Good Governance In Sri Lankan Context: For You But Not Yours Yet

By Nilantha Ilangamuwa

08 January, 2016
Countercurrents.org

Today we are commemorating the first anniversary of the downfall of Rajapaksa governance, an autocratic reign which last over a decade. Sadly, in all honesty, we cannot say that we are celebrating the succeeding government because, in fact, one after coming to power we see little in the way of improvement with regard to the many core issues. Many of the allegedly corrupt politicians of the previous regime have the safe haven within the government.

The fragile gawky policies against institutionalised injustice remain as it was in the past. The only thing that has changes are the faces of controlling the addled system in order to deceive the countrymen that something is to be done.

However, while the people still have hope in the new government their enthusiasm is in a critical condition.

For the time being just leave aside the well-manufactured claims on war crimes and crimes against humanity which purportedly occurred in the last phase of the long-term civil war between the state and the Tamil militants. In fact, it is a different discourse which can only be attained if any government or subsequent cabinet appointed is sincere to fulfil the true principles of the good governance.

Crushing the internal armed struggle was the result of the collectiveness in which all the communities contributed in their best capacity. On some occasions, many Tamil people were alone fought against the Tamil militants as they were finally realised the “struggle” was leading to nothing but to almost certain self-destruction.

A year has passed!

The President Maithripala Sirisena assumed the duties in a rushed but simple inauguration at the independence square in the heart of Colombo. The President, first in his 100 days programme then one year, along with new government started the experiments. Despite the ad hoc solutions for the symptoms of the disease, the President and Prime Minister were able to dismantle the negative impression on Sri Lanka in the international arena. However, the impact of their policies has yet to reach the ordinary citizen.

Let’s think about what we were and what we were fought for, while crediting those who helped this country to get rid of the internal armed struggle which created nothing but a backward society and a nation of sheep. We killed each other to secure the future of the few families who have ruled the country since the beginning.

It seems we have been walking far ahead while compromising with the basic principles of humanity. Those “fighters” either did not fight for real principles or they had no idea whatsoever about the principles they should be fighting for. As a result, much of the so-called resistance turned into attempts at the petty personal gain.

Since 1971, when the blood of our young was soaking into the ground our hopes of freedom were also part of the smoke arising out of those burned bodies around the country. Well, what our “elected” governments have done, is to appoint commission after commission, then when the new “elected government” comes in, even more, commissions are appointed. However, their only accomplishment was to conceal the truth.

What are we kept on learning was that injustice will remain in the society as long as the people in general are either blindfolded or the ruling clan can use the people against the people. This will always continue as long as the rulers are capable of persecuting the truth.

The contribution of the queasy intelligentsia of this country has played an important part of creating such society. From the temple to the Church and from the pre-schools to the universities, the classrooms were occupied by this queasy intelligentsia. Where was it born?

The landmark was when the womb of the idea of “Sinhalization” delivered its “56 children”. It was then described as the “revolution” but in the true sense, the main supplier of information was cut off while developing “Pseudo Sinhala Nationalism”. It caused more damage to the Sinhalese people than the Tamil people.

However, it was not a single person’s attempt but a result of the long-term revolt against the ordinary citizen and their future generations. Since then, there were many attempts at resistance, but most of them were locked when they shamefully compromised with yesterday’s enemies.

Fatally the first anniversary of the downfall of Rajapaksa, and the sixtieth anniversary of 1956 so called revolution which produced “Pseudo Sinhala Nationalism” fall within the same year.

After 60 years, we have stepped into the good governance, the political concept of wellbeing. The most important social challenge is how to establish the culture of consensus for civil liberty with a higher degree of forgiveness for the woebegone history rather than engaging in a meaningless blaming and shaming debate. That does not mean that justice must be compromised.

Despite the facts, the well maintained queasy intelligentsia of self-claimed political pundits is curving the core issues and attempting to pull the nation back into the old morass. The queasy intelligentsia caused insecurity. Insecurity caused wounded pride. Wounded pride caused arrogance. When our privileged countrymen are arrogant, their decisions will be based on sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity, which is the most dangerous quiddity that can be developed in a society as Martin Luther King Jr. correctly pointed out.

Unfortunately, most of the discussions on good governance are yet to touch and link up with the people in general. Despite exchanging the clavers in the name of politics through the mass media and wasting public resources, neither officials nor politicians were able to convince the public about the principles.

In these circumstances we are continually seeing the secured authority of those who command without obeying, those who are supplanting without representing, those who are moving up without moving down, those who are serving themselves without serving the people, those who are destroying without constructing, those who are imposing without suggesting, those who are conquering without convincing. This is nothing but exactly opposite to the good governance.

Theoretically, good governance is based on eight principles. Participatory, consensus oriented, accountability, transparency, responsiveness, effective & efficient actions, equitable & inclusive, following the rule of law. These are the principles highlighted when properly defined. The balance sheet of the one year of good governance in Sri Lanka is creating more doubt than hope, more farces than authenticities.

This cannot be the sole fault of those who were elected sitting in the parliament, but also the absence of real discourse by those who are deliberately avoiding the opportunity to drive the people into changes.

It is time to have an authentic political discourse in Sri Lanka. It is time for this nation to find authentic volunteerism when it comes to political discussion and contributions without “professional” politicians. It is time for this country to have social intellectuals who can smell the soil of the ground and the sweetness of sweat of the countrymen. It is time for the country to re-engineer the student movements which can protect the principles of free education. It is time to develop the strength of community where every man and woman can participate in the discourse of social justice. Student movements can play the vital role in the social changes as long as they are capable of maintaining the independence viewpoints on the social problems. It is time for unity rather than the division based on the distorted facts of the history written by victors.

When the countrymen will play their non-violent role against the injustice suffered by their neighbourhood is where the real civic politics starts. It will be generated the non-violence social debate to achieve the spirit of peace.

Let good governance prevail in its true sense. We have bragged about the political change in last year. But now, it is time to learn the lesson and drive the nation into the next step before the defeated but alive ghosts deceive the people again.

Nothing will come from the sky or beyond the salty sea. It must be born on the soil of this land and within us if we are to conquer the ghosts in the old morass collectively.

True, Good Governance is for us, but it is not yet ours. So, the time has come!

Nilantha Ilangamuwa edits the Sri Lanka Guardian, an online daily newspaper, and he also an editor of the Torture: Asian and Global Perspectives, bi-monthly print magazine. He is the author of the just released non-fictions, “Nagna Balaya” (The Naked Power), in Sinhalese and “The Conflation”, in English. He can be reached at [email protected]