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by Lucien Rajakarunanayake

"In a democracy dissent is an act of faith. Like medicine, the test of its value is not in its taste, but in its effects."

- J. William Fulbright, US Senator (1905-1995)

With the dissolution of parliament the debate has turned to democracy, and very correctly too. No more nonsense about a paralysed peace process and "Regaining Sri Lanka". Those who demanded an election are the loudest to protest about the decision to seek the views of the people at this crucial juncture in the politics of Sri Lanka.

Strangely, those who boasted of definite victory if an election is held were trying their best to prevent it. They spoke of a threatened loss of foreign aid from donors and a huge loss of investment. In what they thought was their trump card, they attempted to draw India too into the game.

The media that backed them insisted Indian High Commissioner, Shri Nirupam Sen, spent several hours in discussion with the President, urging her not to call a fresh general election, as this was not the most suitable time for it.

The Indian High Commissioner himself has given the lie to this obvious piece of political chicanery. He said his discussions with the President had nothing to do with advising her to hold a general election or not, and also that India would not interfere in such purely internal affairs of Sri Lanka.

We now understand that part of the discussions between the Indian High Commissioner and the President had to do with the need for a strong government in Colombo, to counter the growing strength of the LTTE and a noticeable trend in the Western world to look at the LTTE with more favour than it deserves.

The weakness of the UNF government in general and especially in its dealings with the LTTE, together with its delays in proceeding with the negotiations by insisting on having the Defence Ministry, had given strength to the LTTE's moves to get foreign aid direct to them for reconstruction of the North & East, by-passing the Government.

This was certainly a cause for concern among the Indian establishment, much more than a general election being held here.

One cannot dismiss as mere propaganda the claims by S.P. Thamilchelvam, who was hosted in Oslo, and met with delegates from several EU countries, that the EU is seeking to by-pass Colombo in giving aid direct to the LTTE.

This idea is promoted strongly by John Walls Cushnahan, the Member of the European Parliament, known for his antagonism towards the Sri Lankan President. It was this same Cushnahan, who manoeuvred the European Parliament to pass a resolution very critical of the President's attitude to the peace process, on the eve of the visit of the Special EU Commissioner, Chris Patten, to Sri Lanka recently.

This compelled Patten to distance himself from the resolution steered through the European Parliament by Cushnahan.

While one will have to see how much success the move for direct aid to the LTTE will have within the EU, of which the UK that has banned the LTTE as an international terrorist organization is also a member, the message given is quite clear.

The need for a strong government in Colombo, which will have credibility both with the international community and the LTTE. Although Ranil Wickremesinghe's UNF had its majority in parliament, it was overall a very weak government.

The LTTE leader Prabhakaran saw this as far back as April 2002, as explained in this column last week. The UNF government lived up to and confirmed the LTTE's assessment of it as a weak government, unable to take major decisions. What is important now is not to repeat the mistake of electing yet another weak government in the coming election.

The cost of elections

Many are the voices being heard of the great burden the President has imposed on the country by calling a general election at this stage. Those who shed even transparently crocodile tears, about this cost of seeking the will of the people, have little to say of the great cost to this country of keeping the UNF in power.

The entire general election will cost no more than Rs. 800 million. However, just the week before dissolution of parliament, the President had to warn the Chairman of the People's Bank against an out of court settlement, on the unpaid loans of Rs. 4,200 million, due from the proprietor of the Yasodha Organisation.

All arrangements were being made to have this settled for a mere Rs. 10 million. Getting back even half of what the Yasodha Organization and several other similar major defaulters to state banks owe them, can be placed in a fund to meet the costs of at least ten more elections in the future.

These bean counters are silent of the loss to the nation's coffers by way of huge tax amnesties, refunds of BTT and VAT, and the waiving of Customs duties, by the UNF.

Each day the UNF remained in office would have cost the country several millions of rupees by way of illegal commissions, kick-backs for government contracts, and worst of all, the sale of state assets through deliberate and systematic undervaluing.

The UNF government's spokesman G.L. Peiris has made a further twist of his very flexible tongue, to say that the Government won all votes in parliament, making the dissolution of parliament wrong.

The winning of votes in parliament is not questioned. But of what use is the winning of whatever number of votes in parliament, if the Government itself is one that is incapable of good governance.

The signal-post votes of the UNF members and its allies for personal and political gain, is not the sign of good governance. What is needed more than voting strength in parliament is the ability to present proper solutions to the problems faced by the people.

The growing dissent

The fact is that there was growing dissent in the country about the UNF's style of governance lacking in substance for the people, but with great value to its cronies.

It will be difficult to find any country, where so much of corruption, cronyism, political favouritism, nepotism and all such violations and deviations from the principles of good governance had taken place in the span of just two years of a government being elected to office.

This situation made some of the UNP's own eager young men and women, who were in their think tanks, looking forward to clean and responsible government, to reel back in horror at the reality they saw.

It is to that growing dissent about the very values of good governance that the forthcoming election has given an opportunity of expression, through the ballot, and in the public debate that will precede the voting.

The policy of continued appeasement of the LTTE; the growing cancer of corruption in the unholy alliance between leading players in the private sector and government; failure to address the cost of living; eagerness to satisfy employer interests against those of employees; and, the endless and hollow promises of much being done for the people, while being robbed of their birthright are some of the major aspects of this growing dissent.

When such dissent keeps mounting it is necessary for any democracy to give it opportunity for expression, whatever the cost in terms of money.

Or else, such dissent could easily take undemocratic forms of expression. It is important to learn that democracy is not government on the cheap. It is a costly system of governance that gives place to dissent. We can save all monies spent on elections by having a dictator.

But we claim to be a democracy, and it is necessary to bear the cost of having that system of governance, that has not been bettered by any other so far.

Cost of sycophancy

News reports earlier this week said Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had blamed his media unit, for the fall of his government. It does not speak much for his political experience to be wise after the event.

The names of those media manipulators included senior journalists, and several late parachutists from other fields, who suddenly became TV presenters, and so-called moderators.

There were others who manipulated the print media, all to build a good image of the Prime Minister and his government. What Ranil Wickremesinghe did not realize till the fall, was that he was being taken for a good ride by some cheap sycophants, who had fooled him all along.

They enjoyed the best of privileges, some headed big state TV and radio stations, where standards of programming were brought down, and acted with such bias, as to embarrass the Government.

Some of them were busy in the print media, stabbing in the back, harassing and victimizing journalists and media people, they had a personal dislike to, on alleged grounds of being anti-government.

It is good that even at this stage if UNP leader uncovers the true nature of these people in addition to knowing what they had done. However, apart from these hatchet men of the media, there were also bigger media strategists who ultimately were of no help to the Prime Minister.

If that was the fate of Ranil Wickremesinghe, who trusted his select media stooges so much, it is a timely lesson for other politicians and leaders too, to beware of such political sycophancy, which seeks to pass of as helping build a good image of a leader or political party.

The sunshine songs they sing will be soothing to the ear until the harsh reality strikes. Nobody should be fooled into believing that such sycophancy is confined to the UNP. Ranil's delayed learning is a good lesson to all political leaders. Beware the hangers-on and cheer squads. Always seek the child who will say the king has no clothes.

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