Archives

by Tissa Vitarana

NM: “selfless dedication”

Our country is facing a major crisis that threatens its very future as an economically viable free and independent sovereign nation. The people are being crushed under increasing economic burdens with loss of job and income security, while the rich flourish. The gap between the rich and poor is widening, threatening social stability.

Crime and violence is on the increase. The stalled peace process raises the spectre of the resumption of the ethnic war and of the permanent division of our country. The confrontation between the Prime Minister and the President compounds the crisis.

If the people of the country had paid heed to what NM said and had accepted what he did, this situation could well have been avoided or at least mitigated. To get Sri Lanka out of the present mess his actions and deeds have relevant for today.

If instead of replacing English with Sinhala alone, Tamil had also been made an official language, as demanded by NM, and the LSSP and CP leaders, the ethnic problem and the resultant war could have been avoided. As Dr. Colvin R. de Silva stated "one langauge two nations and two languages one nation".

NM said that what would satisfy the Tamil people at that time would be inadequate twenty years later when mutual antagonism and distrust had increased. He predicted that rivers of blood would flow through the country, which could end up being divided! NM and the Left were prepared to go into the political wilderness, rejected by the majority of the Sinhalese, in defence of what they considered to be just and in the best interest of the country.

Those of us who are guided by NMs policies are fighting to ensure that the Tamil people are given their rights as citizens of this country and a share in power, through a process of dialogue, as the only means of uniting our divided nation.

Economic crisis

In 1973, when NM was the Finance Minister, there was a greater economic crisis than today. The price of petroleum in the world market escalated suddenly 4 times, and there was a further 3-fold rise thereafter (700% in all), and food prices soared due to the severe drought (e.g. a ton of imported sugar rose from 35 to 600 pounds). NM handled that crisis successfully without burdening the poor as is being done by the present UNF government. He was under pressure from the IMF and the World Bank to cut the ration and welfare measures, but he did not give in. The ration gave free rice and subsidized flour and sugar, the latter at 72 cents per pound, when the open market price was Rs. 7, but he refused to cut this.

Instead he balanced the budget by increasing taxes on the rich and obtained more revenue for the government by raising considerably the import duties, specially on luxury items. He did not sell public assets that generated an income for the State or which stabilised the economy by providing essential services. By curbing imports, specially non-essentials, he helped to reduce the adverse balance of trade, and reduce our foreign debt to a level that was the lowest in our history.

Without depending on foreign investment NM maximised local savings, local industry and agriculture benefited greatly.

The Government was able to control the economy in the interest of our people without surrendering to the market, which is controlled by foreign multinational corporations. He was a founder member of the Group of 77, the meeting of finance ministers of Third World countries. This sought to resist those dictates of the IMF and World Bank that were not in our interests, but which instead facilitated the exploitation of our economies by the developed capitalist countries like USA and UK.

Though admittedly with the present open economy and the WTO agreement these policies are harder to implement, but they still have a place. As NM did then, the economic burden now must be placed on the rich and not the poor. It should be possible to modernise and raise productivity and also get the benefits of an open economy, without permitting the plunder and rape of our economy that is taking place today in the name of globalisation. While encouraging the private sector, it is the local entrepreneur who should gain precedence over the foreign. The support that is being given to the export sector, should also be extended to promote import substitution.

Self-sufficiency should be achieved in essential food items like grain (rice), sugar and milk, one of NMs dreams. The State and cooperative sectors and enterprises should be made more dynamic and play an important role in the economy, like in Singapore and China. The present moves to allow the market to regulate the economy must be resisted, and the Government must do so in the interest of the country and its people. The policies promoted by the IMF and the World Bank that allow foreign capitalists to buy up our companies, land and natural resources must be resisted and reversed. We must protect our sovereignty and our culture.

The constitutional crisis

Soon after the 1978 constitution came into effect Dr. N. M. Perera in his critical analysis pointed out that a constitutional crisis was inevitable if the Executive President was from a political party that did not have power in Parliament. He described in some detail the type of situation that would arise and how the governance of the country could lapse into a State of anarchy. As suggested by him a new constitution that abolishes the Executive Presidency and restores power to Parliament is the only way out. Besides electoral reform, it should also provide an answer to the ethnic problem based on devolution of power and power sharing. This has become an urgent necessity today.

Most of all NM was a gentleman who stood for honest, selfless and dedicated service to the people of Sri Lanka, and the politicians of today must emulate him if the country is to have any future.

www.crescat.com

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries

Produced by Lake House
Copyright © 2003 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager