The Ranil Dilemma
Thushara D Wanniarachchi
It is nearing two years since the ‘Good Governance’ regime (‘Yahapalanaya’) came into power. Through Sri Lanka’s civil intellectuals, civil organizations, the Muslim and Tamil communities, and the political movement build by the UNP, the present government was built.
In recent years, many Nations of the world which obtained their power through a political header, saw the country torn apart, crisis’ emerging and going from bad to worse. It didn’t take as much as 6 months for these nations to face such an unfortunate fate, and there are many examples to this effect – Egypt, Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran. However, in Sri Lanka, with a two-thirds majority, an established rule of law, and securing the democratic rights of the citizens, we can see the nation entering a stable phase even after 2 years.
However, there is a certain level of technical weaknesses which can be seen within that stability. Those travelling the path of Good Governance are not merely those who made personal sacrifices to bring about the present government. Much like the infamous poem by Premakeerthi de Alwis, after January 8th, thieves, robbers, fascists, fools, madmen and enemies were added into the system. And so, the path of good governance did not become the safe and convenient path which many expected.
This is a common situation which can be expected when a Party assumes power after a political movement of such proportions. Particularly, in a society like Sri Lanka where there is high political participation, any issues in the system will cause discomfort and irk members of society. And this, more or less, is the ongoing situation today.
The Prime Minister’s dominant strategic views which him and his team are committed towards establishing, is to stabilize the nation’s economy, protect democracy and the rule of law, and build a society where every member feels at ease and can live in peace and harmony.
Through the Prime Ministers broad and inclusive public process, the entire nation is set to be beneficiaries therein; which will result in short-term and long-term results. However, over the course of the last two years, there has been a growing disconnect between the United National Party, its members and leaders. As a result, the main critics of the government are the UNP-ers – much like the reaction of children towards a neglecting father. We have even seen these conditions in our villages, families, schools and social service workers. In my opinion, this is a strong failure of the system.
If this situation is left to continue, it will increase the risk of UNP-ers forsaking the voting polls in the future. Aside from the Prime Minister’s post in the Good Governance regime, the UNP possesses a little less than 50% of the government power. Also, a majority of those who hold government posts, officials and ministers, are those who championed the maintenance of the system which prevailed prior to January 8th. While it can be said that the UNP is having difficulty in realizing this reality, it is definitely something which they must face and understand immediately.
