We will ensure none gets 50% of votes : Bahu

(December 29, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Our objective in this presidential election is to bring about a setback to both these candidates who are calling themselves the two leading contenders. Also this duo is planning to bow down before foreign forces, says presidential candidate of the Left Front, Dr. Wickremabahu Karunaratne.

Addressing a media briefing in Colombo convened by the Left Front to unveil his manifesto, presidential candidate Dr. Wickremabahu said that they planned to ensure that none of the candidates got the 50 per cent of the votes to record a clear victory in the preliminary round.

“That way, the victory of the person elected would rather be diluted and would never be a fully fledged executive president. We will work with him in the future,” said Dr. Karunaratne.

THE FIGHT IS ON WHO THE SINHALESE WAR LEADER IS: SIVAJILINGAM

Another presidential candidate, K. Sivajilingam also addressed the media briefing.
“Their fight actually is on who the Sinhalese war leader is. For us it is immaterial. Both should bear responsibility for the deaths of over 50,000 innocent Tamil people. A large number of Sinhalese youth of the Army also died. In the LTTE too it is the young men from poor families who died.

“We cannot accept their concept of unitary state. We are ready to live in a united Sri Lanka. This could only be done by uniting the working classes of Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim communities,” said Mr. Sivajilingam.

Here is full text of a press statement resealed by the NSSP ;

Vickramabahu Karunaratne has been nominated as the Left Front Candidate for the coming presidential elections. He has been invited to stand for the elections by Leftist organisations not aligned with the government, several people’s organizations and intellectuals.

Presidential candidate of the Left Front Dr. Vickramabahu Karunaratne say that he will take up the issue of national unity based on Equality, Autonomy, and the Right of Self Determination.

In a media briefing held in Colombo on the 25th of November, Bahu said that he will be addressing the issue of how Sri Lanka can project itself as a nation state. "Neither Mahinda Rajapaksa nor Sarath Fonseka is providing an answer to this," he said. Announcing the decision by left and democratic parties, organizations and intellectuals Dr. Vickramabahu said that the incumbent president followed the agenda given by the Indian rulers backed by global powers while the terrible bankruptcy in Lankan society is used by far-right militaristic section of the global powers to put forward the former military chief. Following is the statement issued by the Left Front:"We are suffering because we have failed to resolve basic problems in our country. We cannot claim to be a free and democratic country unless we resolve the national problem and also stop international global capitalist interference. Mahinda regime used military forces backed by India and global powers to crush the Tamil uprising caused by continuous discrimination and repression. They claim it is a great victory. However our country is devastated. The Tamil homeland is in ruins and people are made paupers drifting here and there. Thousands were killed; thousands disappeared; thousands are disabled, and thousands are made political prisoners.

Large numbers living abroad curse the rulers who brought this misery to them. In Sinhala areas too a large number is killed while a larger number are made invalids. The people in general are made poorer. Many young people are unemployed. Cost of living is simply unbearable and the working masses are forced to bear the cost of the war. Continuation of 300,000 armed forces means that they are unable to find suitable jobs for them. On the other hand the war is not over. If this situation continues, and there is no other way out, inevitably youth will take up arms against oppression and discrimination. In the mean time unbelievable corruption exists from top to bottom. Corruption and misappropriation has become the common practice in society. Indian and global companies are gobbling up the economy. We have become vassals of Indian rulers.

Estate worker's powerful strike started a wave of strikes that came to Colombo shaking the regime. The inability of Mahinda to use the military power accumulated during the war, against the workers, created a big hole in the system. The repercussion of this strike wave was a split in the monolithic chauvinist structure. The inability of Mahinda Regime to crush worker's strikes, student's actions and mass protests, made the capitalists to seek an alternative leadership from a military hard liner, General Sarath.

Mahinda followed the agenda given by the Indian rulers backed by Global powers. He is still prompted by these masters to continue their agenda. On the other hand the terrible bankruptcy in Lankan society is used by far-right militaristic section of the global powers to put forward General Sarath. Sarath hails bloody devastation created by the war and stands for strengthening the military, and also for centralization. JVP four points proposal designed to eliminate devolution and crush aspirations of Tamil speaking people is accepted as the common programme of General Sarath. It is no way an answer to the tragedy created by Mahinda Chinthanaya.

It is necessary to condemn what Mahinda regime has done and sharply take up the issue of national unity based on Equality, Autonomy, and the Right of Self Determination. Democracy and freedom can prevail only if there is state based on national unity. Without this fundamental task achieved, no development could take place, and we will be eternally trampled by Global powers. Therefore on behalf of workers, peasants, fishers and other suffering masses, Left Front with the support of other left and democratic parties, organizations and intellectuals decided to put forward Comrade Vickramabahu as its Presidential Candidate.”

So, once again, at the cost of some Rs 12 billion of public funds, we have to face a Presidential election. Two equally bloody, corrupt and parasitic Capitalist Alliances have come forward for the contest, represented by Mahinda Rajapakse and Sarath Fonseka. This Presidential campaign is going to be a bitter and deadly fight between two equally reactionary camps of the ruling class as to who is going to feast on the blood of the Tamil nation, and that of the proletariat and all exploited and all oppressed classes and nationalities and communities, and exercise chauvinist-fascist dictatorship over the people. Let us not become mere pawns in a deadly game of chess played by two rival camps of the very same Capitalist ruling class. Let us hold this State and this ruling class accountable for the crimes willfully committed against the people and against humanity. Let us do so as a basis to mobilize mass protest and agitation against the prevailing Capitalist political order which represents the interests of global Capitalism, by building resistance and revolutionary struggle to defeat the militarist-chauvinist-fascist agenda represented by both ruling class candidates.

The continued incarceration of some 200,000 internally displaced Tamil persons in concentration camps in the North, including elderly, children, wounded, sick and pregnant women, under pitiful sub-human conditions, is a damned indictment of the prevailing neo-colonial Capitalist State and political order. Along with the gross criminal violations of human rights committed during the war, these violations constitute continued crimes against humanity. Who is to be held accountable for the horrible massacre of seventeen humanitarian aid workers, the murder of five Tamil students, the assassination of Hon. Joseph Pararajasingham, Hon Raviraj, Mr. Lasantha Vickrematunga and others? Along with these abominable crimes, is the crime of keeping some 12,000 political prisoners in various detention camps and prisons, against whom no legal charges have been filed.

Some have languished in these dungeons for over a decade. In this context of the willful defiling of our collective dignity and humanity, we demand the immediate and unconditional release of all detainees and political prisoners. Until such time that these internally displaced detainees are released, their supervision and management should be undertaken by their own representatives. In order that they may be resettled in the original areas of habitation and enjoy the right to life, the military regime in these areas, along with all high security zones, should be dismantled, and the armed forces withdrawn. We demand that Emergency Regulations and the Prevention of Terrorism Act and all such draconian fascist legislation be rescinded. We demand the dismantling of the Sinhala supremacist Comprador Capitalist state, which functions as an agent of Global Capital, as a basis for granting the democratic freedom of the exploited and oppressed masses, including the right of national self-determination of the Tamil nation cohabiting in the North-East so it may enjoy its right to live with dignity, equality, autonomy, security and democratic freedom, equally with that of the Hill Country Malayaga Tamil nationality, the Moslem nationality and all other ethnic-religious communities.

Former president J R Jayewardene brought in the executive presidency to serve a particular agenda. The open economic policy needed such a strong political head. If the Multi National Corporation (MNC) system is to come in and play the important central role expected of them, it was necessary to give all the facilities requested by them. Thus it was introduced as an instrument to support the MNC system. When they need any agreement either economic or security or any other it will be easy to go through an executive head, with the ministries of Defense and Finance than through parliament with all the obstacles of transparency and criticism. Information will be confined to secretaries and advisers to the president and decisions can be arrived at, without delay. So it was brought in to facilitate international moneylenders and plunderers of global capitalism.

The Executive Presidency: A Tool of Global Capitalism

Global Capitalism is the modern version of imperialism. It integrates the entire MNC system with the IMF, WB and the WTO as management organs. We explained all that in 1978 Feb. 4 and Bahu was locked up in prison for that. Now everyone is clamoring for the removal of this tree of vultures, but once they get elected they hold on to it not necessarily due to the greed for power, but because of international pressure of the global masters.

Today, the global capitalist system is in disarray facing an acute economic crisis. All attempts to put the system into order have not been sufficient so far. Still to come is a food crisis that could put a large part of humanity into hunger and death. There is an energy crisis and a threat to the global environment so it is vital for us to seriously consider developing our food production, particularly paddy, fish and milk. If we do not turn towards a nature oriented, environmentalist approach we may be too late. In the past three decades, the so-called development projects were responsible for the insurrections both in Sinhala and Tamil rural areas. Because it created poverty and alienation while rich became richer. While local industrialist and producer were marginalized a large section of the population was thrown out as human dust unconnected to the system. The plight of women and children, particularly in slums and in rural areas became most miserable. Patriarchy combined with militarization and the rise of under world reduced most women to the level of domestic slaves. Struggle of youth and the proletariat was used to intensify the repression in all sectors. The media repression was so bad many media people ran away from the country to escape death. But the world tendency is against this global system working on the imperative of super profit. The global capitalist system based on unbridled search of super profit should be displaced by a system of collective ownership based on sharing the earth in human kindness and cooperation. No need to keep affirming Marx, but turn to Thripitakaya, Baghawat Geetha, Bible and Koran, and just read the sections on kindness and cooperation.

Intensifying Exploitation, Oppression and Repression

While denying the vast majority of toiling, suffering people of their right to a life free of poverty, indebtedness, misery and degradation, the ruling class used the open economy to amass vast fortunes, build empires of private profit and plunder, and to waste public funds, through naked corruption. The Collective Agreement relating to the Plantation workers, which has split the workers movement and betrayed their interests, is a good example of bondages crated. It should be torn up. A minimum basic daily wage of Rs 500 for all plantation workers with the minimum wage in all sectors at Rs15000 per month should be established with an increase in wages/salaries of all government and private sector workers in accordance with the present Cost of Living Index. The just grievances of workers, graduates and students should be addressed democratically and with justice, as opposed to erecting barricades, baton charging, showering tear gas, arresting and violently suppressing their human and democratic rights. This regime is on trial for unleashing the very same armed forces that brutally decimated the Tamil uprising and its leadership, against the predominantly Sinhala workers, students, graduates and other oppressed masses. So much for the 'patriotism' of these chauvinist candidates.

Away with Illusions: Raise our Vision and Advance to the Future

How can there be democracy in a land, which is kept divided by nationality and religion? Even now, the two agents of the global system Mahinda and Sarath, clamor for democracy without any hint of pulling the masses together in national unity.

Both worked together to crush the Tamil uprising that was waged ferociously to defend the autonomy of their people. Both were singing and dancing with their masters about the victory until the workers started the battle in the work places.

The strikes pushed them in to a fresh debate and they emerged as a two headed serpent to face the people. Yes, we lost in both insurrections but we beat them back in the trade union battle. Now they have come out in a presidential election united in policy but divided in camouflage. Let us get together and give a real blow to both of them, and move forward for a united Lanka to face the dictates of global capital. Let us build the strength to raise our vision of a world without domination, exploitation, oppression and WAR! Let us unite our forces across divided boundaries. Let us march forward towards a people's democratic state governed by People's Assemblies representing the workers, peasants and all oppressed classes, nations and nationalities and communities. This shall embody the unity and solidarity, the freedom and democracy of- North-East-South-and Hill Country in the form of a united, free and democratic People's Republic of Lanka.

Intensifying Exploitation, Oppression and Repression Away with Illusions: Raise our Vision and Advance to the Future