Presidential Election 2015; The Tale of Two Horses and Other Stories

Only a handful of days left for the Presidential Election. Public engagement in the process is to the extent never before. In a previous blogpost, I’ve compared this election in to a poker game with the country at stake. It can also similar to a great horse-race where only two horses are participating and the twenty million people have bet all of theirs and their future generations’ lives on the outcome of it. At the heat of the preparations to the race, the people have polarized themselves into two camps helping either of the horses but nobody seem to care about the long-term impact on winning of either horse. It is well known fact that while horse-racing ruined many lives and the only winners are the jockeys, race-organizers and betting center owners. As a safety measure it is important not to bet all your savings on one horse. Nevertheless we should as the question from ourselves; ‘will the future be better?’

There are 14 million registered voters in the country. Although Sri Lanka is the Asia’s first democracy, the public conscience on democracy and politics are not influenced by rationality or policy. The factors that influenced their political opinion are discussed in the previous blogpost. But in the end of the day the problems facing the Sri Lankans except the chosen few are the same and still the improvement is at a snail pace. Economy remains the prominent worry among the majority. The government is unveiling its development achievement like never before. Cities, at least Colombo and suburbs are getting better. New roads are being constructed, train links to Northern parts have recommenced, and ambitious real estate projects are spreading like wildfire in lavish neighborhoods in Colombo city and not to mention the newly built Airport and Seaport in Hambanthota district. For an alien eyes looking in a birds-eye view, Sri Lanka appears as the next Dubai or the true ‘Wonder of Asia. Have the lives of the Sri Lankans been reborn have their living conditions seem sound or are they contented with their country?

Sri Lanka was a war-ravaged country for more than 30 years. The logical reason for dragging the war for so long was the lack of strong political leadership. The leadership given by the President Manhinda Rajapaksha and the Secretary of Defense was the main reason for quick and relatively just ending for the war. Half of the credit should go to the former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka who was stripped from his ranks for contesting against the president in the 2010 Presidential Election. Although Mr Rajapaksha was bombarding his post-war conduct and asserting that he has kept all the promises of his election manifesto, the only thing he has delivered was a country free from LTTE terrorist organization. Majority of Sri Lankans consider that is a legitimate reason for giving Mr. Rajapaksha another term. When a person is saved from the clutches of death, it is natural that he gets obliged to the savior forever. Most of the village communities in northern frontier are more than willing to vote for Mr. Rajapaksha regardless of his questionable post-war conduct.

Mr. Rajapaksha might have come with the legitimate objective in the first term to bring peace to the country either by waging a war or through peace talks. When the peace talks have failed, he boldly took the path of war (of course with the pressure from Sinhala nationalist parties like Jathika Hela Urumaya). After defeating the LTTE militarily, he had the golden opportunity none had before. He could have gone into the history books as the leader who not only waged a war and defeated a terrorist organization but as the person who brought a lasting peace and prosperity for the country but nothing has been done to address the root cause in the ethnic problem. There were two insurgencies in the past; in 1971 and 1988-89. The leaders back then at least partially try to address the causes for those uprisings but for the civil war, no progress whatsoever except for the LLRC report whose recommendations were not implemented at all although Mr Rajapaksha promised in his election manifesto. Hatred among communities is now at record high.

There are two main black marks for Mr. Rajapaksha’s government, long term economic decay and the erosion of democracy. Although it is good to have big development projects, a developing country like ours needs to prioritize its development goals. Lack of infrastructure still haunts rural communities. Irrigation, road network are underdeveloped. Tanks and canals are under-developed. Many small tanks in the North Central province are abandoned. It is not wrong to say that the irrigation system is in a poor state than which it was in 1500 years ago at the golden age Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa kingdoms. The main problem in the post-war development in Sri Lanka is the lack of prioritization of the development goals. Since a considerable amount of Sri Lankans still depend on the agriculture sector and primary industries, road network in the rural areas should have been developed. Decaying irrigation system should have been repaired to its full potential.

Concessions should have been given to the small industries sector but the government is at a spending frenzy on mega-development projects such as airports, seal-ports, high-rise towers which have little or no use apart from digital transmission and tourist attraction, expressways and performing arts theaters in which it takes a fortune to watch a show let alone to host one. Of course there is the contribution to the national economy from those projects but the positive impact on the livelihoods of the common man is nonexistent.  What is the use of development projects which doesn’t contribute to the benefit of the people? Fancy projects to show that a country is on a par with other developed countries are a common occurrence in oil-rich Middle Eastern countries. Can a country like Sri Lanka who barely lifting its head off from a civil war affords such petty things?

It is important to make the country attractive by building public spaces and extravagant waterfront properties. It is good to give foreign investors the chance to develop luxurious real estate projects. Indirectly it may create a positive impact on the booming tourism trade. But first things first; is it really important to fund the less important projects while neglecting infrastructural development in the key areas of the economy from which the majority of the people make their living from? Can they bask on the glory of Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksha Rangahala, Maththara Mahinda Rajapaksha Airport, Magampura Mahinda Rajapaksha Port and Nelum Kuluna while struggling to get their food on the table? These projects can be done after ensuring the basic needs of the people are met. First there should be adequate number of industries or at least a long term plan to build heavy-industries for the building of a port in a remote part of Sri Lanka. Road network in the entire country should be brought to standard before building expressways crisscrossing the country. Most of these projects are funded by China. While giving the monetary support, Chinese companies undertake their construction by Chinese engineers and workers. They shrewdly pump the money back to China while making un indebted to China for the generations to come.

The problem not lies with these projects. We never think that these projects are not needed for a country but the time period of the projects is the problematic factor. The government always finishes last things first while the things needed to be done beforehand are either deliberately delayed or not done at all. That is the fundamental problem in the so called ‘development’ in this country. Unimportant but colossal projects fuel the President’s ego and carry on his legacy while extravagant commissions and frauds benefit the political goons behind him.

Today although there are petty concessions on fertilizers, lack of funding for the irrigation and long term agricultural development are creating a long term deterioration of agricultural sector. Today the agrarian community is facing a debt crisis like never before. Almost all of the small and medium sector agriculturalists are burdened with debt. People quitting the agricultural sector are a common occurrence. Still the government hasn’t a plan for agricultural exports even though there are plenty of opportunities in foreign market for staple crops and non-traditional exports. This is the bitter situation in a country ruled by a government which boasts about self-sufficiency in food while depending on foreign imports for the basic staple foods.

Situation in small industries is also bleak. Lack of demand in the local sector, high energy cost and inability to access foreign markets are the main problems in this sector. Electricity tariff for small industries sector is among the highest in the developing world. Only the multinational companies and mega-industries have the chance to survive in Sri Lanka making small industries an endangered species. The government is boasting about the emerging knowledge-based economy. That sector shows a marginal growth for now but with the brain-drain due to the unsatisfactory economic and social conditions in Sri Lanka will surely pose a major threat to this. Even now most of the upper-middle class educated people and students are not planning to stay in this country. Australia, New Zealand or Europe is their safe heaven. With the lack of funding for state sector education and higher education, other developing countries may soon take whatever small share secured by Sri Lankans in the new knowledge economy.

Erosion on democracy is the next problem. Mr. Rajapasha promised twice to abolish the executive presidency and failed. He had the chance but he deliberately retained from doing so. It is a truth that the power corrupts man. When someone has power above all, even above the law of the country, it is natural to feel greedy to secure the power forever and seek for more power. Mr. Rajapaksha did exactly that. He abolished the 17^th Amendment and brought the 18^th Amendment which removes the term limit of reappointment for the president and independent commissions implemented by the 17^th Amendment at the mercy of the President. We cannot blame solely the President. Two-third of the Parliament, even the people shouting against the President have voted in favor of it giving Rajapaksha a free reign to bring the democracy into the guillotine.

Are people willing to pledge allegiance to Mr. Rajapaksha? Of course there are. People may vote for Mr. Rajapaksha for mainly two reasons. One is on the gratitude for ending the war bringing peace. For the people in rural areas directly affected by the war and frontier communities in the North-Central and Eastern provinces, Mr. Rajapaksha is more of a God-like figure. It doesn’t matter even if he eradicates the democracy. People feel safe in his hands. There were no bomb-blasts in the country after the war. People can travel without any fear without the presence of military roadblocks and unpleasant security checks so it is natural that people tend to deeply fall in love with Mr. Rajapaksha as a strong personality with reassuring words is always the choice of the majority of people. For the supporters of Mr. Rajapaksha camp, jobs and business opportunities are not rare. It is just like ‘if you are with us, you’ll be alright, but if you go against us, that’s the end of you’. Since the politicization of the state sector people have to be on the winners’ side to survive. That may motivate many to vote for Mr. Rajapaksha.

On the other side, the join opposition is no good either. It is a common problem in Sri Lankan politics. There is no one whose hands are clean. People at the opposition will do the same if they got the power. This leaves the voters frustrated and may prevent a lot from either not voting for any main candidate or refusing to take part in the election process while leads to the death of the fundamental principal of democracy. Nevertheless, it is a progressive move by the opposition to pledge for a chance in the whole political system, a ‘new political culture’, they say. In theory it is appealing. Abolishing the executive presidency, reinstating the independent commission and making the executive responsible for the Parliament are progressive moves. They are also not impossible to achieve.

What Sri Lanka need is a change in the system, not a face change. What if the common opposition candidate be just like Mr. Rajapaksha. People may not be willing to take the risk of chasing one oppressor and electing another one same or even worse than the previous one. A system with properly implemented checks and balances is the only hope for Sri Lanka. It is not important who is going to give it. Mr Rajapaksha, the common candidate or anyone else but people should press on curbing of executive power, making the corruption and fraud minimized if not impossible and above all prioritizing the development goals serving everyone equally. We all are looking forward on 8^th of January with crossed finders and pounding hearts for a better election, a better system and a better country. 

Read More

Political Opinion, the Factors Contribute to it and How It Affects Us.

There are a handful of days to the Presidential Election 2015. Election heat was in the air never before. Even politically inactive people are fuelling the public opinion and actively participating in discussions about the election. Although Sri Lankans have some notion about the politics, most of them have not viewing politics in a balanced mind. Many factors have influenced their political inclination. The above mentioned situation is common in any country. Even the so-called developed democracies cannot escape from it but in Sri Lanka, party politics have gone to the extent that people have been blindly following what the media and politicians at political rallies have said. Even their family’s political inclination has affected to shape their opinion. The need for a politically sound population is needed to for a working democracy. After all democracy is all about people’s participation in their governance. Their independent and unbiased opinion should decide the fate of the government. Unfortunately, in Sri Lanka the question remains as to whether the elections represent the honest opinion of the people.

In this article, I have intended to analyze each of the factors which shape political inclination and the adverse effects of irrational political opinion.

Media

This is the most effective method shaping the political opinion. It is considered as the fourth organ of the government recognizing its impact on people. Nevertheless it is media is like a double edged sword. The principle task that the media is supposed to do is the deliver information for the public but not anyone’s opinion. The opinion has to be formed by media receivers. As expressed in the theme of one of the main news providers in Sri Lanka; ‘We report, you decide’. When looking at the behavior of Sri Lankan media today, serious doubts remain to their impartiality. There are mainly three kinds of media in Sri Lanka; government controlled state media, private media and social media. These three methods evolved with time.

From the independence, the government media has played the role of the government propaganda machine. Before the arrival of private media, the media monopoly lied with the government. It is not a secret that the even the governments which were relatively democratic to the present government has manipulated the media machinery to quash the opposition and sabotage trade union actions by spreading false information. Although, with the arrival of the private media companies, the state monopoly has lessened, but then the information flow vested in the hands of media tycoons who either has close links with the politicians or they themselves involve in politics. Manipulative work on the media previously done only by the government only has now taken over jointly by the private media tycoons and the government. The situation has worsen in the resent years polarizing the media field by rival factions of pro-government and anti-government media but now with almost all the private media are either owned by the people connected with the governing party or are supportive of the government, independent media has become virtually non-existent.

The pinnacle of the conduct of bias media can be seen in the days leading in to the presidential election 2015. Government media news items have become campaign advertisements for the incumbent president. The head of one of the government radio stations is in the vanguard of bashing the opposition candidate. His vocabulary cannot be justified under any civilized standard. In some rural parts of Sri Lanka, only the state media channels have the reach. Alternative media cannot contribute to the political opinion in those areas giving the government a free reign to bombard the rural community with anything regardless of the media ethics and standards of independent media. It is apparent in the so called government owned Independent Television Network which is all but ‘Independent’

Social media have been immensely popular among young and urban population and spreading like a wildfire to the other communities as well. Its relative independence and ease of access has led it to be the safe haven of many critics of the government. The digital divide (the polarization of the community by the access to information and communication technology) is limiting factor of this third front but it is not be underestimated as this is the main collaborator for many popular uprisings such as the Arab Spring. IT literacy among young people is growing fast. Mobile phone connections rose exponentially with the technology getting cheaper and cheaper social media is becoming a common factor in shaping the public opinion.

Family background

A child usually gets the perspective of his parents. Family and peers have profound effect on shaping how the child thinks. Even he is older enough to vote, the deep rooted political opinion of his family fuels his judgment. Sometimes it overpowers the rational thinking of a young voter. Children of ‘Die Hard’ party members have a higher tendency to follow their parent’s political opinion and become supporters of the same political party of their parents. Nowadays with the free access to social media and education, young people forming contradictory opinions from the age-old politics of their fathers and grandfathers are not an exception. This situation is a positive remark on the awareness and active involvement on rational politics by the young.

Education

Education, especially knowledge about politics and governance is important for a sound political opinion. Sadly, Sri Lankan education curriculum hasn’t offered a prominent place for political science and history. Only a part of the student population who choose Political Science for tertiary education will gain and insight to politics. Only a handful of youth know what is good governance, rule of law or separation of power. The majority of young minds may not get a sound political knowledge leading in to politically uneducated young population ready be exploited by politicians thus raising suspicions of a master plan by the politicians to create a politically unsound population by withholding the treasure trove of political knowledge from the youth.

 Rural and Urban

The aspirations of Sri Lanka’s rural and urban population are fundamentally different. Most of the rural community is either farmers or small industrialists. The farming community has its distinct needs such as better irrigation system, better prices for their crops etc. The lack of reach of alternative media leads to solid political opinion favorable for one party. It is not wrong to say that serious political issues and government corruption are not considered as factors in choosing candidates. A strong personality with an appealing looks and exaggerated ‘village roots’ will surely appeal to the rural community. When the youth in the villages go to cities for education and for work they might be changed but their peers and family members back in villages are always reluctant to be politically enlightened but there are positive changes with the lessening gap between urban and rural communities.

Urban community is politically active. They are the first to experience the economic policies of a government. Considerable amount of them have higher education standards than their rural counterparts. They tend to choose more liberal and capitalistic economic policies. That’s why the comparatively liberal United National Party has a sound political backing in urban centers while the nationalistic Sri Lanka Freedom Party has their strongholds in rural areas.

Religion, race and caste

Religion, race and caste have shaped politics unlike in any other country and it always will play a prominent part in the future. Minority communities such as Tamils, Muslims and Tamils living in up-country have their own political parties from which they’ve gain bargaining power with the governing party. Coalition governments with minority parties are a common occurrence. The questions remains whether these minority parties have done any progressive work for their community and whether the successive governments have done any favor for the minority communities although they have given ministerial posts for the leaders of those minority parties.

Caste is another issue which is becoming taboo but it plays a vital role in politics. It is an accepted reality that a low caste person cannot be the leader of Sri Lanka. Caste seems to be one of the issues that reduced votes for the common opposition candidate in the election in 2010. Sometimes caste has become the lottery for winning at elections for many provincial politicians because they can secure votes in villages of law caste people as they are always inclined to vote for the law caste candidate.

Most of the above discussed factors which shape the political opinion hinder the chance of taking a rational decision at elections. Some of the people who are blinded by their long established opinions are reluctant to make a change in the society. It is understandable that people become frustrated with the entire political system of Sri Lanka which circled around two political parties who are notorious for not keeping their election promises and not sticking in to their election manifestoes but this vicious system has to change now. Accountability has to be brought in to politics by somehow or other. It can only be done by the public choosing the candidates who are relatively honest, intelligent and capable candidates at elections.

Before we change the political system or politicians, our political opinion needs to be changed. We need to think differently about politics and set aside our pre-conceived notions fueled by media, our family or our race and religion. There are many promising young politicians emerging who really need to make a change. All of us need to rally before them and push them to implement a progressive change in Sri Lankan politics.  

Read More