Towards a united front against repression and dictatorship

Reply to ‘The Wickremesinghe Presidency’

by Dr. Mahim Mendis
“The man of character is the persistent man, the man who is faithful to his own word, his own convictions, his own affections”.
Maria Montessori

The analysis by Anura Gunasekere in The Island Newspaper, of 22^nd July, 2022, is a reflection of a segment of the English-speaking middle class in Sri Lanka, confused and burdened by the state of flux, or the terrible uncertainty that engulfs the nation at large. They often confine their criticism to private gatherings, while a few others express themselves through newspaper columns with hard hearted sentiments against politicians like Sajith Premadasa, whom they love to undermine. Ironically, these distractors themselves are not principled on they look at national level problems.

OVERWHELMED BY ACTION TO OUST RANIL/RAJAPAKSAS

Members of this social class, going by the contents of Mr. Gunasekeras column, never believed in ousting Rajapaksas or Wickremesinghe, as they easily embrace the status quo; unlike hapless masses who courageously resist without running away when fired by the State armed forces or the goons employed by the Ranil/Rajapaksa regime. They also resent the militant outlook of University students affiliated to the Inter-University Student Federation, as they know that they are tougher in heart and mind than their own sons and daughters.

Anura Gunasekere has remembered to grant some fatherly advice to these militant youth that revived the Aragalaya consistently as follows: “Also a word to unemployed graduates; the State provides you with an education, but is not obliged to provide you with sinecure employment of your choice. You need to work at becoming employable and learn to accept what is available”.

Probably, Gunasekere did not understand that these boys and girls are concerned about the massive disparity in educational standards in Sri Lanka, with approximately 9% completing tertiary literacy with absolutely poor human and physical infrastructure rooted in major socio-economic incompatibilities in 25 Districts.

Anura Gunasekere probably did not realize that youth leaders, like Wasantha Mudalige and Lahiru Weerasekere, of the IUSF, or Duminda Nagamuwa of the Frontline Socialist Party, constantly battle against the prevailing system, demanding decisive changes in the system, even risking imprisonment. Anura Gunasekere, won’t even remember that these militant girls and boys have been fighting in recent times against militarization of vital institutions of the State, including, public administration, health, education, agriculture, etc., warning all of us about the effects of the militarization project, if pursued to a logical conclusion.

ARAGALAYA DID NOT CHANGE; THOUGH SOME AT GALLE FACE CHANGED

IUSF, just as much as academics, farmers, fishermen and school reachers, had already started their Aragalaya, long before committed and passionate youth started the GOTAGOGAMA. I say this as Anura Gunasekere has taken the typically conservative position often repeated by the English-speaking elites, as follows:

“The Aragalaya itself appears to have changed, in both complexion and composition. Ordinary citizens of all social and economic classes have withdrawn and the Aragalaya is now represented by more militant, professional agitators, seemingly drawn largely from the Frontline Socialist Party and the Inter-University Federation, with some assistance from habitual malcontents who occupy the fringe of all strife, irrespective of political belief”.

The Aragalaya. that Gunasekere talks about. was abandoned not by ordinary people but by those of higher social echelons, probably the day Mahinda Rajapaksa’s goons attacked unarmed youth near Temple Trees and at Galle Face Green. Probably the members of the bourgeoisie suffered from major withdrawal tendencies with the SJB leader and Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa nearly getting assaulted by a few disgruntled JVP/JJB activists.

SAJITH EXPRESSED TRUE SOLIDARITY WITH THE ARAGALAYA IN A HOLISTIC SENSE

Whilst Anura Gunasekere confers status to the Aragalaya from the time Gotagogama emerged, Sajith Premadasa was sensitive to different segments of the suffering people, long before Gotagogama emerged. Having established a viable political alternative, inspired by Social Democracy, to the Rajapaksa-led and Military blessed Pohottuwa, the neo-liberal and neo-feudal Ranil Wickremesinghe-led UNP, and the Communist inspired JVP/JJB, Sajith was also concerned about acute militarization of society and the misery that could befall the nation through anti-people economic policies with special tax concessions to the most affluent.

When the IUSF and the FUTA opposed the KDU Bill, Sajith Premadasa worked with the anti-militarization lobby, as he knew that the Rajapaksas would cause havoc with this power, sooner or later.

FRIVOLOUS ASSUMPTION THAT SAJITH BLUNDERED BY REJECTING P. M. OR PRESIDENT POST

Sajith Premadasa, who had a mind and a spine to challenge the UNP, led by Ranil Wickremesinghe, the JVP, led by Anura Kumara Dissanayake, and the Pohottuwa, led by the Rajapakses, at the 2020 General Elections, with his own party, emerged as the leader of the most formidable Opposition, with both the UNP and the JJB trailing far behind, with a voter base that did not reach 5%.

Now, it is such a leader that Anura Gunasekere advocates should be changed, knowing that this is Sri Lanka’s newest party with an unprecedented electoral performance, politically annihilating the RW-led UNP in every district in Sri Lanka.

PRINCIPLED LEADER PROJECTED AS A COWARD

Is Anura Gunasekere an appeaser of the Ranil-Rajapaksa regime to have a serious grouse with Sajith Premadasa for not accepting the Prime Ministerial post under Gotabaya? Is he incapable of understanding that such a step would have been most dishonourable for anyone who expressed solidarity with the peoples’ struggle? Anura Gunasekere also seems to be thinking that the ousting of the Rajapaksas; Mahinda, Basil and Gotabaya created a massive dilemma in the mind of Sajith Premadasa as he was not confident enough to accept high office.

As stated by him: “Why was a relative nonentity, like Dulles, until very recently a Rajapaksa faithful, chosen to oppose RW? The most obvious answer would be that Sajith Premadasa, who faced a second career challenge within weeks, again showed no stomach for the fight. In this situation the most obvious candidate to oppose RW would have been the Leader of the Opposition”.

UNITING ENTIRE OPPOSITION AGAINST RANIL /RAJAPAKSA WAS PREMADASA’S PRIORITY

Anura Gunasekere should know better that it was not a matter of Sajith proving the strength of the SJB which had 50 members, like what was done by the Anura Kumara-led three member JJB/JVP combine, against the Rajapakses 2/3rds in Parliament. He should realize that this was at a time the TNA and the SLFP had already decided to abstain from voting.

The Statesman like position of Sajith Premadasa only helped to galvanize the Opposition with a few more supporting the second major demand of the Aragalaya for an Interim all-party consensus that will honour constitutional and socio-economic reforms proposed to ensure dignity of life for the majority of our citizens.

I see Anura Gunasekara’s frustration that Sajith did not play Ranil’s politically vulgar trick. But that is unacceptable to democratic minded people, although Anura Gunasekere states that: Today, he (Ranil) is the elected leader of the country, ironically, enthusiastically sponsored by the very members of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) which, in August 2020, consigned him to political oblivion”. Now, if Gunasekere had a value centered democratic political perception, will he in any way perceive that Wickremesinghe is the elected Leader of the country, when he was in fact rejected in every electorate?

FRIVOLOUS THINKING OF SO CALLED RESPECTABLE

Let us accept that the Sri Lankan nation is in a perilous state not because of the formally untrained, poverty–stricken majority, but because of the privileged, educated, so called cosmopolitan minority, who are confused and attitudinally poverty-stricken. Even in Parliament they have never been a source of inspiration for the lesser mortals.

The challenge for the English-speaking middle class is to be more inspiring than Wickremasinghe types who have proved with actions that they have not really read any decent books in their own libraries.

Lacking in pro-people ideological convictions, they are not sure about what they believe in, like for example, the way some opt to worship in any religious shrine under the sun. They criticize Sajith Premadasa, who in fact has the charisma and the backbone to form his own party, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya, which is today working towards a new political culture to refrain from grabbing political power at whatever cost.

SAJITH’S MISSION TO FORM A NATIONAL MOVEMENT TO RESIST FASCISM

As pointed out by the eminent Political Scientist and former Sri Lankan Ambassador to the United Nation, Dr. Dayan Jayatilleke, in an article in the Colombo Telegraph of 22 July 2022, the highest priority right now is to ensure the formation of an anti-fascist united front, leading to a united front against repression and dictatorship.

As a strong leader with a heart and mind for the ordinary people, Sajith has already created the foundation for this broad coalition, to unite all, as prescribed wisely by Dr. Jayatilleke. This is to unite the JVP, the FSP, the SLFP and the 10 smaller parties and the Dullas faction to fight the Ranil-Rajapaksa civilian-military junta.

Sajith becomes a strong leader since he tirelessly and selflessly worked to unite the entire Parliamentary opposition, while the Aragalaya united the people. He is strong enough to understand that Aragalaya believes in a Peoples’ Council to engage in farsighted deliberations, while his distractors are busy aligning themselves with Ranil’s anti- people regime. Proposal for a Peoples’ Council is not a Pol-Potish tendency on the part of Youth leaders.

Premadasa respects the three Cs in governance: Consultation, Consensus and Compromise, that his own father Ransinghe Premadasa was committed to practising when he even appointed an All-Party Parliamentary Select Committee, under the SLFP MP Mangala Samaraweera to resolve the ethno-political crisis. Hence, let me remind Anura Gunasekere:

“Partisan rancor and party politics and ideology have got in the way of compromise – and compromise is the only thing that has ever made politics successful”.
– Kevin Spacey, American Film Producer and Political Activist