The Policy Statement Delivered By President Sirisena

Full text of the Policy Statement delivered by President Maithripala Sirisena addressing the 8th Parliament of Sri Lanka on September 1, 2015;

Honorable Speaker, honorable Members of Parliament,

 

It is my great pleasure to offer you the congratulations of the people of Sri Lanka and welcome you to the new parliament. You are the democratically elected representatives of the people and you have been elected in the most peaceful election held in the history of our country.

As a person political experience of more than five decades, including 26 years as a Member of Parliament, I take this opportunity extend my thanks to the brotherly people in this country, those who voted for and against me at the Presidential Election on January 08, which I won as the Common Candidate of the opposition.

Honorable Members of Parliament,

By my address today another tradition of the parliament democracy is being fulfilled. This key note address, which is known as the Throne Speech according to British tradition and as Inaugural Speech according to American democracy is the presentation of the official policy statement of the new government to the parliament.

As I see, you, the representatives of the people who implement laws for the people have to face more challenges that any previous Parliament. Millions of Sri Lankans are now using new technological equipment which enable to connect with the whole world on their palms. While we went to school taking a slate for writing, our children and grandchildren have gone even beyond laptops and take iPads to school. The era in which they do it may come before the end of the tenure of this parliament. I like to tell you that the people have selected you as lawmakers in an era of transformation like this. Accordingly, everybody has the responsibility to build this country for that era to be dawn and the ambitions of new generation while protecting the values of our culture which binds us as the Sri Lanka nation.

I have something to emphasize about the national security of our country. I have the complete responsibility about national security and territorial integrity of the country as the Supreme Commander of the Armed forces as well as the Minister of Defense in accordance with the Constitution of Sri Lanka. I will fulfill that responsibility to my best ability while requesting your complete cooperation and commitment which is not second to anything in that regard.

It is my belief that the new parliament commences today will mark an important landmark of the history of Sri Lankan politics. After gaining independence, we had experiences only of coalition governments that were formed by a major party with the support of small parties. But we can see examples from various countries where they formed conventional alliance governments, forgetting their political differences to face threats to those nations. As soon as the racial discrimination was ended in South Africa, the main political parties of that country established a consensual government to eradicate the racist divisions of political parties and to achieve a rapid development for the country. I strongly believe that this moment, in which Sri Lanka marches towards a post-war era, is the golden opportunity to build a consensual government to face national and international challenges.

Our two main political parties that ruled the country during three decades of continuous conflict did not have sufficient experience to understand how to govern the peaceful Sri Lanka in a democratic structure. As we did not have enough experience on politics of consensus rather than politics of rivalry, we failed to set up a consensual alliance government with unity of the two main political parties.

The most important task of the consensual alliance, formed with the unity of the two main parties of the country, based on the concept of national government is to build reconciliation among communities and take the country towards speedy socioeconomic progress and human development so that local and international challenges in the new world dawning in 2020 could be faced successfully.

While we were in a war for three decades, many other Asian countries with similar history as ours and with weaker socio-economic conditions than us have achieved rapid development. Therefore, we should not forget that a huge development gap had been created between those countries and Sri Lanka. Even though it is delayed I understood the importance of building a consensual government with the unity of two main political parties as the key strategy for winning challenge of minimizing this gap in development.

In order to fulfill this need without any delay, I took steps after taking leadership to establish a national consensual government in accordance with what I have clearly stated in policy statement, “Maithri Palanayak (A Compassionate Government)” for the Presidential election, 2015. This Parliament is setting up a consensual government for two years to fulfill that national requirement. I trust that it will be a start of a new developed political culture of this country.

My manifesto for the last Presidential Election, accepted by the majority of people in Sri Lanka will be the foundation for drafting the agenda for the consensual government to be born through this Parliament. Similarly, the “Panchavida Kriyavaliya” (Five-fold Plan) by United National Front for good governance, “Anagathayata Sahathikayak’ (Certificate of Guarantee for the Future) by United People’s Freedom Alliance and the “Harda Sakshiye Sammuthiya” (Agreement of Consciousness) by Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna as well as the election manifesto of Tamil National Front have been studied in comparison with the policy frame based on the principles of Good Governance presented in my manifesto; ‘A Compassionate Maithri Governance – A Stable Country’. Accordingly, I will take action to establish policies in the new consensual government by mixing the policies of other parties incorporated into the future vision identified in my manifesto.

Honorable Speaker,

Any country or nation considers the constitution as the foundation of its self-identity. That is why we consider our constitution as the most supreme volume. We have had three different constitutions during past 60 years since independence. But, it is unfortunate that we could not agree with one constitution that could be acceptable to everybody as the foundation of the Sri Lanka nation. From the day 1978 constitution was established, most of the parties have been complaining about the Executive Presidency and the Electoral System which are considered as its foundation. I have paid special attention to this issue in the manifesto; Maithree palanayak (A Compassionate Governance). Passing of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of 1978 was a fulfillment of one of my key promises. It is the responsibility of the Parliament, where you are now seated, to take the final decision over the existence or the nature of the Executive Presidency. My other key promise during the election was to change the proportional representation and the preferential vote system which earned displeasure and hatred of most of the people for the last three decades and establish a new electoral system acceptable to everybody. You are aware that the foundation has been laid even by now through the proposals I presented at the end of the term of the last Parliament for the 20th Amendment to the Constitution. Accordingly, the historic task of formulating the most suitable electoral system in which all political parties and civil society agree, and passing it, are the responsibilities of this Parliament of which you all are members.

The Parliament also has the responsibility to take political decisions that we should have taken earlier, for reconciliation, coexistence and development to raise Sri Lanka as a proud nation.

You have become the partners in the task to build the modern Sri Lankan nation, which consists of the reconciliation among Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim and burgher and the coexistence among the religions, Buddhist, Hindu, Islam and Christian. I am, as President, dedicated to give the leadership, guidance and cooperation in that regard without any delay. I emphasize it is a responsibility of this Parliament to raise Sri Lanka as a great democratic nation forging ahead.

Honorable Speaker,

The most valuable resource of our country is human resource. I believe that the foundation of the development process of our country is developing the human resource to a great extent. When the modern world is gaining technological achievements, a country can grow beyond medium income level only through developing the trained workforce. Hence, my government gives the top priority for skill development and empowering the Sri Lankan workforce to be fit for any requirement of the local and international market.

I should remind you that the 21st Century is the century of Asia. It is our fortune that we are geographically situated in a position which helps us to get benefits of the economic opportunities generated in a context where Asia is emerging as the hub of the world economy. Our key responsibility is to make future economic policies, plans and strategies in a way to take maximum benefits from this great opportunity given us by the nature.

There are several important sectors and related issues that failed to receive due attention during the process of making our economic plans in the past. Informal economy based on small scale enterprises is prominent of those neglected sectors. When we consider about the contribution made from the informal economy to the national economy of Sri Lanka, we should pay more state attention and provide assistance to this sector. The government will support rural economy through the initial understanding on the micro credit and credit management to the small scale entrepreneurs and farmers who do not earn a permanent income.

Honorable Speaker,

The most valuable resource of our country is human resource. I believe that the foundation of the development process of our country is developing the human resource to a great extent. When the modern world is getting technological achievements a country can go beyond medium income level only through developing the trained workforce. Hence, my government gives the priority for skill development; the enforcing of the Sri Lankan workforce to be fit for any requirement of the local and international market.

I should remind you that the 21st century is the century of Asia. It is our fortune that we geographically situated in a position which helps get benefits of the economic opportunities, generated in a context where the Asia is emerging as the hub of the world economy. Our key responsibility is to make future economic policies, plans and strategies in a way to take maximum benefits from this great opportunity given us by the nature.

There are important fields and related issues in which have not been paid attention during the process of making our economic plans. Informal economy based on small scale enterprises is prominent from those. When we consider about the contribution made from the informal economy to the national economy of Sri Lanka we should pay more state attention and give more assistance to them. The government will support rural economy through the initial understanding on the micro credit and credit management to the small scale entrepreneurs and farmers who don’t earn permanent income.

The mandate given by the majority of the people to me is an endorsement of the manifesto that promises a Maithri governance led by the principles of good governance, rejection of corruption and protection of state property. Therefore the commitment to eradicate corruption and fraud is a key principle of my government. I will not hesitate to take action against those who are charged with misusing of state property, take them before the Judiciary, without being partial to anyone. I am committed to eradicate corruption and further strengthen the institutional structures of the country.

As you are aware, our country today is a medium income one. Our aim should be to launch the initial economic strategies successfully and rapidly to increase that income to a considerable level during the period of this Parliament.

We cannot consider Sri Lanka as an economically developed country when benefits of all developments are enjoyed by a small number of members of the rich society, while most of the people suffer from poverty. As a result of that while we are increasing the per capita income of the country we must take steps to decrease the income parity in the country.

Similarly, it is the responsibility of my government to ensure that the development is equally spread to all parts of the country. Especially, the fruits of development must reach the conflict affected areas in the North and East, so-called border areas of those provinces that suffered due to the conflict and under developed areas in other parts of the country. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure all areas of the country are equally developed.

Many developed countries in the world have achieved a rapid economic growth causing significant environmental damages which has adversely affected the humankind. However, now they have identified the disadvantages associated with their development path and, at present they are being transformed into a knowledge economy from the industrial economy, and they are moving towards policies like innovative economy, green economy and sustainable economy. It must be emphasized that in the journey ahead when we take the country towards success of human development goals and socio-economic development , we should not do any form of harm to our beautiful environment, rain forests or to flora and faunas which make Sri Lanka one of the most beautiful countries in the world. I believe when we move forward on that path we must follow the Buddhist economic strategies what the Lord Buddha preach as “Santutthi paraman dhanan” (Happiness is the supreme wealth). The world is now aware that we cannot achieve a sustainable development by going against the environment. The Buddhist Philosophy which enriched our country for the past 2500 years, demonstrates how we can achieve happiness and prosperity by following the Middle Path while preserving the environment. I consider the Buddhist economic strategies that we have with us is a great resource for us when we step into the modern world. Don’t we have to hand over this country to the future generation as a country in which people can obtain maximum satisfaction with minimum necessary consumption levels and as a country where its people are contended and not as a country that consumes most goods and services in the world?

Hon. Speaker,

Today we are living in a globalized new world. In that context, every country in the world is important to us. There are many things we can learn from them and they can learn from us. As a result of that openness and friendship between the countries will remain as the foundation of our foreign policy. I have also previously mentioned that we have entered into the Century of Asia. Accordingly, I will state that my Government will pay more attention towards a foreign policy which is an Asia-centric middle-path policy.

I believe that during the past few years the word ‘Geneva’ was often talked about in our foreign policy. From the moment I took office as the president on January 08, the perspectives international community have towards us has changed in a very positive way. When facing such complex situations successfully, the faith placed on us by the international community and their cooperation and consensus is very important. I am very happy to state that during the past seven months my government was able to change the then existed situation towards our country in a positive way while restoring the good name and reputation of the country.

It is lamentable that our country has used to import food from other countries when there is an environment to produce those food items in our own country, as in ancient times Sri Lanka has been named as “Granary of the East”. Dependence on visiting grocery shops for vegetables and fruits that we can grow in our own garden, buying crops from distant areas when they grow in your own area and importing food from other countries when they can produced in our own country are not the agricultural policy of my government. Already, I have begun to implement a National Food Policy focused on home yards, villages and the country for growing agricultural products. The main objective of the “Api Wawamu-Rata Nagamu” Program, which I implemented as the Minister of Agriculture is to promote the local food production.

I recall with honor, the Agricultural philosophy of D. S. Senanayake which recognized six decades ago, that, in order to provide a sustainable foundation for the country, it is essential to develop the agricultural sector and he established large scale new human settlements for agriculture.

The main objective of my Government is to produce healthy food locally by promoting agricultural products including rice production to fulfill the nutrition needs of the people in the country. Accordingly, my Government will work to provide water for drinking and agricultural purposes by implementing multi-purpose development projects such as Moragahakanda and Kalu Ganga and will take steps to introduce modern technology into the agricultural and livestock sector. I have taken steps to implement a national program to prevent kidney disease faced by the farmers.

I will take steps to minimize the protein deficiency of the people in the country by developing the fishing industry. As we are living in an Island we should not delay our plans to utilize our marine resources. We should not limit our sea area, which is eight times the size of the land area, only to the fishing industry. Therefore, my Government will launch immediate preparations to use marine resources in large scale and in practical manner for the development of our country.

As all of you aware, a Government cannot fulfill every aspiration of the people within this modern world order. We need to strengthen our public sector, private sector, as well as civil society in order to accomplish the needs of the people. When empowering the private sector, it is necessary to provide more facilities to local industries. My Government will provide required reliefs, facilities and incentives to boost the private sector in order to attract local and international investments. Apart from this, the Government has paid its attention to offer benefits and concessions to the employees in the private sector.

I will take special actions to enhance the develop the services such as free health service, free education and public transport that provides a major service to the people. These services get more state contribution as they are beneficial to the people. My Government has paid more attention to introduce necessary reforms to state sector in order to improve the efficiency and the quality of the service. The Government will take steps to establish Advisory Committees in state institutions to make necessary arrangements to ensure they function properly, to take steps to reduce the salary anomalies, to introduce talent-based system when recruiting persons and to adopt a new system for promotions. The government will take action to make an attitude change in public views regarding the state sector and its employees. To realize the above mentioned goals, my Government must establish a new national policy which will not change when there is a change from Minister to Minister, Government to Government or President to President.

Although, we have spoken many things regarding the youths, the youth uprising during the past years in our country proves that as a nation we have done very little about them. Due to these violent conflicts we lost thousands of valuable young lives to our country.

The implementation process of the recommendations of the Commission Report on youth uprising in 1900 is taking place at a very slow pace. My Government will reconsider those recommendations and will formulate a method to apply these recommendations in a suitable way for present day requirements. Under this, I must emphasize that my government will not allow any form of political interference when providing jobs or in any situation where state mediation is required.

We must pay more attention to the vulnerable groups such as women, children, elderly and the handicapped persons in the society. Women who are more than half of the population in Sri Lanka make a considerable contribution to the national economy and for the sustenance of the good behavior in our society. The priority will be given towards the well-being of women in all development strategies in my Government.

Our children are the future of the nation. My Government’s main intention is to build a better future for the children and to ensure their security.

There are many disabled persons living with us. I will take immediate steps to pay the proposed monthly allowance to disabled people while preserving their dignity and will take possible steps to ease tough regulations now existed regarding the monthly allowance.

Hon. Speaker

We see limitless opportunities for a Sri Lankan child to triumph in this modern world and one’s race, religion, region, social status or economic potential should not be an obstacle for that. However, that does not mean that if a person has an identity, it should be devalued. Regrettably, even today there are reminisces of the age of feudalism which prevents us from resurging as a Modern Nation. In many situations I have seen some people face inconvenience when their family names announced loudly in public places. I believe using family names in an inconvenient way to people is an obstacle to build the modern Sri Lankan identity. Because of that if there is a necessity to include the family name in public places and public documents, the relevant authorities must take permission of the holder of the name. My government will make necessary provisions if someone does not interested to show their complete family name, to use only the initials of the surname. According to this there is no hindrance to the right to use the family name publicly. Specially, I consider this action as taking a step forward of the social-democratic philosophy of S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike who gave leadership to the social revolution in 1956.

New challenges and new social problems will emerge inevitably within the world in keeping with its changes day to day. We must be ready to face these challenges with a new vision, while maintaining our good values.

Already Sri Lanka is a country with a high level of drug consumption. I must emphasize that if we fail to protect our children from this drug menace, none of our future objectives will be successful. Drug use, not only a health issue, it is also a social problem of our country. I have already initiated a new Island-wide program of action to prevent the drug use.

Hon. Speaker,

Scholars and intellectuals of the country have pointed out a long time ago, that a new political culture should be introduced in our country. I must recall that I came into power on January 08 in keeping with that pledge. I am committed to create a new political culture with political leaders with good values, good personality, a good image as well as discipline. These are the qualities an exemplary political leader must have.

Now we have the foundation for the new political culture in our country which the general public and local scholars and intellectuals, as well as those who are abroad, anticipated. I request the intellectuals around the country and all expatriate Sri Lankans to use your expertise and skills to develop the motherland in this consensual political environment. My Government will establish a special bureau under my directive to coordinate the expatriate Sri Lankans who wish to return to the motherland and we will offer a red carpet welcome to them. I would like them that now it is time for us to work unitedly for the betterment of the country, instead of dividing into endless factions and groups.

Finally, I must emphasize on one issue. Since we gained independence, this country has been ruled by the two major political parties. From that a one party ruled this country for 35 years. The other main political party ruled this country for 32 years. I would kindly request all of you to give me your assistance in my determined effort to build consensus among political parties instead of blaming each other for their particular doings during their respective regimes and increasing political rivalry.

From now on, keeping with this consensual politics as the foundation between the two main political parties, I request from all the political parties represented in the Parliament and all the people’s representatives in Parliament, to pay their attention to find the ways and means as to how we could use this consensus among all political groups and the present emerging good political culture for the betterment and progress of our country. (ColomboTelegraph)

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Sri Lanka Between Elections

A half year after Maithripala Sirisena’s stunning defeat of President Mahinda Raja­paksa raised hopes for democratic renaissance, the complexities of partisan politics, and Rajapaksa himself, have returned to centre stage. Sirisena’s initial months with a minority government led by the United National Party (UNP) have opened important political space: robust debate and criticism have replaced the fear under Rajapaksa, and important governance reforms have been made, but much remains undone. By initial steps on reconciliation, the government set a more accommodating tone on the legacy of the civil war and the ethnic conflict that drove it. But divisions within government and Sirisena’s failure to take control of his Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) prevented deeper reform and allowed Rajapaksa and his supporters to mount a comeback. With Sirisena opposing Rajapaksa’s return, the 17 August parliamentary elections will test the continued appeal of the ex-president’s hardline Sinhala nationalism and give a chance for the fresh start that lasting solutions to the country’s social divisions require. 

Before running out of steam in June, Sirisena’s first six months saw notable achievements. Most important was parliament’s April passage of the nineteenth amendment to the constitution. Largely fulfilling the central pledge of the joint opposition campaign, it considerably reduced presidential powers and established independent oversight commissions. Though the original draft was watered down, the amendment is a welcome move away from authoritarianism and could assist in re-establishing the badly-damaged rule of law. As promised in their election manifesto, Sirisena and his UNP partners also launched scores of investigations into alleged major fraud and abuse of power by officials of the former government. While the unprecedented scale of the anti-corruption drive raised public expectations, the lack of indictments thus far has fed rumours of backroom deals and growing doubts that the institutional and political obstacles to effective prosecutions can ever be overcome.

The bright hopes of the government’s initial months were increasingly tarnished by unclear, ad hoc policies, frequently contradictory policy statements and missed deadlines for pledged reforms. As parliamentary elections, originally promised for June, were postponed, the coalition that elected Sirisena began to fragment. While the UNP and smaller parties urged him to dissolve parliament and hold elections after passage of the nineteenth amendment, he spent months trying and failing to win over the SLFP, whose nominal leadership he assumed after winning the presidency, following a decade of Rajapaksa at its helm. 

The SLFP, which has a large majority in parliament, resented Sirisena’s unprecedented experiment with a “national government” dominated by its arch-rival UNP. Many SLFP parliamentarians remain loyal to Rajapaksa; others see the ex-president as the party’s best chance to retain its majority in the next parliament, given his popularity among Sinhala voters. After months of resisting Rajapaksa’s selection as the prime ministerial candidate of the SLFP-led United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), lack of support in the party forced Sirisena to yield in early July.

Sirisena has since made it clear he opposes Rajapaksa’s candidacy and will not appoint him prime minister, even if the UPFA wins an unlikely majority. The ex-president’s opponents within the SLFP, along with smaller parties, have joined a new version of the UNP-led coalition that brought Sirisena victory in January, now re-energised by the threat of a Rajapaksa comeback. With the UPFA arguing the UNP threatens national security and supports Tamil separatism, the election will test the strength of Rajapaksa’s brand of Sinhala nationalism, as well as the depth of public concern over corruption and abuses of power. Even if he cannot become prime minister, Rajapaksa’s leadership of a large Sinhala nationalist bloc in parliament could make it harder for a UNP-led government’s to act as promised on reconciliation and accountability.

The Sirisena-UNP government set a new, less Sinhala triumphalist tone on ethnic issues and took some steps for reconciliation: releasing a number of Tamil political prisoners and limited amounts of military-occupied land in Tamil areas, while reducing the presence, though not size, of the military and its involvement in governing the north and east. Despite growing frustration among many Tamils, larger moves have been put off until after elections, as has action on alleged war crimes by both the military and the defeated Tamil Tigers. The government promises a credible domestic inquiry that meets international standards, but doubts about its willingness and ability to tackle institutionalised impunity and prosecute war crimes are widespread and well founded. Successful prosecutions require significant legal and institutional reforms and management of resistance from military leaders and nationalist parties.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) is due to deliver its long-awaited war crimes report to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) before it meets in September. At that session, the newly-elected government should commit to the legal reforms needed to effectively prosecute serious human rights violations suffered by all ethnic communities, including war crimes; to pursue prosecutions with adequate witness protection and international involvement; and to consult widely with victims, survivors and community groups on its longer-term program of transitional justice, including a possible truth commission. To be effective, these processes will require consistent international scrutiny and participation, including OHCHR assistance to investigations and continued monitoring and reporting to the HRC.

The parliamentary elections offer voters the chance to renew the mandate for change they gave Sirisena and the UNP in January. A strong showing by the Raja­paksa-led UPFA, however, would complicate the president’s plans to form a broad-based “national” government between the UNP, smaller parties and the reformist wing of the SLFP and place obstacles to further progress on much-needed governance reforms and reconciliation. Sri Lanka’s chance to finally start on the road to a sustainable resolution of the country’s decades-long ethnic strife, including a negotiated political settlement, depends on the outcome.(ICG)

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JVP Election Manifesto woos big business in Sri Lanka

The opposition Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) released its manifesto for the August 17 general election in Sri Lanka late last month. Entitled “The Accord of Conscience,” its overriding aim is to demonstrate to the ruling elites that it is a reliable and viable alternative to the two main bourgeois parties—the ruling United National Party (UNP) and the opposition Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).

The JVP, which was established in the 1960s advocating the “armed struggle” by rural Sinhala youth, has long been integrated into the Colombo political establishment, exchanging its guerrilla fatigues for parliamentary seats. It is seeking to function as a political safety valve for the widespread hostility among working people to the UNP and the SLFP.

The JVP’s ability to do so, however, has been seriously undermined by falling support and a series of debilitating splits since it joined an SLFP-led coalition government in 2004 and assisted in implementing pro-business policies. The number of JVP parliamentarians plunged from 39 in 2004 to 4 in the 2010 general elections. In the latest round of provincial council elections in 2013 and 2014, its overall seat count in the central, north western, western and southern provinces collapsed from 55 to 7.

Conscious of the JVP’s role in diverting public alienation into safe parliamentary channels, the Colombo media gave its manifesto launch on July 22 broad publicity. The state-owned Independent Television Network (ITN) broadcast the entire event live for the cost of just 54,600 rupees ($4,082)—substantially less than the usual price of around 200,000 rupees.

The discount was undoubtedly for services rendered to President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. The JVP backed the election of Sirisena in the presidential election in January—a carefully orchestrated operation backed by the US to oust former President Mahinda Rajapakse who Washington regarded as too close to Beijing. Sirisena then appointed Wickremesinghe as prime minister to head a minority UNP-led government.

In the current election campaign, the JVP is posturing as an opponent of the UNP and the SLFP. In presenting the manifesto to a special party conference, JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake criticised both the UNP and SLFP, declaring: “The successive governments over last 67 years have done nothing to develop the country.”

The JVP, however, has since its formation supported one or other of the main bourgeois parties, most recently demonstrated by its support for the installation of Sirisena and Wickremesinghe. Since the January election, the JVP has been represented on the 13-member National Executive Council (NEC), the country’s top advisory body that includes the president and prime minister and has overseen the implementation of government policy.

There is no doubt that the JVP is backing the UNP in the election. While making muted criticisms of Wickremesinghe in its campaign, JVP leaders direct their main fire against the “corrupt, nepotistic and dictatorial” Rajapakse and vow to prevent him from coming to power. Both the SLFP and the UNP are capitalist parties that have a long record of attacks on the democratic rights and social conditions of the working class.

The JVP was founded on the ideology of Castroism, Maoism and Sinhala populism but has all but abandoned its previous socialistic and anti-imperialist rhetoric. Its election manifesto is pitched to big business. The JVP promises to promote “public-private partnerships,” provide a five-year tax holiday and other benefits for investors, and to industrialise agriculture with an orientation to exports. Dissanayake blamed successive governments for reducing Sri Lanka’s portion in the world market to 0.45 percent and pledged to reverse the trend.

Under conditions of global economic breakdown and falling commodity prices, the JVP’s promises can only mean that it will implement and enforce the demands of big business for lower wages and greater productivity—that is, higher rates of exploitation. This is already evident in the tea plantation sector where companies are insisting on higher workloads with no wage rises in order to compete on the world market.

The JVP manifesto calls for the country’s economy to be based on “new socialism”—a phrase that it has adapted from the Stalinist Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which justifies its transformation of China into a gigantic cheap labour platform for global corporations as “socialism with Chinese characteristics.” The JVP, which still maintains party-to-party relations with the CCP, is offering to replicate the brutal exploitation of Chinese workers in Sri Lanka.

The JVP organised a special meeting for corporate leaders on July 27 in Colombo. Dissanayake assured the audience that the JVP was “ready to join hands with business community” and had organised the meeting to convince businessmen not to regard the party with suspicion. “There is an opinion that JVP is going to have an economic system which takes from the rich to give to the poor,” he declared, but stressed that was wrong.

In presenting the JVP manifesto, Dissanayake offered another assurance to the ruling elites—that the party would not take up arms again. “We have done some actions that should not have been done by a party. We regret these actions. We will not fight with arms. Our fight will be between ideas,” he declared.

The JVP launched an adventurist insurrection in 1971 that was brutally suppressed. Again in the late 1980s, its gunmen killed hundreds of political opponents and workers who refused to support its chauvinist campaign against the Indo-Lanka Accord. The Accord was an agreement between Colombo and New Delhi to allow Indian “peace-keeping” troops into northern Sri Lanka to enforce a ceasefire in the country’s civil war and disarm the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in return for the limited devolution of powers on the provincial level.

The JVP’s empty promises to voters are basically no different from the lies being told by the UNP and the SLFP. It declares that it will ensure democracy by declaring that it will abolish the country’s executive presidency that has been used by successive presidents to underpin their autocratic methods of rule.

The JVP has made the same pledge again and again but has also repeatedly encouraged presidents to use their executive powers. In 2003, the JVP campaigned for President Chandrika Kumaratunga to dismiss the defence and home ministers in the UNP government, and, in the following year, to sack the entire government on the grounds of “national security.” The JVP then campaigned alongside the SLFP in the 2004 election and held three ministries when it formed government.

The JVP now denounces Rajapakse as “corrupt, nepotistic and dictatorial” but in 2005, its leaders campaigned for his election as president. Right up until the defeat of the LTTE in 2009, the JVP defended Rajapakse and his executive powers, and was a cheerleader for the military’s ruthless war that cost tens of thousands of civilian lives. 

The JVP’s claim that reducing the powers of the president and boosting those of parliament will guarantee democracy is a fraud. In Sri Lanka, as in other countries, parliament is simply the façade for bourgeois rule and the ruthless use of the state apparatus to protect private property and profits at the expense of the working class.

The only new lie that the JVP has added to its propaganda is that it now postures as a party that can heal the divisions produced by nearly 30 years of communal war. At the special party conference, JVP leader Dissanayake accused governments, past and present, of “sowing racism to establish their power.”

The comment is breathtaking in its cynicism and hypocrisy. The JVP has been mired in Sinhala communalism from its very inception, when it branded oppressed Tamil plantation workers brought to Sri Lanka as indentured labour under British rule as an “Indian cultural invasion” that was a threat to “the motherland.”

The JVP always backed the communal war begun by the UNP in 1983 to the hilt. Its opposition to the Indo-Lanka Accord in the late 1980s was not because it was aimed against the working class, but because it “betrayed the motherland” by allowing an “invasion” by Indian troops. Right up until the LTTE’s defeat in 2009, the JVP demanded that working people “sacrifice” for the war effort to “defend the motherland.” When Rajapakse resumed the war in 2006, the JVP helped build bunkers for the military, voted for the war budgets and denounced all those opposed to the war as “traitors” and “terrorist supporters.”

The JVP leopard has not changed its spots. Its appeal for “national unity” and phony opposition to racism is aimed at winning support among Tamils in the North and East where it is standing candidates. At the same time, it has attacked the bourgeois Tamil National Alliance for calling for a federal constitution, not from the standpoint that it divides working people, but from the chauvinist position that it “divides the nation.”

The JVP’s “anti-racist” posturing is also aimed at presenting a more respectable image in ruling circles in Colombo and internationally. It is de facto aligned with the UNP, which is backed by the US. Washington supported the war against the LTTE until it was defeated, but is now encouraging a political compromise between the island’s Sinhala and Tamil elites and is seeking to marginalise Chinese influence in Sri Lanka.

The JVP manifesto still contains “anti-imperialist” and “anti-colonialist” phrases but it cultivates close relations with Western diplomats. It backed the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, supported Washington’s bogus “war on terror” and has had a series of discussions at the US embassy in Colombo, including with senior administration officials. In other words, the JVP has not only transformed itself into a useful political tool for the Sri Lankan ruling class but is also offering its services to imperialism. (By W. A. Sunil)

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The international significance of the Sri Lankan general election

The Sri Lankan parliamentary election on August 17 deserves to be closely followed. While the events in Greece and the betrayal of Syriza have been the subject of wide media attention, the political crisis in Sri Lanka is another acute expression of the breakdown of global capitalism, which is fueling bitter geo-political rivalries and social counterrevolution against the working class.

The Socialist Equality Party (SEP), the Sri Lankan section of the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI), is waging an ambitious campaign, standing 43 candidates in three key electoral districts—the capital Colombo, Jaffna in the war-torn north of the island, and Nuwara Eliya in the centre of the country’s extensive tea plantations. The SEP is the only party fighting for the perspective of socialist internationalism to unify the working class in the struggle against war, austerity and attacks on democratic rights.

Sri Lanka, which sits astride vital sea lanes, is a focus of the US “pivot to Asia” and its preparations for war against China. The United States, along with India, was deeply involved behind-the-scenes in the ouster of Mahinda Rajapakse as president in the January 8 presidential election. Rajapakse’s “crime,” as far as Washington and New Delhi were concerned, was not his autocratic methods of rule or the atrocities for which his government was responsible in the final stages of the communal war against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), but his close ties with Beijing.

The regime-change operation engineered by Washington, in league with former President Chandrika Kumaratunga and the pro-US United National Party (UNP), resulted in the installation of Maithripala Sirisena as president. Various middle-class liberal groups and pseudo-left organisations played the critical role in dressing up Sirisena, who as Rajapakse’s health minister was just as culpable for all of the government’s crimes, as a champion of democracy. The SEP alone exposed this fraud and warned the working class that Sirisena would be just as ruthless as Rajapakse in imposing the agenda of big business.

Since January, Sri Lanka has rapidly been drawn into Washington’s “pivot to Asia” against Beijing. Following the election, a string of high-level US administration and military figures made a beeline for Colombo, culminating in the visit of US Secretary of State John Kerry in May. He called for “an annual partnership dialogue” and identified the importance of Sri Lanka’s “strategic location near deep-water ports in India and Myanmar,” which could enable it to “serve as the fulcrum of a modern and dynamic Indo-Pacific region.” A crucial aspect of the Pentagon’s war planning against Beijing is the ability to disrupt China’s shipping routes across the Indian Ocean to supplies of energy and raw materials in Africa and the Middle East.

Sirisena came to power promising to improve living standards and guarantee democratic rights—all within a whirlwind 100 days—after which he would call a parliamentary election. However, these plans quickly went awry amid a worsening international economic breakdown and, as in Greece, draconian austerity demands from the representatives of global finance capital. Burdened with a growing debt, the Sri Lankan economy is teetering on the brink of a balance-of-payments crisis. In March, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) flatly rejected Colombo’s request for a $4 billion loan, demanding greater budget cutbacks and, in effect, a reversal of the government’s very limited handouts.

Sirisena has already broken many of his “100 days” pledges, delaying loan increases for students and providing only part of the promised pay increase for public-sector workers. Private-sector employees have received no wage increase despite prices for essential food items soaring by up to 20 percent.

As the SEP warned, the “democrat” Sirisena has not hesitated to mobilise the security forces to suppress the growing resistance in the working class. The government has deployed the army as strike-breakers against health workers, used the police against protesting students, and backed the victimisation of plantation strike leaders.

The current election campaign takes place under conditions of acute political crisis in Colombo and deep fractures within the ruling elite. The two contenders in the January presidential election are both members of the opposition Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), and Sirisena, by virtue of being the country’s president, is also nominal party head. However, rising public hostility towards the government has emboldened Rajapakse and his supporters to take control of the party’s election campaign and promote the ousted president as the next prime minister. In so doing, Rajapakse is resorting to the stock-in-trade of Colombo politicians, whipping up anti-Tamil chauvinism and fears of an LTTE revival.

The prospect of Rajapakse returning to power has already triggered alarm bells in Washington and New Delhi, which will not tolerate Colombo’s resumption of close ties with Beijing. The announcement that Rajapakse would run in the election was greeted by a storm of criticism from Sri Lankan liberal and pseudo-left organisations. Those that denounced the “fascist Rajapakse dictatorship” in January have not hesitated to demand that Sirisena use his autocratic presidential powers to block Rajapakse’s return to power.

Sirisena has already announced that he will not appoint Rajapakse as prime minister even if the SLFP and its allies win a majority in the August 17 election. Such a flagrantly unconstitutional action could only be enforced through the establishment of an autocratic regime backed by the military.

In Greece, the pseudo-left in power—the Syriza government—carried out a monumental betrayal of the working class. In Sri Lanka, the pseudo-left organisations—the Nava Sama Samaja Party (NSSP), the United Socialist Party (USP) and the Frontline Socialist Party (USP)—have been the cheerleaders for Sirisena and the right-wing, pro-American UNP. Their integration into ruling circles is underscored by the appointment of NSSP leader Wickremabahu Karunaratne to the 13-member National Executive Council (NEC)—the top government advisory body overseeing policy implementation—where he functions as the regime’s apologist in chief.

Despite sharp differences in foreign policy orientation, whichever parties form the next government will rapidly drop their election promises as they proceed to impose the IMF’s austerity demands. The gulf between the needs and aspirations of the working class and the entire political establishment is an expression of the immense social divide between rich and poor and the irreconcilability of sharpening class antagonisms.

The SEP is alone in advancing a revolutionary socialist program against war, austerity and attacks on democratic rights in opposition to both the Sirisena and Rajapakse camps of the ruling class. Sri Lanka is being inexorably drawn into the maelstrom of geo-political rivalry and conflict—a process that can be opposed only on the basis of an internationalist perspective aimed at uniting workers on the island with their class brothers and sisters throughout the Indian subcontinent and globally to abolish capitalism, which is the root cause of war.

The SEP is the only party capable of uniting workers across ethnic lines. It has waged an intransigent political struggle against all forms of nationalism and communalism and mounted an unswerving and principled opposition to the protracted war waged by successive Colombo governments against the democratic rights of the Tamil minority. The SEP fights for a Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and Eelam as part of the struggle for socialism throughout South Asia and internationally. It deserves the support of workers and young people around the world. (Peter Symonds)

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Sri Lankan Dovernment Postpones Constitutional Amendment

The minority United National Party (UNP)-led government in Sri Lanka has been thrown into crisis after being forced to put off the parliamentary debate over its proposed 19th amendment to the constitution. Debate was due to take place on Thursday and Friday.

The postponement was a result of infighting between ruling and opposition parties and compounded by the Supreme Court’s determination that some clauses should be referred to a referendum. The amendment has already been changed several times in a bid to get the backing of parliamentary opposition parties.

The main proposal was to abolish the executive presidency and transfer most powers to a prime minister and cabinet responsible to the parliament. The president would remain as head of the state, but acting under the advice of the prime minister, and would retain the post of commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

Abolition of the executive presidency was one of the chief planks of the program of Maithripala Sirisena who, with the backing of the UNP, ousted Mahinda Rajapakse in the January presidential election. Sirisena, who had been part of Rajapakse’s cabinet until the election was called, hypocritically denounced the former president’s corruption and dictatorial rule.

The election took on the character of a regime-change operation backed by the US, which was hostile to Rajapakse’s close ties with China. Sirisena capitalised on the widespread public opposition to the previous government’s anti-democratic methods and attacks on social rights. The proposed constitutional amendment, however, is not aimed at restoring democracy, but at fashioning new forms of autocratic rule to impose its austerity agenda on workers and the poor.

Altogether 19 petitions were presented to the Supreme Court by different political parties, civil groups and individuals—most of them opposed to granting more powers to the prime minister.

Parliamentary speaker Chamal Rajapakse read the Supreme Court’s opinion to parliament on Thursday. It stated that the clauses delegating the executive powers of the president to the prime minister required a two-thirds majority in parliament and a referendum thus effectively blocking the move. Similar approval was also needed to appoint a competent authority to monitor state and private television to prevent violations of the election commissioner’s rules during an election.

The Supreme Court determination was hailed in the media as proof that it was now impartial under the new government. In fact, the court’s opinion simply reflects the fact that sections of the political establishment want to retain a strong presidency amid a worsening economic and social crisis.

In a bid to broaden parliamentary support for the amendment, Sirisena included members of his Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) in the UNP-led government. However, most SLFP parliamentarians are still sitting in the opposition and are accusing the UNP of seeking to put autocratic powers in the hands of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The SLFP is in turmoil after the election—sections of the party continue to support Rajapakse while others back Sirisena, who retained his membership even though he defected to the opposition. On Tuesday, SLFP members voted down a proposal to issue treasury bills amounting to 400 billion rupees ($US3 billion) creating a new crisis for the government.

There is sharp opposition to the constitutional amendment even among those parties backing the government. The Sinhala extremist Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), which is part of the ruling coalition, filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the constitutional changes and accused Wickremesinghe of seeking to usurp presidential powers.

On Thursday, Wickremesinghe told the parliament that the government would change some clauses of the amendment and put it for the vote later this month. In a bid to head off criticism, he also said the amendment would not take effect until the next presidential term—some six years away. In other words, the executive presidency would not end immediately as promised.

Posturing as a champion of democracy, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has vocally backed the proposed amendment. JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake declared: “We think the new amendment is the right choice for democracy. It gives public servants the necessary legal frame to work independently.”

Likewise, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the main Tamil bourgeois party, has declared that it views the proposal as a step towards democracy. The TNA is backing the government hoping for a compromise with the Colombo ruling elites that would strengthen its position through the devolution of powers at the provincial level.

Rajapakse, however, is seeking to exploit the government’s growing political crisis to make a come-back. He has told the media that some presidential powers, but not all, should be reduced. He is being promoted by sections of the SLFP and former coalition partners, including the Sinhala chauvinist parties—the National Freedom Front and Mahajana Eksath Peramuna as well as the opportunist Lanka Sama Samaja Party and the Stalinist Communist Party.

Rajapakse is operating from a leading Buddhist temple in Colombo and organising meetings at temples. The Sunday Times reported he was planning a march of 5,000 monks that will mobilise reactionary Sinhala-Buddhist forces to back his bid to return to power.

None of the parties—those backing or not backing the executive presidential system—has the slightest concern for democratic rights of working people. Sirisena’s SLFP and the UNP are notorious for attacks on democratic rights including the waging of a brutal communal war against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

In 1978, the UNP government of former President J. R. Jayawardene rewrote the constitution, crowning it with the executive presidential system with broad autocratic powers. Jayawardene boasted that the “only thing the president cannot do is to change a man into a woman and vice versa.”

The 1978 constitution was the preparation for implementing pro-market policies that savagely attacked the living standards of the working class in order to turn the island into a cheap labour platform. Jayawardene sacked 100,000 public sector employees to crush a general strike in order to impose his attacks on jobs and conditions. The UNP government was responsible for the 1983 island-wide anti-Tamil pogrom that precipitated the plunge into civil war.

In opposition, every party—the SLFP and UNP alike—has postured as an opponent of the executive presidency only to abandon their promises when in office and further strengthen the presidency. Rajapakse pushed through the 18th amendment that removed the two-term limit on the presidency and strengthened his powers to directly appoint top judges and state officials.

Rajapakse’s autocratic methods of rule were not simply a personal weakness or a product of his regime’s corruption and nepotism. Rather his resort to police state methods was above all directed at suppressing any resistance by workers and the poor to his government’s attacks on living standards.

The new UNP-led government is preparing to do the same. (WSWS)

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