by Milinda Rajasekera
(February 08, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The 63rd Independence Day was observed last week with the usual pomp and pageantry at Kataragama sans the vital elements needed for national progress and prosperity namely the unity and cooperation of all sections of people in the country. It was a solo government event. The two main opposition parties and other smaller parties found the occasion not worthy of their participation because the government, in their view, has failed to conduct the country’s affairs in the proper way.
The UNP said it was boycotting the Independence Day celebrations because the country could not celebrate Independence Day while the real hero who defeated terrorism was behind bars. They preferred to have a protest march for former Army Chief Sarath Fonseka’s freedom instead of participating in Kataragama celebrations. An ugly incident that belied the existence of free dissent, however, obstructed their march. The JVP and other smaller opposition parties refrained from participating in the event for various reasons. Whatever the reasons adduced, what these boycotts show clearly is the country’s continuous failure to bring about much needed unity among its citizenry even on occasions of national importance. Political leaders make impressive pronouncements about placing the country’s interests above party politics. But their conduct pooh-poohs these sentiments. This time, the local government elections added fuel to the boycott decision.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa, in his Independence Day address, as expected, repeated his appeal to all sections of people for cooperation and support for the government’s effort to preserve the country’s freedom and take it forward to prosperity. He reiterated the government’s achievement in crushing terrorism and restoring people’s rights and freedoms. He referred to the progress gained in increasing the per capita income, claiming that “last five-year period, in which GDP per capita increased to US $ 2,400 was the most productive period after Independence as the defeat of terrorism led to immense development.”
The opposition parties however are not impressed. Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his Independence Day message, referred to the 5-point path set out by the UNP Government at the time of independence. Expressing dissatisfaction over the progress made during the 63-year period after gaining independence, he has said, “Dictatorship has (now) risen destroying the democratic rights and privileges that used to be enjoyed by the public. Poverty has increased to a great extent because of the clear mismanagement of the government. With less productivity in any field, the unemployment crisis also aggravates. The country's economy does not support the majority of the country. Due to the weak work plan of the government, the free education and health sectors have also collapsed.” The tenability of these assertions as against government’s claimed achievements is left to be judged by the discerning sections of people in the country.
It is, however, clear that a long struggle lies ahead - in President Rajapaksa’s own admission - to bring real peace, harmony and prosperity to this country. Most people appreciate and commend the government for freeing them from the fear-psychosis that tormented them and restricted their rights and freedoms for several decades. But today there is discernible widespread public discontent over the denial of expected reliefs and benefits to them after their salvation from the menace of terrorism. They are grateful for restoring to them the right to the freedom of movement which was denied to all sections of people in the country.
They are discontented because they are denied similar relief in several other aspects. They do not see the prospect of millions of rupees saved from military expenditure flowing to them in the form of economic reliefs while they observe that some sections freely enjoy the claimed economic progress. They see; that a circle of ruling party supporters and their and kith and kin are enjoying the major portion of the fruits of political and economic freedom; that employment opportunities and promotions are restricted to ruing party supporters; that the equality of opportunity and the equality before the law are confined to the provisions of the constitution despite assurances of fair and equal treatment to all by ruling party high-ups; that the right to freedom of expression and dissent is being curtailed; that concepts of good governance and rule of law are becoming extinct; that their lives are made miserable by constant hikes in cost of goods and services and that the state institutions continue to gobble up chunks of state revenue through mismanagement, waste and misuse of public property.
That President Rajapaksa is not unaware of these public discontents is evident from his speech. He has emphasized the importance of discipline thus “Yet, all of this will not make our freedom meaningful in the absence of a law-abiding society. Therefore, we are committed to building a law-abiding society. The respect for discipline in a society is essential for development.”
To achieve this objective of maintaining discipline, the rule of law and to solve national problems obviously “inconvenient and difficult” decisions have to be taken as the President has pointed out. What is essential, therefore, is to translate these sentiments and intentions into practical deeds.
 The 63rd Independence Day was observed last week with the usual pomp and...){kind=link}
Post a Comment