Democracy And The Change Of Government
By Kumar David -April 16, 2014
Prof. Kumar David
The stoutest defender of any government will grant that periodic renewal is good; universities recycle Deanships and companies CEOs. There is a reason for term limits though none can guarantee the next will be better. Term limits are imposed because fresh air brings vigour. It was good for Thatcher to go after long at the helm; I don’t like Narendra Modi but it will be good for Congress to take a back seat for a while.
It will be good for Gota-Mahinda to go. Should this team to hang on for, 18, 24 or 30 years like Robert Mugabe or Bashar al-Assad? Enough is enough of Lanka’s ruling alliance after nearly 20 years in office. Nobody can guarantee that the next person, if the Executive Presidency is not scrapped, (Ranil,Karu, Fonseka or Anura Kumara) will shine and who is best is another discussion. But now it is time for spring cleaning. This is my minimalist argument.
I will now go beyond minimalism to persuade you that, in any case, this government is bad. Looking back over the last half-century, isn’t this Gotabaya-Mahinda UPFA regime the worst in our post-independence history on many counts? Forget the Tamils; I am making this assertion on behalf of the country at large. There has always been corruption, sometimes horrific, sometimes less intense; there has always been encroachment on democratic rights by the state. But never in our history has a regime been so corrupt at all levels and across the board (Cabinet, Provincial and personal hangers on) and never has profiting from or condoning the drug trade reached so far up. Not even in two periods of state repression, 1971 and the dark days of Premadasa’s slaughter of thousands of youth, was there a purposeful attempt to lay the groundwork for dictatorship.
I have never heard a moral case against changing the Rajapake regime; what I have heard is that even if it be desirable, it is difficult to achieve given Rajapakse’s post-war approbation and Ranil’s congenital drawbacks. Let’s take it in two steps; if the argument is that Mahinda is a strong candidate (though not so strong after the PC elections), I do not contest it. If it is said that Lanka needs to get rid of this regime, but it’s a tough fight, I agree.
