Passive enemies of democracy

by Thrishantha Nanayakkara

(September 04, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. We all know that Sri Lanka is a beautiful tropical Island located near the southern tip of India. We rarely talk about the strength of the republic. Free health and free education remind us its socialist traces. Sri Lankans started to enjoy universal franchise even before the British who introduced democracy to Sri Lanka could enjoy universal franchise. The very universal franchise paved the way to the executive presidency that placed the future of democracy at the epicenter of a power-hungry political swirl that seems to gather momentum day by day, nourished by the universal franchise itself. After the 18th amendment further consolidated power around the executive president who can even over-rule a decision of the supreme-court, some have begun to wonder if we have come to the twilight zone of democracy. The recent article written by Esenhower fellow JC Weliamuna on “Modern dictatorships through the mirror..” is perhaps the most elaborate warning I have ever seen on recent politics of Sri Lanka.

In this article, JC Weliamuna points out that “In the modern era, dictators do not want to be known as dictators but rather to be known as saviors of their respective nations”. My colleagues who are interested in Sri Lankan politics as citizens, pointed out that through effective exploitation of state media the Government has managed to instill a fear in the naive public that the country is in danger from foreign threats when in fact the Government itself, wittingly or unwittingly has contributed to the adverse state of foreign affairs. The Government, while buying key elected public representatives in the opposition to the Government side, has used this orchestrated fear of foreign threats to further dilute the opposition by accusing them of siding with the country’s enemies. The opposition on the other hand has not got their internal politics right, leaving the public in a perfect storm, choiceless and helpless in an ever growing momentum of a dictatorship.

The choice is with the dedicated members of opposition parties. Do not wait till the next election comes. Do not contribute to the dictatorship building project by posing for elections without a strong agenda and leadership. UNP should think of winning back the DS Senanayake era, JVP should seriously question if their traditional Maxist-nationalistic politics will work, TNA should see this time as an opportunity to build the North.

Some have been made even to think that a dictatorship can save Sri Lanka. Needless to say that this had been the wish of people in Egypt, Libya, Tunicia, and all other dictatorships few decades before the said regimes saw the sad destiny along with massive destruction and disappointment to the families who nourished under corrupt economic models. I do not want to see Sri Lankan economy sky-rocketing under a corrupt model protected by a dictatorship and then watch how it crashes nose down, even if it will be a relatively mild version like in Indonesia after Suharto dictatorship. One may point out Singapore. Again, it is needless to say that corruption and nepotism was not in the books of Singaporean dictatorship that made its exception.

What is left to be done? Wait till the next election? As the above article by JC Weliamuna points out “The dictators know the art and science of elections more than those who practice democratic values. In a dictatorial set up, all elections are won by the party of the dictator. Continuous electoral victories for one party are an indication of a questionable regime because people naturally prefer changes and something unnatural is happening to prevent it. Opposition political leadership is generally wiped out, incarcerated or manipulated to be weak. The tool that is being used by all dictators is to use all state resources for their political agenda and propaganda. Under a dictator, all social and public institutions are generally run by coteries of stooges or relations and manipulation of any steps in an election is just simple.” Therefore, expecting the very party that builds the dictatorship and the people who covertly benefit from it to work to strengthen democratic values will be like asking the fox to guard the hen. In fact the Government seems to be using elections as a tool to consolidate power beyond its normal practice. In addition to frequent elections, the Government hires public relations companies to assess the popularity of president Mahinda Rajapakse very frequently. A recent survey astonished the public with a thumping 910 people out of 1000 expressing confidence in the performance of president Mahinda Rajapakse. It is not a surprise that hired public relations companies like Patton Boggs (US$35,000 a month according to media) can not deliver the grand objective of maintaining Sri Lanka’s image abroad when they are tasked to boost the image of individuals instead. 

Therefore, the general public is most likely to be the center of victimization through well planned, well invested image building campaigns. Expect very little from victims.

The choice is with the dedicated members of opposition parties. Do not wait till the next election comes. Do not contribute to the dictatorship building project by posing for elections without a strong agenda and leadership. UNP should think of winning back the DS Senanayake era, JVP should seriously question if their traditional Maxist-nationalistic politics will work, TNA should see this time as an opportunity to build the North. Let us all determine to protect democracy, for there will be a lot of people who would like to relax in a dictatorship with no political challenges from outside. And any positive change should happen at least two years before the next presidential election for people to reverse the tide.