Let the true spirit of democracy prevail

Daily Mirror Editorial

Minister Maithripala Sirisena’s reiteration of the government policy of finding a political solution to the national problem through a process of power devolution, at this stage, raises some hope for the country to come out of the present predicament.

The General Secretary of the SLFP and Agricultural Development Minister Sirisena has made the assertion when he addressed the weekly Cabinet press briefing at the Government Information Department Auditorium in Narahenpita on Thursday.

He has said the government’s commitment to the policy of devolving power and implementing the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) proposals remains unchanged. He has said that on the directives of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, APRC Chairman Prof. Tissa Vitharana is expected to present the APRC proposals to the President on January 23. The proposals would thereafter be presented to the Cabinet and party leaders. And after the appropriate amendments where necessary, the final proposals would then be placed before the people, he has said.

This demonstrates that the government is determined to go ahead with the implementation of its policy despite pressure exerted on it by certain parties and groups that oppose these moves. The JVP, which is for total vanquishing of the LTTE has asked the government to scrap the APRC and refrain from presenting any kind of political solution to the problem.

Apart from the obvious pressure brought to bear on the government by the international community, there is the compelling factor of the concerns of the vast majority of the people in the country about the disastrous impact of the ongoing conflict on them, that has prodded the government into expediting the formulation of a political framework.

Although much is said by the parties that want the war to be waged to a finish about the people’s readiness to undergo any hardship or inconvenience for safeguarding the country’s sovereignty, integrity and independence, the majority of people who are at the receiving end of the present conflict do not seem to be in a mood to tolerate their misery any longer. JVP Leader Somawansa Amerasinghe of course says that if the people are not ready to undergo hunger for the cause, the party will ensure that they will respond to the nation’s call. Some among these groups say that the people are not yet compelled to eat ‘bagiri’ as they did when the country was involved in an imperialist war.

It is unfathomable why the JVP has changed its earlier policy of being prepared to go with the majority decision as long as it did not jeopardise the country’s interests. Apparently, the JVP now thinks that the LTTE could be completely wiped out. But the preponderant opinion here as well as abroad is that even if the forces succeed in completely vanquishing the LTTE, the Tamil grievances and aspirations will remain temporarily submerged to surface later. The JVP’s own history substantiates the correctness of this assertion.

The JVP was ruthlessly decimated and suppressed following their armed struggles. But their mission and concerns could not be eliminated that way. They remained dormant under oppression, but came alive later in a different form to sponsor the same cause for which their departed comrades made the supreme sacrifice. So, it is really the JVP, more than other political parties that should empathize with those having grievances though, of course the JVP is justified in revolting against the LTTE’s use of arms to promote their cause.

The JVP now advises the government to carry on with preemptive attacks on the LTTE, avoid any talks with them, refrain from resorting to constitutional reforms and dissolve the APRC. They have every right as a mainstream political party to express views and make suggestions. But what is deplorable is that their exhortations often, if not always, are accompanied by threats and warnings. They are so presumptuous as to claim absolute perfection for their policies and actions and attempt to project a façade of being the exclusive guardians of the country’s interests.

Although the party claims to have come to the mainstream of democratic politics and substantiated this claim in certain respects, yet they seem to be lacking in the democratic spirit. Discussion, debate, compromise and respect for majority decision are some of the tools of democracy the use of which is expected from its practitioners. The JVP needs to develop these qualities.

Source : Dailymirror