What is happening? What can we do?

Featured image courtesy Time

VICTOR IVAN on 10/11/2016
The overall picture that emerges from the January 09, 2015
revolution and the events that have already taken place and are
taking place as a result of this change can be summarised as
follows.

First of all, the January 09 revolution

defeated the corrupt and oppressive regime that was in power. It

brought an air of some relief to the country. it saved the country

of the most likely threat of international sanctions being imposed
against it. It also prevented the country of the possibility of being
plunged into a dreadful situation. The policies of the new
government towards the minority ethnic groups were more
tolerant. It has created an atmosphere in which the minority
ethnic groups could live free of fear. However, there is no sign
that clearly reflects the governments intention or the capacity to
go for larger reforms that are needed to overcome the major crisis
the country is faced with. The consequences of this situation
might eventually lead to intensification of the existing crisis
thereby plunging the country into a more serious crisis.
The limitations of the January 09 revolution
The January 09 revolution had it own limits. They were inherent in
the initial political vision of the revolution itself. Its major
aspiration was to defeat the Rajapaksa regime. That remained the
only issue which had a common accord of the forces that
contributed to the revolution. Beyond that there was no mention
in the agenda about the revolution of specific reforms to be
introduced to overcome the crisis the country had faced with.
Although, it claimed for the abolition of the presidential system, it
was not clearly articulated in the agenda. Apart from that, there
was no mention of the larger changes intended to be introduced.
Except for defeating the Rajapaksa regime there was hardly any
other major issues in it. Even after the victory of the revolution,
except for probing into the alleged frauds and crimes of the
former Rajapaksa regime, apparently, there was hardly any
serious dialogue being initiated on the larger changes and
reformations required to be effected to overcome the major crisis
the country is faced with. The only serious issue which had drawn
some attention has been the proposed New Constitution. That
again is on a superficial level. No in-depth or larger vision is
reflected in the approach towards the changing of the
constitution. .
Problems of the Institutional system

The entire Institutional system had become inefficient and corrupt

by the time the Good Governance regime assumed power. The
Parliament that enacts laws, the police that implements the law,
the judiciary that interprets and executes the law and the tax
collecting institutions had reached a deplorable level of
degeneration and distortion incapable of performing an effective
role expected of them. The inter racial and religious relationships
had entered a phase of crisis and widespread confusion and
anxiety.
For a salutary forward march of the country, first of all, all these
issues should have been resolved with an altogether new
perspective. It is an important and essential historical condition to
be fulfilled to overcome the crisis. Obviously, the leaders of the
Good Governance regime lacked the strong vision required for
that. Even after coming to power they have failed to adopt such a
vision. Apparently, the Prime Minister Ranil
Wickremesinghe seems to have a genuine dream for the countrys
economy. But, it cannot expect to be realised unless the
degenerated institutional system is restored to a truly democratic
societal component which is free of corruption and inefficiency. As
far as the leaders of the good governance regime were
concerned, the system of Independent Commissions implemented
through the Constitutional Council remains to be the one and only
alternative solution for the extremely corrupt Institutional system.
As has been pointed out previously, the introduction of
Independent Commissions would have been effective in improving
the efficiency and productivity of the institutional system provided
the institutional system itself had followed established norms and
standards of good practices. Unfortunately, the entire institutional
system had reached a putrid and distorted level. There is hardly
any positive change that can be effected in an institutional
system which is corrupt and critically weak to such an extant by
introducing a system of independent commissions alone. Seeking
solutions for rectification of the corrupt institutional system was
not an object of the constitutional Council. The constitutional

Council, in appointing officials for the commissions and the other

positions, was concerned primarily with the maintenance of the
existing system and was not intended to rehabilitate the
institutions through those appointees. Under the circumstance,
there is no effective role that can be played by the independent
commissions operated under the Constitutional Council (CC).
Drifting off track
The Parliament seems to be dependent more on the grant of
privileges to its members in ensuring their support for the
enactment of laws rather than reforming the parliamentary
system itself. This situation has not only stopped at aggravating
the distortion of the parliamentary mechanism. It has also
become a serious factor that has begun to militate against the
confidence of the people on the regime of good governance.
Although, the regime of good governance, upon assuming the
office, rushed to appoint a new Chief Justice to the Judiciary, it has
not made a significant change in the judicial system. The Judiciary
too, cannot be considered to be functioning in a satisfactory level.
It is in a state of confusion. During the previous Rajapaksa regime,
a selected group of judges were offered 15 acres of land each
from the Katharagama temple lands, presumably to ensure their
loyalty to the rulers. They are not entitled to accept such grants.
Apparently, no probing has been made so far, into such
transactions. Besides this, the tax collecting institutions too, are
in a state of extreme corruption and confusion.
Mahinda Rajapaksa who was capable of defeating Prabhakaran
was unable to keep hold of power because he failed to pursue the
reforms that were needed for the rehabilitation and reconstruction
of the society and the country which had become corrupt and
putrid over a period of nearly three decades of persistent war and
bloodshed. It is by far the same mistake of Mahinda Rajapaksa,
which is now being repeated by the leaders of the present good
governance regime. Just as much as Mahinda Rajapaksa failed to
realise that the defeat of Prabhakaran alone would not be
adequate to overcome the crisis of the country, the two present

leaders too, who had defeated Mahinda Rajapaksa and succeeded

him, have equally failed to realise that the defeat of Mahinda
Rajapaksa alone will not help solve the crisis that the country is
facing. The former President Mahinda Rajapaksa had to pay a big
price for his mistake. It may be that the leaders of the good
governance regime too, may be forced to pay a similar price for
repeating the same mistake.
Paucity of vision
The leaders who defeated Rajapaksa had a limited vision of
merely defeating him.They have failed even to fulfil the limited
constitutional reforms as envisaged. The simple requirement of
holding a referendum in addition to the two thirds majority of the
Parliament for abolition of the presidential system of government
had not been given due consideration in formulating even the
limited program of constitutional changes pledged by them. The
theoreticians of this program realised it only after the matter was
referred to the constitutional courts. Even after that, the victors
lacked self confidence to go for a referendum. The absence of
consensus on the abolition of the presidential system too, had an
impact on this situation. Certain people who were close to the
President did not like to see the reduction of presidential powers
and resultant enhancement of the powers of the Prime Minister.
Consequently, we have inherited a constitution which is full of
holes and hideously drafted with patch work. There seems to be
no genuine desire or capacity to abolish the present constitution
and introduce a new one in keeping with the changing needs of
the country.
It is not possible to adopt a new constitution merely through the
two thirds majority approval of the Parliament. It has to be ratified
by a referendum as well. Despite the leaders of the government
talking about a new constitution, it appears that they lack self
confidence to go for a referendum to have it ratified by the
people. Those interested in the continuity of the presidential
system has discouraged the attempts to introduce a new
constitution assuming that the entire exercise will be rendered

worthless if the proposed new constitution is defeated at the

referendum. Under the circumstance, the mechanism adopted to
draft a new constitution will not provide a sound basis for
formulating a good constitution. Even if a good constitution is
drafted, it cannot be legalised. A Constitution approved by the
two thirds majority of the parliament but not ratified by a
referendum cannot be considered a legally valid constitution.
The government does not seem to have a clear cut and specific
target. It seems to be shooting at several different and ambiguous
points. Probably, it is not allowed to act on a clear political
agenda. It is compelled to work according to several agendas
which are unclear and mutually contradictory. The leaders of the
government are more interested in responding to the sentiment of
the uneducated segments of the electorate rather than the
opinion of enlightened and educated people. Their focus is more
on the petty and relatively unimportant problems rather than the
important issues which need priority consideration.
The light against darkness
In this backdrop we cannot expect to have any progress in the
countrys economy except for an economic stagnation. There
cant be prospects of solving the major problems that demands
significant structural changes than addressing petty issues that
are more the concern of pious illiterates of the society. Similarly,
as far as the issues of the minority ethnic groups are concerned,
nothing substantial and enduring can be expected except for
prevalence of a tolerant attitude towards them .The Country may
soon approach a level in which nothing will happen the way it
ought to happen and inefficiency will reign supreme as a cancer
pervading the entire nation. But the government has not been
able to display its ability to reverse this trend. Amidst this
unfortunate scenario the loss of public confidence will be
inevitable and unavoidable. This will invariably result in the
government loosing the public support and being compelled to
sustain its existence exclusively on the state power. This crisis in
the government, however, cannot be expected to pave the way

for the political group led by Mahinda Rajapaksha, which has

become the main anti government movement to buttress its
strength and shove its way back into power
The charges levelled against the members of the Rajapaksa
family and the prominent people of the political movement led by
him are extremely serious. The public knowledge of the
proceedings of the court cases against them and the findings of
them might invariably diminish and weaken the level of
acceptance that they enjoy in the society. In spite of the
drawbacks in the judiciary it is likely that some of them may be
even imprisoned. In this backdrop, the political movement led by
MR, despite being a substantial force, will not stand a chance or
capacity to come back to power. Even the small political parties
both Sinhala and Tamil which have emerged as alternate
movements outside the main stream parties too, are not capable
of filling the vacuum that is being created in the political arena.
In a historical sense, all political parties big or small which are in
the present political stream appear to be moving towards the end
of their journey. All these parties, to a greater or lesser extent
should be held responsible for the great catastrophes that the
country has to face with. The hands of all these political parties to
a lesser or greater degree can be said to have been smeared with
blood and corruption. Most of these parties are very old. Even JVP
is now 52 years old. All these political parties are still living in the
times of their birth. The world has changed a lot and become
modernised since then. Yet, they have not been able to change
themselves and become modern in terms of ideology or
organisation.
By the time Sri Lanka gained independence, by all indicators that
measure the level of development of a country, Sri Lanka enjoyed
a prominent place among the other Asian countries. The country
was equipped with a prominent infrastructure facilities compared
to all these countries. By the indicators used at that time, we had
a broad road network stretched out to all corners of the island and
a railway network of 1000 kilo meters and an efficient and

profitable railway service. The Colombo city had a tram- car and
trolley bus service as well. In terms of per capita income, Sri
Lanka was ranked high and it was second only to Japan.Sri
Lankas achievements in the arenas of education and health
remained very high compared to the other Asian countries. Above
all, we had a very good Civil Service, respectable judicial service
and a Parliamentary system of government of very high repute.
Smallness of the leaders
The Sri Lankan political leaders emerged during the current age
cannot be reckoned as to be great or outstanding leaders. Their
political vision was myopic and was primarily concerned with the
selfish and parochial motives .They lacked a long-term and a
broad vision. They all have desperately failed to consolidate and
sustain the level of development the country had achieved at the
time of independence. Similarly, they have failed to dissociate
from the parochial divisions like race, caste and religion and to
treat all citizens on equal terms and recognise them as
respectable humans who are entitled to equal rights.
Instead, they nourished racial, caste and religious differences
rather than dislodging them. By doing so, they sought to gain
narrow political advantages. They failed to realise the need for
building a united nation to ensure the continuation of the system
of the new nation state bequeathed by the British colonial rule.
The spirit of the nation that had been moving towards a unified
whole was divided and fragmented it into pieces rather than
unifying it. They sapped the essence of the country rather than
enriching it and corrupted the system of governance, the judiciary
and the bureaucracy.
The country has been turned into a place of an incessant
bloodshed. The political movements which were inherently selfish
and remained insensitive to the serious mistakes committed by
them consciously or unconsciously and had failed to atone for and
repent over their mistakes have now reached the stage of being
gradually removed from the political scene. This seems almost
inevitable and beneficial despite the fact that it is going to

happen in the absence of alternative political movements to fill

the vacuum being created by the wholesale exodus of the old
movements. This might invariably result in creating a kind of an
anarchic situation posing serious challenges. Perhaps, the
alternate political movements may emerge in the aftermath of the
impending anarchic backdrop.
The damage that may be caused by such an anarchic situation
can be mitigated if the enlightened citizens are mobilised through
an organised social movement. The setting up of citizens
organisations at village, city and workshop levels and federating
them into a Citizens Centres thereby establishing a wide network
of social movements and enlightening the people by educating
them would help convert the impending disaster into an
opportunity that can be harnessed for the benefit of the people. It
can certainly provide a strong and sound foundation for the
country to move forward with a sense of hope during the
impending period of transition.
Citizens based social movements
The role of Citizens based social movements should include social
and psychological processes. Their main objective should be to
restore and revitalize the social psyche giving it a real spiritual
dimension. It must help cleanse all biases based on race, caste
and religion and work towards ensuring equal rights and respect
for all citizens which is their due and thereby reinforce the nation
building process. Similarly, it must also endeavor to free the
society of superstitious beliefs and ignorance and transform it into
a modern and enlightened society based on rational thinking and
sense of justice.
It should be a mixture of all ethnic groups that represent the Sri
Lankan society. It should not be restricted only to the three major
ethnic groups Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim but instead must
embrace all other minority groups, men and women belonging to
all castes and religions. It should start with a strong ideological
framework which must be open ended and flexible enough to
effect modifications and adjustments so that it could be enriched

and improved further in the face of public debates and criticisms

that it may have to encounter in the process. It is also important
that a citizens movement of this nature is firmly rooted in a
democratic footing. Democratic principles should be well
respected internally. A person or a group holding different views
should have a space to stay in the organisation. The Policies of
the citizens movement must allow room for them to express their
views openly and even to make an attempt to have their views
enshrined in the official policy of the movement. All decisions
must be reached through a formal democratic process. All internal
activities must be made transparent. It should refrain from
depending on foreign funds and all expenses should be borne by
the funds generated through membership fees only. In the final
analysis, the movement must be a role model of democracy that
can be emulated. The members must be free of religious, racial or
caste biases. They must be non violent, free from hatred, just and
truthful and free of corruption and bias, secular and
Multiculturists.
Dispelling the darkness
If we are able to create a citizens movement of this nature and
make it a movement which attracts followers not by thousands
but by several lakhs, then it would be possible to make a deep
impact on the society, the state and the system of governmental
and non governmental institutions. It can breathe a new life into
the psyche of the Sri Lankan society which is now in a state of
ailing and degeneration. The wounds of violence can be cured.
The society can be based on new ideals and turned into a modern
social force that thinks rationally, justly and multi culturally. The
nation that is in a state of disintegration can be united. A common
Sri Lankan identity can be promoted whilst at the same time
safeguarding the individual identities of its constituent parties
.The changes that emerge from this process will invariably make a
profound impact on the governance of the country and its
religions, arts and the science. This process will help create an
atmosphere where genuine reforms conducive to common good

of the people can be introduced in place of false reforms promised

by politicians at their whim and fancy. Such an atmosphere will
promote the creative energies in spiritual, cultural, science and
technological sectors causing new creations and innovations. In
the final analysis the country that is now in a state of stagnation
can be turned into a one that is peaceful, vibrant and swiftly
moving towards dynamic progress and development.
The idea of founding a strong social movement capable of
effecting far reaching and beneficial social changes is not just an
utopian dream that cannot be realised. It is in fact a dream that
can be realised. The idea is more relevant today. There prevails a
conducive social atmosphere with a very high potential in the
country for such a movement. There is a substantial social
segment interested and desirous of raising the country to a better
and sanguine height. The members of this segment consist of
different age groups. They are educated, rational and are capable
of looking at things from a broad perspective and free of parochial
biases. They are very well aware of the causes that have
contributed to the failure of the nation. A good number of them
have taken lead in various rights based struggles at National and
Provincial level and have gained experience. If the activists in
both these groups could get together and propel a vibrant
Citizens Movement at national level and be committed to its
objects, then making this dream a reality will not be difficult.
It is important that we keep this idea open for public debate.
Posted by Thavam