JVP: A Collective Conscience & An Accord
By Sarath De Alwis –July 24, 2015
Sarath De Alwis
“The working class did not rise like the sun at an appointed time. It was present at its own making” – E.P. Thompson
The third force has ended the age of complacency that has lasted for 67 post independence years. In the process, the JVP has promised the country something that we never realized as missing. The party that chose to abdicate armed rebellion in carefully crafted eloquence has now conceptualized what has been absent in the politics of patronage practiced since independence – a liberated citizenry.
The front cover depicts a wooden ladle of rice on a background of a pleasing shade of red. The red is soothingly subdued and holds out the promise of a new dawn. The title reads ‘ An accord of Conscience’ – the national programme ‘. A legend below explains that the conscience is that of the ‘Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna’ implying that their ‘conscience’ and that of our land is more or less the same. This writer is inclined to agree.
The political document unveiled by the JVP is a spirited attempt to infuse a moral and intellectual urgency for the dismantling of ‘politics as usual’ and ‘patronage politics’ practiced for the past 67 years. The Sinhala prose is precise and piercing.
“The present structure and substance of governance under the two party system is geared to serve a society driven by excessive consumerism and a relentless pursuit of profit. It calls for change in the structure and system of governance.
The immediate task is to install a foundational government that will restructure the state and build an enlightened society that holds out the twin promises of economic resilience and social justice.
The document has five principal components viz. A people centric government, Human resource excellence, building a modern industrialized land, an equitable society and a liberated citizenry.
The document has five principal components viz. A people centric government, Human resource excellence, building a modern industrialized land, an equitable society and a liberated citizenry.
