23 December 2023 03:47 am Views - 692
In Lanka today, the winds of change are blowing. Unfortunately, it is an ill-wind which blows across our country. The prices of essentials - including basics like food, fuel, and medicines - are out of the reach of the masses and continue rising daily. Salaries of the working class which were slashed during the Covid pandemic, still largely remain in place. Yet, neither trade unions nor political parties take up their cause.
In an earlier era, trade unions took to the streets, organised demonstrations and rallied political support for worker struggles. Today, both the unions and the political parties are largely silent despite heavy burdens imposed on workers.
In 1953, when the then government of Dudley Senanayake increased the price of rice by a few cents, trade unions organised a general strike (better known as the hartal) which brought down the then government.
Though too young to be involved in the hartal/strike of 1953, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has from the inception of his political career, like his father D.M. Rajapaksa, been at the forefront of working people’s struggles.
D.M. Rajapaksa is remembered for his confrontation with the British colonial Government Agent. Rajapaksa led a demonstration of farmers to the Hambantota Kachcheri. The British Government Agent told Rajapaksa ‘Get out of my office’ to which Rajapaksa retorted: “Get out of my country”. Understandably, the late Rajapaksa was subsequently referred to as the ‘Lion of Ruhana’.
Similarly, Mahinda Rajapaksa who entered Parliament at the age of 24 inherited the title as ‘Lion of Ruhuna’ because of his political activism and confrontation of issues causing injustice.
For instance, at a time when none dared to publicly protest the brutal killings of young Sinhala people during the 1989-1993 autocratic regime of R. Premadasa, young Mahinda organised the ‘Mothers Front’ to go to places of worship and pray for retribution for the killing of their sons and daughters whose bodies were found on pyres of tyres or floating down the Kelani river.
Mahinda also dared to collect information about the large number of missing persons to be passed on to the UNHRC in Geneva.
Mahinda Rakapaksa was also seen as the champion of .the working class. In 1994, under the People’s Alliance Government led by Chandrika Kumaratunga he was appointed Minister of Labour, and worked with trade unions for the common man’s betterment.
He formulated a Labour Charter but powerful forces frowned on it. In a Cabinet reshuffle he lost the Ministry of Labour portfolio, and could not enact laws to implement his proposal to guarantee the rights of the working class.
Alas, on ascending to the Presidency, all his pro labour and support for human rights underwent a radical change. During his Presidency, our country witnessed a return of death squads and abduction of young men and women - this time Tamils.
Today, Rajapaksa, the father of the Labour Charter, champion of workers’ rights and former opponent of the sale of state assets is part of the governing structure overseeing the sky rocketing cost of living.
Security forces are deployed under his watch to crush incipient worker struggles. The regular deployment of water cannons against protest demonstrations and the incarceration of demonstrators grow more frequent by the day.
Mahinda always opposed the sale of state assets. Today, the government of which he was a part of is busy planning the disposal of state owned enterprises.
Our past President was the first chairperson of the Sri Lanka-Palestine Friendship Association.
Nothing can be sadder than to witness the government of which he is an integral part of, encouraging Sri Lankan workers to take up positions in the Israeli Occupied Palestinian Territories. What makes this act even worse is the fact that today Israel is carrying out a genocidal campaign against the Palestinians.
Is this Lion of Ruhuna, losing his mane? Or is he a captive and prisoner of duplicitous opportunist games played by his own political party?