Against the backdrop of the leaders of the country having declared the country as having become bankrupt after ruining its economy for the past several decades, the President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), President’s Counsel Saliya Peiris had raised a valid point on Saturday. During a seminar organized by Trade Unions and Civil Society Organizations Collective to mark the Human Rights Day, he had advised the people not to pin their hope on saviours during elections.

Precisely summarizing the Sri Lankan election history, he pointed out that every time when there is an election – he in fact seems to mean national level elections; especially the Presidential elections – majority of people in the country bank on a particular person to save them from the socio-economic or political issues affecting them, but only to be disappointed within a short period. Again they find another saviour at the next election who too would fail compelling them to seek another saviour at the next election and this has been going on since the Independence. 
In spite of the concept of saviour having been more relevant to the period since the beginning of the war between the armed forces and the Tamil armed groups, counting blindly on individuals or political parties, without any clue about what is in store for them has been a general phenomenon for the past 75 years, as Mr. Peiris explained. During the war we saw even Sapumal Kumarayas and Dutugemunu Kumarayas, but seeking same kind of saviours continued with politicians having instilled fear of the country being captured by some foreign power or a terrorist group even after the end of the war. One might recall women emotionally holding Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s hand and pleading in shaky voice to save the country during the last Presidential election. Even they do not know now what they asked him to save the country from.

Finally, country was declared bankrupt in April this year and Rajapaksa fled the country in July amidst a massive uprising against his government. The New President, Ranil Wickremesinghe seems to be totally depending on the IMF bailout programme, while he himself admitting recently that the brain drain has increased rapidly due o the current economic crisis and the resultant uncertain future. Again political parties have started to give various promises to the people, especially in view of the local government election that is to be held in March. People have no option - or they do not know about any, other than to vote for the political parties that alternately contributed to the ruination of the country. 

To put an end to the waiting for a saviour by the people, the BASL President suggests to strengthen our institutions such as the judiciary, Human Rights Commission and Election Commission. This, no doubt is a long and arduous process which cannot be carried out by individuals. People have to get themselves organized into likeminded civil society groups to pressurize the authorities concerned in this endeavor. For instance, judiciary cannot be independent even after the passage of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, until the current impeachment process for the judges of the apex court is freed from the Parliamentary select committees dominated by the ruling parties. Changes to this process were discussed during the discourse over the impeachment of former Chief Justice Shirani Banadaranayake, but with passage of time it was forgotten. This is something very difficult to change as the ruling parties prefer it. 

Organizing people into various pressure groups is too not a linear process, especially in a highly corrupt society. Some of the trade unions that were supportive of the call for the “system change” during the recent Aragalaya have taken a pro-establishment line with the subsequent change in the leadership of the country. Some leaders of the Aragalaya have sided with other political parties that also have contributed to the current socio-economic mess, while some others themselves were said to have engaged in corrupt practices during the very struggle. Besides, almost all trade unions are concerned only about the rights of their members, but not about that of ordinary people. 

Unless the progressive forces in the trade unions, civil society organizations and the media take a concerted effort to mobilize the masses to become pressure groups that would pool their knowledge and energy in turn to press the authorities, our institutions would never be strengthened nor would the savior-seeking habit be eliminated. Yet, who is going to bell the cat? Who is going to take the lead?