Sri Lankan politics Lawmaking in a multicultural society

Sri Lanka is culturally so diverse that the many communities that live here have their own description about development. Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa is bellowing at the top of his voice that there is nothing that the Government can show in terms of development. Recently at a rally in Kandy the ‘Pohottuwa’ stalwart said that he would have come to Kandy on the Central Province Express Highway if the government led by him was in power. Politicians like Rajapaksa calculate the progress of the country in terms of the buildings and roads that come up using raw materials. 

• Wickremesinghe’s yardstick to measure a country’s development has much to do with the welfare of the people
• Wickremesinghe is already being critisised for allowing investors like China to have massive stakes
• Wickremesinghe’s business policies don’t give a damn to the country’s sovereignty
•  There are also moves by Tamil political parties to send their representatives to Geneva\
• Sirisena’s focus has been the less affluent masses. This was from where the votes came for politicians like Sirisena and Rajapaksa

But on the contrary politicians like Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe use the strides made in expanding education, establishing human rights and enhancing the global perception on Sri Lanka to judge a nation’s development. Clearly Wickremesinghe’s yardstick to measure a country’s development has much to do with the welfare of the people. 

Dealing with China 

The problem with these two leaders is that the systems they use can’t strike a healthy balance between people development and building the infrastructure of a nation. 
Wickremesinghe’s style of development also includes inviting China to have a bigger stake in the country. Recently the Wickremesinghe led government offered a contract to China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) to expand its coal yard in the island. China’s focus really is to expand its control in the South China Sea and get its allies to support its ambitious Belt Road Project for which it has roped in India and Pakistan. 

Wickremesinghe must be aware that Sri Lanka is already congested with a 21 million population and the influx of Chinese workers here-especially to Colombo- means we need to share our infrastructure with the Mandarin speaking foreign work force here.  

Wickremesinghe is already being critisised for allowing investors like China to have massive stakes in the country where its opposition is sounding alarm bells that very soon we’ll have so little in terms of what we really own in this island. Wickremesinghe’s business policies don’t give a damn to the country’s sovereignty and are aimed at raising finances to repay loans which have almost crippled the country’s economy. 

We really don’t see a third option as a leader although President Maithripala Sirisena hints that the people should consider him for a second term as head of state. 

Sirisena’s focus has been the less affluent masses. This was from where the votes came for politicians like Sirisena and Rajapaksa till voting trends changed at the crucial Presidential elections in 2015. 

In 2015 the country’s middleclass voted for a change sending a strong message to lawmakers like Rajapaksa that nepotism, corruption and thuggery have no place in a multicultural nation. 

Sirisena talks on the lines of the country needing a leader who understands the aspirations of the downtrodden masses. But in reality this country needs a leader who can offer the people a basket which contains a large dose of democracy, tax concessions for businessmen, elections at the appropriate time, a law equal to everyone, the freedom to practise any religion and ensure the sovereignty of this country is protected for the future generation. Wickremesinghe delivers on most counts here, but what could be his Achilles tendon is his inability to take seriously the ambitious advances made by China and India to have a grip on this island. 

This is because Wickremesinghe’s culture is pro-western; where the thinking is bent towards an open economy, changing hands of ownership and a mindset which promotes the ideology- ‘It’s doesn’t matter where you come from, what matters is where you go’. 

Towards reconciliation

He has harped on the fact that the country now sings the national anthem in Sinhala and Tamil, separately. The Green Man emphasizes on the fact that promoting the usage of both languages when saying the national anthem would help immensely in the march towards reconciliation. 

The words reconciliation in terms of Sri Lanka is akin to the impact the word amnesty would have on a prisoner. Sri Lanka, even after finishing off a civil war, is having its differences with the United Nations Human Rights Commission which is probing rights violations during the latter stages of the civil war. Despite the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) working towards reconciliation in an attempt to be reaccepted by the world at large there is one community which harbours bitter memories of this war: The Tamils. The Tamils have time and again aired their grievances about the Government holding some of their loved ones as political prisoners and also about winning this minority community’s legal rights. It’s said that when forces personnel patrol the streets for an unending time in a Sinhalese community its members would see it as enhanced security. But if this happens at a Tamil predominant community it would be taken as their privacy being disturbed. 

Sri Lankan lawmakers have been rather lousy in understanding the cultural differences that exist in the island. Lawmakers must ensure that strict laws are brought to discipline the people of this nation. But they should not enforce practices which give rise to a clash of cultures. 

Right now, politician C.V Vigneswaran is offering leadership in the north through his new party: Tamil People’s Alliance. He has often harped on the fact that Tamils must fight for their legal rights in the island. In the meantime there are also moves by Tamil political parties to send their representatives to Geneva to draw the attention of the UNHRC. The Tamils are of the opinion that the GoSL has failed to implement its commitments made at the previous UNHRC sessions. 

This year is critical for Sri Lanka in terms of elections. Even if there is a presidential election among other polls, the winner must ensure that minority rights and cultures are protected. Lawmakers must understand that though our community is culturally different we don’t have to be culturally divided.