Sobitha Movement In Retreat
Sumanasiri Liyanage
National Movement for Justice (NMSJ), a movement that was initiated by Rev. Maduluwawe Sobhitha has planned to hold its first convention on December 23, 2014. The idea that ‘single issue common candidate’ should run at the next presidential election was mooted by Prof Kumar David. Because of the delicacy of the issue, it was suggested that it would be better to have a single issue common candidate without party affiliation. Even Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna appeared to be in favor of this idea. The unanimous decision was that Rev.Maduluwawe Sobhitha should run as the single issue common candidate at the next presidential election. Hence, it began as a new social movement with limited objectives but independent of oppositional political structures. An interesting point that should be emphasized is that NMSJ initiated a discussion aimed at the presidential election when the main opposition party, the United National Party, was in total disarray. Nonetheless, the emergence of NMSJ had become a stimulant for oppositional forces to rally around the issue of democracy that was highly curtailed by Mahinda Rajapaksa regime’s growing tendency towards authoritarianism. I think it was at the same time that another democracy movement, purawesi balaya. Was formed. However, a clear difference between two movements is visible although both have raised essentially common demands. While NMSJ may be placed in ‘center left’, puravesi balaya was grounded on neoliberal democracy. So I believe that the USA and EU preferred and might have supported the latter. Following usual new social pattern, NMSJ had developed short strategy of constitutional change focusing on the abolition of the executive presidential system and the setting up of independent commissions annulled by the 18th Amendment to the Sri Lanka Constitution.