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| Sunday, 15 February 2004 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Ballots, Bullets and Baksheesh by H.L.D.Mahindapala The struggle to grab the reins of power in Sri Lanka has manifested itself in a three-ways: 1) violent overthrow of elected governments; 2) elections and (3) crossovers. Put another way, the power struggle has come down to bullets, ballots or baksheesh (originally a good Persian word meaning present, later corrupted in usage in India to mean money given in recognition of lower, or inferior services -- OED).
Except for the rare occasions when either military coups or violent uprisings occurred (and failed) the mainstream parties have stuck to either crossovers or elections to claim legitimacy for capturing or retaining power. By and large, the power struggle carried out through electoral balloting has a greater legitimacy than manipulating votes of elected MPs behind doors for crossovers. Of course, the principle of elected MPs crossing over on matters affecting their conscience has been recognized as a valid democratic act. But in the only two known crossovers in Sri Lanka that resulted in the elected governments being overthrown by plotting in the backrooms the legitimate conscience vote has been replaced by the illegitimate baksheesh of bookies and other sources of funding. Enticing MPs to crossover and undermine the majorities of elected governments can be effected only by parties with money. Here it should be noted that the only party with cash overflow has been the UNP. This has given the UNP an unfair advantage over the other parties which do not have the backing of the moneyed manipulators. UNP is also the party which has a history of buying MPs under the counter and destabilizing elected governments. Ranil Wickremesinghe's father, Esmond Wickremesinghe, was the master-mind behind the first cross-over to overthrow the centre-left coalition led by Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike. His son, Ranil Wickremesinghe, repeated his fathers coup against Mrs. Bandaranaikes daughter, Chandrika. To adopt Marxs famous dictum, the history that brought Ranil into power repeated itself as a comedy. Thilanga Sumathipala, the controversial bookmaker, is on record saying that it was he who brought Ranil Wickremesinghe into power. So what has Sumathipala got that, say for instance, S. B. Dissanayake, a key figure in the crossover, hasn't got? Sumathipala is openly declaring that, as the power behind the throne, he has a bigger political clout than the entire UNF Cabinet which is scared to touch him. His refusal to resign from two key positions the Cricket Board and Telecom is a challenge thrown from his remand bed in the National Hospital to the UNF government to sack him if they dare. The ministers have passed the buck to the prime minister saying that Sumathipala was a Wickremesinghe appointee. And Wickremesinghe, as usual, is sitting tight hoping that somebody else would do the job for him. The entire saga of Sumathipala unfolding in the courts is living testimony to the prime ministers total inability to give moral or political leadership. Over and over again it has been proved that he withdraws into a state of paralysis when crises hit him in the face. His best know tactics has been to procrastinate making decisions, hoping that, sooner or later, something (example: a committee) or somebody (example: Bush) will turn up to rescue him. He is yet to realize that the life span of committees is limited and it has the power only to buy a bit of time and not to solve the issues facing him as a leader. Besides, he should know by now, being a frequent flyer to President Trumans desk in the White House, where the buck finally stops. Unfortunately, his knowledge (backed up by Milinda Moragodas Bush-baked brains) is of little use to him because each time the buck turns up at his desk at Temple Trees he either shoves it under a committee, or a safety net. So what has happened to the crafty and the wily fox gifted with the right quantum of political cunning to undercut his opponents, solve problems and deliver the people the goods and service they need? In reality, all this ballyhoo about his extraordinary powers to overcome problems turned out to be a fanciful figment of the febrile imagination of failed fiction writers in some sectors of the private media. As long as he was in the opposition, where he did not have the responsibility of solving the nations critical issues, his minders in the media crowed about his wily capacity to achieve results. But once he was put in the seat of power to do his job this myth came apart at the seams. Ranils real test came when he was challenged by the President. After biding her time, giving him enough rope to hang himself, she disempowered him in one gazetted stroke. Her timing was impeccable. She disabled Ranil exactly at the time when he was under the mistaken belief that his future was guaranteed by the loose coalition in parliament, Prabhakaran in the Vanni and, above all, his safety net at the White House. Imagine, for instance, the following conversation in the Oval office: Ranil: Mr. President thank you for giving me the grand safety net. Bush: Ah, Mr. Prime Minister, didn't you know that your president has cut it to ribbons? Ranil certainly would have felt the insult added to his injury. It would have hit him like an earthquake on a Richter scale of 8. But he put on a brave face as he advanced to face the media gathered on the White House lawn. His nervousness though was reflected on the hands which he kept rubbing and pressing one against the other. On his return flight, before the wheels of his plane could touch the tarmac, he dropped his well-cut Western suits and donned his white, collarless native garb. After all he was coming home to meet his native voters. Busloads of the natives were disgorged at the airport to convince him and the TV cameras that the people were behind him. And he believed that a sweeping wave of sympathy was carrying him forward to new heights of power. Clearly, the local tide was rising against Ranil. As power began to slip out of Ranils hands the Mano-Malik committee (here we go again!) was launched, hoping to work out a compromise. However, no compromise was achievable because Ranils camp was manoeuvring to save their masters face by handing over the security forces which he had no intention of using either to maintain law and order or to enforce the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) which was being violated flagrantly by his co-signatory, Velupillai Prabhakaran. The SLMM had recorded that 95% of the violations of the CFA was committed by his co-signatory. In the meantime, various compromise formulas proposed by the President did not satisfy Ranil because he was hell-bent on getting the military power he needed to save the LTTE and not the nation. Towards the end, when Ranil realized that neither his safety net abroad nor his local backers could help him to regain his lost powers, he relented somewhat (not fully) and offered to accept what could be salvaged. By then the mounting political pressures had reached a climax and the unexpected SLFP-JVP alliance pushed him into a corner from which he could not escape. The most striking feature of this new alliance is that it has its roots in the silent majority. The presence of the JVP is significant and vital. Of all the parties in the alliance JVP commands a political respect among the new voters. JVP today is the best organized party at the political, grassroot and trade union levels. Unlike all other parties of south, it is the only party which has direct and powerful links to the Sri Lankan diaspora. It has a substantial base in Italy and its branches are spreading their tentacles in Australia, Switzerland, France etc. The silent majority consists of not only Sinhala-Buddhists but also the disenchanted Muslims and sections of the Tamil community who are alarmed by the increasing powers of the LTTE. Increasing the military capability of the LTTE thanks to Ranils collaboration is not conducive for the key socio-political factors required for a stable future: peace, democracy, rule of law, pluralism and, above all, the safety of Tamils and their children. In the short run left for the election the people will be asked to choose between Ranil who is dependent entirely on the LTTE directed votes, and the rest of the nation. Even Rauf Hakeem, a key ally of Ranil, is hesitant to join hands with him because the Muslim vote has turned against Ranil who is aligned to their worst nightmares: 1) Bush and 2) Prabhakaran. Both are destroyers of the Muslims, both at home and abroad. Some politicians do have this suicidal tendency to veer away from the mainstream and go down by-ways used mainly by those who never returned to tell their tale. Ranil has chosen to go down this track from 2001 and the last lap seems to end in April. And remember, April is the cruellest month, said the poet. So for whom will the cruel bells toll in April? |
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