07/01/2005 - Daily Mirror A small country but not a country of small minds We have often been the victim of generalizations being made on the basis of exceptions. We saw this in 1983 when the whole Sinhala race was stigmatised as a result of what a small minority of political goons did to innocent Tamil people. We see it again today when people judge us as a people on the basis of the fact that some of our political leaders are seeing in this national calamity opportunity to further their own political ambitions --- the country certainly does not seem to come first to them even in this hour of national crisis. An Ambassador of a western country noted, "It would be a shame and a damning indictment on your people if your leaders cannot close ranks, sink your petty political differences and come together for the sake of your country at this time when you are facing the worst crisis in your two thousand five hundred year old history." He further stated, "we can help you only if you make it possible for us to help you by shedding your petty differences," a statement pregnant with meaning. How true. The President has made an appeal for unity and called upon her political opponents to join her to overcome the crisis. We the people hope that she has said this with sincerity and as former Minister Milinda Moragoda has urged with "a pure heart". We also hope that the Leader of the Opposition who has also called for national unity is sincere. Moragoda has struck a responsive chord in the hearts and minds of the people when he called for a government of "reconstruction and reconciliation different from a national government that has been proposed from time to time"; he has stated that the people have made the supreme sacrifice with thousands of lives lost and a million rendered homeless; and now is the time for the political leaders of this country to make a sacrifice themselves. He has further stated according to a newspaper report last week, "We should ride the crest of the wave of disaster to rebuild our nation on an entirely new paradigm". He has indeed spoken for the silent majority in this country. ^ Top But will our leaders listen? Will they stop their navel gazing and put the country first and put aside their personal ambitions even for a little time? That is the hundred million dollar question. Moragoda has quite rightly stated that divisiveness on the lines of race, religion, and politics has resulted in the ruin of our country. (I would add that the political system itself has been the cause of this divisiveness). Moragoda has called for a new spirit of sharing and stated that concern for those who have suffered as a consequence of the tsunami should be sustained. He has also echoed the view of the Ambassador quoted by me at the outset, and said that the international community which has stepped in to assist the nation in this hour of crisis would expect Sri Lanka to shed divisions at least in this hour of darkness. He has called upon political parties to transcend traditional parochial interests but warned that politicians of all hues should come with sincerity, conviction and a pure heart to form a government of reconstruction and reconciliation for a specified period of time to be agreed upon by all parties upon an agreed set of rules. Surely are our politicians incapable of doing this for the sake of the country? Whilst some of us are eternal optimists and live in eternal hope apparently some of our politicians and opponents of the President are seeing in this catastrophe an opportunity to come back to power. We most sincerely hope that this is not true, but if it is true then they can be compared only to vultures that feed on the dead and looters no different to the scum that looted in Galle and elsewhere who saw opportunity in our misery-damn them. The two main political parties have both pledged to further a multi ethnic, multi-cultural, democratic political system. They both profess to pursue 'Free Market' economic policies; their foreign policies are identical; their Social policies are the same; the approach to the 'national problem-the insurgency in the north, is also identical- devolution of power (there may be differences regarding the extent of 'devolution'- but they have both accepted that devolution may be, I repeat, maybe the answer). A two-pronged approach has been pursued by both parties towards the LTTE. The verdict of the people of this country at the last general election was decisive. When they voted for the two major parties they also endorsed the above mentioned policies. They also wanted either of these parties to govern or at best for them to come together. The very structure of the political system precludes governance by one single political party. ^ Top The political culture of this country has been built on adversarial, confrontational politics without regard to the national interest. Our politicians have missed the wood for the trees. This is the unfortunate tradition which we seem to want to perpetuate. The cement that has held this form of confrontational politics together has been, the vulgar pursuit of political power, for with it goes the opportunity to mount the gravy train and get rich quickly. In the process have we not become a morally degenerate society? Politicians who claim to be Buddhists appear to have sullied Buddhism for there seems to be no end to their 'Thanha' or avarice. Have we been anaesthetized to injustice, violence, to corruption and to what is fundamentally wrong? I have often thought that we the people are the victims, victims trapped in a certain system created for us by itinerant politicians. But then again are we not co-conspirators for by not confronting them we allow the power-hungry politician to dictate terms and decide for us. We must come forward and take responsibility and not let 'evil' in whatever form triumph. It is we who have allowed the political culture of this country to degenerate. Is it not a sad indictment on us that we who do not trust the politician, we who do not believe them, are compelled to suffer them even when they act in their own interest merely to stay in power? Has it all to do with the pursuit of power and filthy lucre? We have since 1978 tolerated a 'Constitutional Dictatorship'. We have acted like servile beings when we relate to power. We seem to have even accepted our fate to be ruled by menials merely because they have political power. We cannot blame anyone but ourselves if we do not discharge our responsibilities. Government must not be left to politicians. Let us shake off our apathy and find a way of participating in the political process ourselves and breathe new life into our politics. We may not need 'peoples revolutions' to remove governments but we can certainly mobilize to ensure that political parties do not subvert the will of the people through opportunistic actions. The need of the hour is for strong government. And it is only a strong government that can help us overcome this unprecedented crisis and also perhaps end the insurgency in the north. It is only a strong government that can create the requisite political and economic climate to meet the challenges we now face. Weak, unstable governments cannot meet the challenges we face today. We must have strong government and the best political leadership that is presently available in the country. ^ Top We need to usher in the age of cooperation and leave behind us the age of confrontation, which has done immeasurable harm to this country. Whilst other countries are galloping ahead we are moving backwards. The disease of confrontation has spread to all levels of our society. The politician is at the bottom of this----we must pull back from the abyss. Our political parties must learn to co-exist and make political cooperation an art form. We understand that the MPs from the Southern Province have mooted the idea of forming an association to sink their political differences for the time being and come together to face this crisis. While this is a magnificent and most laudable act, we are unsure whether it will ever materialise. The President and the Leader of the Opposition must now rise above petty party politics, bury the past and follow in the footsteps of the great Nelson Mandela and set an example to the younger generation of this country. Let them by agreement suspend the Constitution and agree on the Donoughmore type of Executive Committee system with all parties represented on the Executive Committees for a period of two years to pull the country out of this catastrophic situation. If Churchill could have had Atlee as his Deputy Prime Minister during the time of the Second World War why can’t we follow that example? ^ Top