| by N.S.Venkataraman
( May 23, 2012, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) Many Sri Lankans would have been surprised to read the views of Fonseka , which was expressed during his chat with the reporters at his house after his release, that international community have a duty to ensure freedom and democracy in countries where regimes tend to stifle civil freedom. One wonders if this were to be the duty of international community to protect freedom and democracy in Sri Lanka, then what would be the duty of Sri Lankans?
The problem is that the democracy and freedom are threatened in many south east Asian countries in recent times , mainly due to the fact that the rulers are able to take the citizens for granted and they think that the citizens would simply submit themselves to any draconian measures . The rulers are confident that they can hoodwink the people by their manipulative politics and coercive methods. The unfortunate fact is that such rulers have been proved to be correct more often than not, by the reaction and behaviour of the majority of citizens who simply submit themselves readily to the measures of the government unquestioningly.
In any society, there would always be schemers and self centred politicians , who try to seize power and hold on to power by any gimmicks , even within the framework of democratic procedures. The submissive attitude of the silent majority enable them to proceed with their plans with total unconcern about the plight of the people or the fate of the society.
Fonseka’s view that international community should protect the freedom in individual countries reveal lack of pride in the strength and character of the people and lack of confidence that Sri Lankans would be able to fight for their freedom and liberty on their own. History has shown repeatedly that any country which looks to other counties for inspiration and support to chalk out its own future is bound to remain in chaos and confusion.
It is high time that we realize that the battle for the future of democracy in
Sri Lanka should be fought in the minds and hearts of Sri Lankans. The champions of freedom and liberty in Sri Lanka have to assert themselves and demand probity and fairness in public life. It is most likely that the rulers , if they happen to be people without adherence to democratic value systems, would try to put down such champions for freedom and liberty in variety of ways.
The politicians these days have become very clever and calculative. In the olden days, the dissenters would have been straight away put down and arrested under one pretext or the other. But, these days, the politicians in power would adopt subtle and even more cruel ways to drive out and destroy the dissenters.
In such conditions, we need to know that the champions of freedom and democracy should be ready to make sacrifices and put up with harassment, if necessary.
The battle for democracy is not for the weak hearts. If Fonseka were to feel that international community should help democracy to survive in Sri Lanka , one has to conclude that Fonseka thinks that the hearts in Sri Lanka are not strong enough.
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