|
|
 |
 |
| Sunday, 2 May 2004 |
 |
|
 |
Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
May Day Message of the Christian Workers Fellowship (CWF) 2004: Struggling for a better world by Vijaya Vidyasagara We celebrate May Day this year in the context of the continuing massive mass demonstrations and protests all the world over against US led Imperialism and capitalist globalisation, where not a single international conference of either IMF, World Bank, WTO, World Economic Forum or G7 has been spared from these protests. It was only in early January this year that we saw a gigantic outburst in Mumbai, India involving a gathering of over 150,000 people coming together from 130 countries in the World Social Forum to debate, plan and act under the slogan "Another World is Possible". This was as an annual counterpoint to the World Economic Forum (WEF), the famous annual meeting of global political and business leaders held in Davos, Switzerland. Today it is common for the media and public to contrast the two events: the WEF where some world leaders ponder over the future of economic growth and where business leaders strike deals and the WSF in contrast where many thousands of mainly idealistic people meet to discuss and plan how to overcome the problems of the world's poor and marginalised which they claim are caused by a monopolistic global system of wealth and national systems of social inequity. In fact today the WSF's agenda has broadened from questions of unfair economic globalisation to express outrage at the use of military might, mainly by the United States in its wars on Afghanistan and Iraq and also by Israel against the Palestinians. Demand for an Alternative System In all this agitation and outburst throughout the world, there has been a consistent demand for an alternative economic system promotive of human development as a counter to profit-oriented, iniquitous capitalist globalisation. The bitter experience of the Latin American countries and more specifically Argentina and Brazil in relation to IMF - World Bank. Policies has served to deepen the anger directed at US Imperialism which stands behind the "free market" model favoured by the IMF, World Bank and World Trade Organisation (WTO). Although the Socialist and progressive forces in Sri Lanka have been alive to these changes since the introduction of the 'open economy' in 1977, an unambiguous rejection of these IMF-World Bank policies by our people is to be seen in the recent General Election results of April 2004 with the victory of the People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA), which brought down the previous United National Front (UNF) Government, winning 14 districts out of 22 and 106 electorates out of a total of 160 with an overall majority of over 700,000 votes. The election results also showed a clear polarisation of social forces between the 'haves' and 'have-nots' our society, between the marginalised farming community and rural population mainly agricultural who massively backed the UPFA and the urban centred financial and commercial strata of capitalist society and those influenced by them who were attracted to the policies of the United National Party. This electoral victory however is not reflected in the present Parliament with the UPFA being forced to form a minority Government owing to the bizarre Constitution and Electoral System introduced in 1978 along with the 'open economy'. Furthermore, the alleged victory of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) especially in the North has to be denounced as a travesty of democracy and human rights by all accounts since no opposition to the armed rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and their puppets of the TNA was permitted and ballot boxes were 'stuffed' and voters brazenly impersonated to give those purported to be elected, majorities of 95 % unheard of in the elections held anywhere in this country. These fraudulently appointed MPs totalling 22 have also now served to deprive the new Government of its majority. In this context it would seem a mockery of all democratic norms to admit the claim of the TNA to dominate an "Interim Self- Governing Authority" advanced by the Tamil Tigers as the basis for their returning to the peace talks. "Regaining Sri Lanka" Programme The previous UNF Government pursued a policy of abject subservience to US led Imperialism. This was seen in Prime Minister Wickremesinghe's Speech at the General Assembly of the United Nations where he condoned the illegal capture of Iraq and supported the role of the USA as an "international policeman", besides also shamelessly taking the side of the US through his representatives at the Ministerial Meeting of the World Trade Organisation at Cancun, Mexico against the interests of the Third World countries led by China, India, South Africa and Brazil. But most of all it was evident in his complete commitment to the World Bank-IMF document titled "Regaining Sri Lanka" and a massive loan of Rs. 450 billion (US $ 4.5 b ) by the Tokyo Consortium for the implementation of this Programme which ironically was most detrimental to the interests of Sri Lanka and for reconstruction of the North and East as a part of the peace process. It is precisely this "Regaining Sri Lanka" programme that has now been decisively rejected by the people of Sri Lanka at the General Election of April this year. Indeed some of the items of this programme were sought to be carried out, earlier in the form of the withdrawal of the fertiliser subsidy, labour legislation to facilitate the termination of employment, welfare cuts and the removal of the restriction of overtime for women workers. So also the attempt to privatise the Railways and the implementation of privatisation measures such as the sale of lucrative ventures like the Ceylon Insurance Corporation and the Distilleries Corporation which were in line with these policies. The privatisation of water and land was prevented after rulings by the Supreme Court. It is now incumbent on the new Government to pursue an alternative economic policy as against the IMF-World Bank imposed policies already referred to and grant immediate relief to the working people to alleviate their present condition. The plight of the peasantry, more particularly the up-country peasantry suffering from colonial times needs to be redressed. Disenchantment over Policies & Governance Disenchantment with the policies of all past governments since."Independence' is clearly seen in the performance of the Janata Vimukti Peramuna (JVP) at the General Election and to a lesser extent the Sangha under the Jatika Hela Urumaya (JHU) label. The new Government therefore would do well to embark on a totally new concept of government free of corruption and malpractice with transparency in all State transactions and dealings. The Freedom Alliance also sought a mandate for a change of the present Constitution since any major change in the present Constitution is rendered virtually impossible by its provisions. The new Government's attempt to change the Constitution. should necessarily have to take into account the interests of all sections of society including ethnic and religious minorities and seek to achieve a consensus on the envisaged changes in the Constitution The conflict and ungainly scenes involved in the election of the new Speaker in Parliament is hardly an auspicious beginning for this process of eventual consensus. The political immaturity if not perfidy of the Bhikkhus in the Jatika Hela Urumaya (JHU) was exposed in Parliament when two of their number voted with the United National Party and the Tamil National Alliance in the election of the Speaker despite their earlier professions to the contrary. It may be necessary however in any attempted Constitutional change to even deviate from the earlier accustomed Westminster form of Government in formulating a system where all parties can make their contribution in governance. This was seen earlier in the State Council Executive Committee system under the Donoughmore Constitution introduced in 1931. Since it is clear that no progress could be made in this country without the abolition of the dictatorial Presidential system, it is incumbent that all political parties should engage seriously in this task. They should attempt to devise a Constitution that would suit the present aspirations and needs of all sections of the people devoid of any sectarian considerations. The Peace Negotiations It has to be remembered that the peace negotiations stalled after the LTTE withdrew from the discussions as a result of their exclusion as a proscribed terrorist organisation from the international donors' conference in Washington on April 14 last year. This was in preparation for the major donor conference to be held in June which again the LTTE boycotted despite the efforts made by many countries to coax, cajole or pressure them back to the negotiation table. The Tigers thereafter on 1st November 2003 submitted their proposals for an Interim Self-Governing Authority (ISGA) to which there was no response by the UNF Government. This is understandable because the new Tiger proposals went far beyond the federal parameters set out in Oslo during the previous talks between the parties and the Tokyo declaration by the international community. It in fact approximated to a de facto State in the guise of an interim administration with the LTTE being given plenary powers for the governance of the North and East, including powers in relation to re-settlement, rehabilitation, reconstruction and development, raising revenue, law and order and over land. The number of members of the ISGA were to be determined to ensure an absolute majority of the LTTE appointees in the ISGA and subject to this condition, Muslim and Sinhala communities in the North-East were to have representation on it. In this situation, while not totally abandoning the possibility of an interim administration in the North-East, it would be necessary for the new Government to work out the modalities of such an administration. Already differences between the Northern and Eastern Province people including Tamils have been starkly exposed by the recent Prabakaran-Karuna conflict, the full repercussions of which have yet to be felt and analysed. Furthermore, any administration devoid of human and democratic rights would be inconceivable as it would only result in a type of slavery of our own people of all three communities in these two provinces. It would be prudent for the new Government to commence negotiations with the LTTE and also separately with the other Tamil, Muslim and Sinhala people in the affected areas. It is important that the Government in such discussions does not follow the UNP policy of mere appeasement of the LTTE. The Ethnic issue has to be solved satisfactorily through a political resolution of the conflict and a genuine peace has to replace the existing Ceasefire Agreement. But such a peace has necessarily to be one based on justice and freedom and not be an imposed conformity where people live in fear of their lives and are unable to think, speak and act in terms of their convictions. It is the peace flowing from human liberation that we need for all our people, not the 'peace' of unanimity and the graveyard. This is the difference between a true social democracy and a police State. The March Forward Our march as a Nation to true freedom however will be by no means easy with all the forces of capitalist reaction both local and foreign being arrayed against us. We can take comfort however in the fact that we are not alone and march to liberation together with the working people and oppressed of all lands. Together with our combined strength we will face the monster of capitalist globalisation and counterpoise to it global community. For it is only when the abundant resources of the earth are used and shared for the common good of all, instead of being grabbed and hogged by an exploitative owning class, that justice and equity would prevail and peace consequently reign. What is demanded in the present circumstances is the replacement of the utterly irrational and destructive anarchy of the global market economy with an equitable and just social order based on a planned global economy utilising the tremendous productive forces of modern science and technology available to us today. In this endeavour we can derive strength from our Workers' Mass this morning where we re-enact Jesus' action at his Last Supper when he showed the meaning of the Kingdom or Reign of God that he proclaimed, by sharing food and drink with his disciples in anticipation of his liberative death as well as a symbol and foretaste of God's Reign when justice, fellowship and peace will prevail. Jesus enjoined his followers to continue this action and live a shared life poured out for all. At this Workers' Mass today, the symbols of God's earth and human labour-Bread and Wine are brought to the Altar (reinforced by the Red Flag and implements of work) to be blessed and shared by all present as the Body and Blood of Christ, for the whole of humanity (not just Christians) is the family and mystical body of God. This sharing of food done sacramentally here must be translated socially, economically and politically to help us build the sharing society that Jesus called the Kingdom or Reign of God/Dharma. The Mass thus becomes a powerful dynamic for social action to transform our society and the world. It also commits us to Christ's identification with the poor and oppressed (Matthew.25:31-46) and to a prophetic mission (Luke 3 : 17-18) in terms of awakening the poor as God's sacrament and instrument to their evangelical vocation in helping to usher in the Divine Commonwealth or 'Reign of God/Dharma' in the struggle against Mammon which constitutes the organised structures of 'Tanha' (insatiable craving for more and more) in the world. Let us then go from this Mass strengthened and resolved to do all we can at this critical time to advance the Reign of Dharma through our common struggle for the emancipation of humanity and our people from this unjust and oppressive social order. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
