SLFP has become chauvinistic

By Mangala Samaraweera, leader Sri Lanka Freedom Party (M). Pix by Luxman Gunathilaka and Saman Kariyawasam.

It was indeed a strange twist of fate. I crossed the floor from the Government to the Opposition benches last Tuesday, exactly 19 years after serving as Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) organiser for Matara. It was on May 19, 1988, the then leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, and the world’s first woman Prime Minister, the late Ms. Sirimavo R.D. Bandaranaike appointed me as the party organiser for Matara.

On May 19, 2007, I was leaving a beloved national institution I cherished, valued and greatly respected. Not because I was abandoning the great virtues that my party stood for. Instead, I was taking the first step in a difficult journey to restore the noble ideals my party was dedicated to. Such ideals, meant for the greater good of so many in our motherland, have been betrayed by so few. By doing so, they have placed both our party and our nation in great peril.

During my 19 years as a politician, I had the opportunity to work closely with the late Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike. Thereafter, I associated closely with her successor, Ms. Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga.

A distinguished hallmark of the SLFP, besides its centrist social democratic principles, was its great tolerance of dissenting views. Despite the late Mrs. Bandaranaike’s autocratic public persona, the Central Committee meetings were full of lively debate. I was a member of this Committee since 1991. Criticism was always taken in the spirit in which it was given. There was no mistrust or suspicion as it is now.

Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, who identified me as an out and out liberal in outlook, allowed unlimited internal democracy. Some Central Committee meetings and Cabinet meetings would go on for five or six hours. The then President, a Sorbonne educated liberal, would argue passionately on one issue or the other. But, finally, she always bowed down to the wishes of the majority. As a vociferous and youthful person then, I always played devil’s advocate. I argued against prevailing trends.

I was never misunderstood nor reprimanded. There were larger hearts but no small minds. Almost all our members appreciated the spirit of internal democracy. This was a strong characteristic of our party. It distinguished us from most others. Today, there is no internal democracy whatsoever in the SLFP. The leadership cannot take an iota of criticism. Persons who express dissenting views are labelled conspirators. I was removed from the Cabinet on February 9. My crime -I dared to question the pernicious dictates of the party leader. An example of the pathetic, servile state our party was demonstrated recently. The SLFP All-Ceylon Executive Committee was summoned hurriedly by telephone. It was to approve the party’s proposals to solve the ethnic conflict. Members were asked to raise their hands to approve a document. They had neither seen it nor been given copies.Many were compelled to wave their hands to signify approval.

This is in marked contrast to 1997. The SLFP All Island Working Committee members were then hosted to a three-day workshop at a hotel in Kalutara. All members were given an opportunity to discuss the pros and cons of the creation of a union of regions – part of proposals to solve the ethnic conflict. It was only thereafter that approval was obtained. Today, the SLFP under the leadership of the Rajapaksa Brotherhood (most of whom are not members of the SLFP) has become chauvinistic and racist. Dissent is not tolerated. Comment is stifled. Internal democracy is dead. The recent attempt to evict Tamils from lodges in Colombo has confirmed the worst fears in many people. The all powerful Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, could harness the support of some members of the Cabinet to defend his highly deplorable action in a facetious manner. This is whilst the Government took up a different official position. It shows clearly that racists are having the upper hand within the Government.

In 1951, soon after the creation of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, its founder and leader, the late S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike made an important declaration in his policy statement. He said that the majority does not have the right to impose its will on another community because they are smaller in number. The SLFP, which I love and respect, is a party that has recognised the value of human rights. Today, goon squads allegedly sponsored by various arms of the Government are operating with impunity even in Colombo. This notwithstanding the many military check-points and the presence of armed troops along the streets. How people could be kidnapped, abducted or even killed is a question to ponder. So is the way the bodies of victims are removed.

How do the gangs responsible for the kidnapping of Tamil and Muslim businessmen become privy to Bank Accounts and Income Tax details?

President Rajapaksa is not only the Minister of Finance but also the Minister of Defence and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. It is his paramount duty to ensure people behind such heinous acts are brought to justice. How come the police, or for that matter the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) are unable to uncover even a shred of evidence?

How come they are only active at pursuing the Government’s perceived political opponents or those expressing dissenting views?
Today, Sri Lanka is a quasi police state. Under the directions of Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, police are pursuing and harassing political opponents. The case of my friend Tiran Alles is a good example. He was earlier perceived as the man who helped Mahinda Rajapaksa win the presidential election. He was praised and embraced. Today, he is chased. He is perceived as the enemy of the Rajapaksa Brotherhood. This is the case in every sphere. Businessmen, opposition parliamentarians, media personnel and all others perceived as enemies are being intimidated and hunted down. By their actions, they are making the LTTE much stronger. The crime rate is soaring.

The cost of living has reached unbearable proportions. It was the late S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike who established diplomatic relations with Socialist countries in 1957. Since then Sri Lanka’s role in the international community grew. This was far in excess of our size and wealth. This is why the late Ms. Sirimavo Bandaranaike was looked upon as an international icon. She was the acknowledged leader of the Non Aligned Movement. She chaired the Non Aligned Summit in Colombo in 1976. Even today, our party is remembered abroad by the image she created.

Between 1995 and 2005, the late Lakshman Kadirgamar, then Foreign Minister, further strengthened our foreign relations, particularly with our neighbour India. He declared that our relations with New Delhi were in a state or irreversible excellence. We cannot also under estimate the contribution made by Ranil Wickremasinghe to strengthen international relations between 2000 and 2005. Today, Sri Lanka is rapidly becoming more and more isolated. The international community is on the verge of putting Sri Lanka on the same shelf as Sudan and Zimbabwe.

Sad enough, the conduct of foreign policy today is confined only to propaganda in the state run media in Colombo. There the reported utterances abroad of some VIPs are repeated ad nauseum.

Reckless, arrogant and short sighted statements are made by some officials, who are above their colleagues and think they are even above the law. They fault everyone, be it the west, the foreign and local media, the opposition and all except themselves. When these self acclaimed heroes and patriots leave Sri Lanka, it is we who have to pick up the pieces. Their mediocrity and ignorance has already led to irreparable damage. It continues. This cannot be undone by a few banners and posters extolling their so called greatness, put up at their instance by their own cohorts.

Corruption has reached new heights. It is well known, both among foreign and local business circles that nothing can be done without oiling the palms of VIPs. What we hear from the grapevine is that this new form of “oil massage” is now quoted in millions of US dollars. It is prevalent in every sphere, be it just commercial transactions or a military procurement. A handful of persons are skimming all the benefits by reaping the whirlwind of corruption.

All right thinking people must come together to save the country from further disaster. They must say in one voice, “enough is enough”. I will strive hard for the creation of a broad-based democracy where there is rule of law, where citizens could live without fear or intimidation. We have to defeat the darker forces of extremism and intolerance. We have to curb mounting corruption and misrule by a handful.

It was the late S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike who said after the formation of the SLFP that he will oppose a dictatorship by an individual or a group. He would not have dreamt that a party he formed to serve the people would become prisoner of the Rajapaksa Brotherhood.

It is my mission, as well as those who support me, to restore the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) to re-dedicate itself to the original goals of serving the people and not just a small brotherhood and their cronies.