of the SLFP and a Minister in several Governments, T. B. Ilangaratne, coined the phrase “practical socialism”, to describe the policies of his party.
However, in recent times, and more particularly, after the Executive Presidency was installed, there has been a greater focus on the individual, rather than on policies. The individual-centred politics that has characterized Presidential Elections, has also contributed to a great deal of acrimony being generated between rival candidates and rival campaigns. The electorate has been deprived of the opportunity to evaluate and decide on the basis of alternative models of governance.
The 2019 Presidential Election campaign fairly accurately reflects this state of play. Most candidates offer a list of promises, without any attempt to explain to the voter the merits of the proposals they are putting forward. For example, there is a scramble to offer free or subsidized fertilizer for agriculture, without a discussion of the merits or otherwise, of chemical fertiliser. This is all the more glaring because, after the advent of the Yahapalana Government, this issue has been the subject of public debate. Concrete steps had been taken during the past few years, under President Maitripala Sirisena’s leadership, to minimise the use of chemical fertiliser.
One of the most unfortunate features of the Presidential Election campaign of 2019 has been the communal nature of the strategies adopted to achieve victory. One cannot recall an election during the 70 years after Independence, where efforts have been made to so unashamedly appeal to the baser instincts of the voter, merely for electoral advantage. Any attempt to harness minority votes have been immediately dubbed as a move to divide the country or cause harm to the Sinhalese or Buddhists. Some politicians constantly lace their speeches with phrases such as “Demala Bedumwadaya” or “Islam Wahabwadaya”, merely to create insecurity and fear among the Sinhalese and Buddhists, and to translate such fears into votes for their candidate.
These hate campaigns have been somewhat muted in recent days, ostensibly, until the election campaign is over. What is most worrying from the perspective of the National Interest is, how much of it is being pursued below the radar. Irrespective of the outcome of the Presidential Elections, the spewing of such hate can, in the long run, harm the psyche of the Nation, in a manner that will make it extremely difficult to reverse.
The outcome of elections since Independence, has shown that the Sinhalese and Buddhists have usually refrained from voting on communal lines. But constantly raising the bogey of threats and harm to the Sinhalese and Buddhists is designed to play on the fears and insecurities of the innocent voter, who may not have the time or capability of ascertaining the truth, or otherwise, of the propaganda of such hate mongers.
The usual suspects from among the ranks of those who constantly portray the minorities in the most disparaging terms, such as the Bodhu Bala Sena, Sinhala Ravaya, Ravana Balaya, Mahason Balakaya, Wimal Weerawansa, Udaya Gamanpila and a host of others too numerous to mention, are all in the campaign of Gothabaya Rajapaksa. The failure of the SLPP candidate to counter the hate campaign of his supporters, except to state that he will ensure National Security and thereby, look after them, will not inspire confidence among the minorities.
Even the handful of minority politicians backing Gothabaya Rajapaksa are more interested in making statements that please the hardliners in the majority community, rather than present cogent arguments for the candidate of their choice.
In contrast, Sajith Premadasa has successfully projected himself as a unifying factor for all communities. While repeatedly assuring the Sinhalese and Buddhists that he will ensure their interests, he has not hesitated to state with equal vehemence, that he will ensure that all minorities will be treated equally and fairly.
One of the high points of Sajith Premadasa’s campaign must be the letter he addressed to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday. In a very well drafted missile, Sajith Premadasa has pointed out that the political coalition that Mr. Rajapaksa leads is packed with every breed of extremists Sri Lanka has seen.
He goes on to state that he cannot fathom how a political leader of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s maturity and, one who has witnessed the devastation wrought by endless strife, could continue to sow seeds of division and fan the flames of fear, in the pursuit of power.
Sajith Premadasa goes on to advise the former President that it was his duty, as much as it is his ( Premadasa’s) to reach out across ethnic and religious divisions, unite all Sri Lankans and move forward together, and to refrain from seducing the country’s citizenry into turning on each other for petty political gain.
It will be interesting to see how the Gothabaya Rajapaksa camp responds to this challenge from the Premadasa corner. (javidyusuf@gmail.com)