Political party bugbear bedevils Sri Lanka

What is store for the country if the present unilateral exercise is carried to its conclusion would be, continued glamorization of all that is being done by the government despite their patent shortcomings; criticism, protests and other forms of democratic dissent would be curbed; corruption, extravagance, profligacy, waste, abuse of power, persecution and discrimination of opposition leaders and supporters would be continued with impunity.
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by Milinda Rajasekera

(September 06, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The events unfolding in Sri Lanka increasingly prove, among other things yielding both good and bad results, the futility of the political party system as pursued in the country during the last few decades. The perversion of this system was evident from about the time of independence. But the recent events where the conduct of our politicians tended betray scant respect for party policies and democratic principles leave no room for doubt about the meaninglessness of the system as practiced in countries like ours.

As it is well known the presence of political parties is an important feature in countries where true democracy is practiced. Parties in such democracies are generally formed by groups holding different opinions and pursuing different ideologies that they think should be adopted for ensuring a country’s well-being and people’s welfare. The parties thus formed formulate policies based on their opinions and interests and present them for acceptance by people at times of elections. And the members of these parties collectively commit themselves to promoting and propagating party policies. Each party also adopts measures for maintaining discipline and collective responsibility for pursuing and implementing party policies. Once they are elected by the people on acceptance of these policies, the elected are expected to strictly follow their party policies.

From the time the first government in independent Sri Lanka was formed, the tendency has been to build up alliances among parties without sharp and irreconcilable differences. It was on this basis that the first government after independence was formed. However, the Marxist parties, at that time, which were steadfastly holding on to their policies taking cues from world left movements continued to keep themselves aloof, with intensions of forming governments exclusively on their policies.

However, in later years thawing effect on Marxist policies was set in motion and the process was stepped up with Mikhail Gorbachev’s Glasnost and Perestroika pervading the world of communism. The Marxist parties here found the prospects of capturing power singlehanded to be bleak and they also decided to hitch their bandwagons to mainstream political parties. It was possible thus for the architects of Marxism in the country such as Phillip Gunawardena, Dr.N.M.Perera, Dr.Colvin R.De Silva, Leslie Goonewardene and others to join governments of so-called reactionary parties. Phillip Gunawardena first joined S.W.R.D.Bandaranaike to form the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) Government. Later, in 1965 he joined Dudley Senanayake, the leader of the UNP which was branded at that time as the sworn enemy of the working class to form the seven-party government. In 1970 other Marxist leaders teamed up with Sirimavo Bandaranaike to form the United Front Government. They, however, had to quit before the end of the tenure of that government. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) that avoided touching the main political parties even with a barge pole condescended to join Chandrika Kumaratunga to form her United Peoples’ Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Government in 2004. They too left that government after developing a rift over the attempted formation of a Joint Mechanism for Tsunami relief.

The first and the present Mahinda Rajapaksa governments outdid all previous administrations by roping in a medley of political parties with divergent and even irreconcilable policies. The UNP front-liners threw their party policies and mandates obtained from the people to the wind and joined the first Rajapaksa Government. They, who tore the Mahinda Chinthana into pieces and castigated President Rajapaksa for political and other reasons, became leading lights of the government carrying the Mahinda Chinthana proudly on their backs. The cartoonists depicted this situation graphically by carrying pictures of some of those defectors washing dirty linen of the government.

Today, as the government is poised to bringing in constitutional reforms, we are fated to be treated to dramatic summersaults and high jinks in the political arena. Our representatives would feel no compunction about turning their posterior to party policies and people’s mandates. Their main concern would be their survival in the present positions or acquiring new positions in the future.

Meanwhile, the intra-party conflicts that persist, dog almost all political parties in this country. These disputes lend irrefutable credence to the extent of selfishness and desire for self-aggrandisement submerging their commitment to party policies and democratic principles. This phenomenon is observed even in parties that boast about their strict party discipline. The statements the party members make and embarrassments they suffer in this situation are interesting indeed. They have apparently developed skins thick enough to withstand any feelings of embarrassment. The main ruling party politicians, for instance, mount scathing criticism of UNP government misdeeds while in the company of defected UNPers now occupying ministerial positions, thus ignoring their roles in such alleged misdeeds. The JVP is persistently castigated for its past crimes by ruling party politicians in the presence of JVP stalwarts who have now found places in the administration. All the same, these party renegades do not express any regrets or offer apologies for those alleged misdeeds and wrong policies pursued in the past.

The UNP which is embroiled in endless rumblings about reforms are finding it difficult to prevent its members from falling for carrots or crumbs thrown by the ruling party. The hardcore party members’ arguments show the extent to which party politicization has plagued the country. Their contention is that their party supporters are completely marginalized and discriminated against and therefore it has become necessary for the party to gain power to satisfy their needs and aspirations as early as possible. It is indeed despicable that this complaint is made in a country where party leaders and politicians vow to follow cherished democratic ideals of equality and non-discrimination.

The way various politicians would express their views and conduct themselves as regards the proposed constitutional reforms would demonstrate the inconsistencies and deceptions in their politics. Among those solidly backing the extension of the presidential terms today are those who breathed fire and brimstone against the creation of the executive presidential system. It is hard to imagine how the left parties in the government today could fall in line with the proposed reforms that are likely to degrade rather than enhance the practice of democracy, good governance and administrative fairness and efficiency.

What is store for the country if the present unilateral exercise is carried to its conclusion would be, continued glamorization of all that is being done by the government despite their patent shortcomings; criticism, protests and other forms of democratic dissent would be curbed; corruption, extravagance, profligacy, waste, abuse of power, persecution and discrimination of opposition leaders and supporters would be continued with impunity. The wrongdoing by ruling party activists and supporters would be shielded from the law enforcement agencies and media sycophants singing the praises of ruling party politicians and their deeds or misdeeds would be in their element receiving appropriate rewards for their services. Above all, division, disunity and acrimony among various sections of citizens would continue thus preventing the enthronement the spirit of cooperation, brotherhood and peace in society.

What then would be the lasting remedy? The way out of this situation clearly lies in a collective and patriotic endeavour to bring about constitutional and electoral reforms that would enable the administration to harness all of the country’s resources and the talents of all its citizens for the country’s development and progress. The reforms thus formulated should lead the country away from the present quagmire of unprincipled and acrimonious politics to enter a higher realm of consensual and cooperative politics. The achievement of this objective would seem idealistic and difficult, but it has to be pursued relentlessly if the country is to reach its desired goal of being Asia’s wonder.