Towards a community of democracies

Address by Lakshman Kadirgamar, at the first Ministerial Meeting of the Community of Democracies held in Warsaw, Poland. 26-27 June, 2000. We reproduce his speech to mark six months of his untimely death.

SPEECH : The Community of Democracies is an international coalition of nations the only one of its kind in the world, singularly dedicated to the promotion of democracy. Its objective is to work together to promote democratic principles and strengthen democratic institutions all over the world.

The first Ministerial Meeting of the community was held in Warsaw in June 2000, where Foreign Minister and Senior Officials from over 100 Governments adopted the Warsaw Declaration - a commitment to adhere to a comprehensive set of democratic principles and practices and to work cooperatively to strengthen democracy on the international, regional and national levels.

Over a century ago, democracy began to take root in my country, Sri Lanka. Long before the British left our shores they began to put in place the rudimentary mechanisms of participatory democracy.

First, small steps were taken to acquaint the people in a limited way, the so-called educated class, as they were called at that time, with the elements of democratic values.

Restricted Legislative Assemblies were established. In due time these were enlarged, until in 1931 an epoch making event occurred when our people received universal adult franchise which meant, that as far back as seventy years ago women received the right to vote.

Thereafter, a National State Assembly was established. A full-blown party system emerged. We have always had a strong Bar and an independent Judiciary.

In 1948, with the advent of independence, our Parliament was established. We have today, in our Constitution, justiciable human rights enshrined. Sri Lanka may fairly be described as a vibrant, practicing democracy.

But today where do we stand? Our precious democracy is in grave peril. We are under siege, we are under sustained assault, by a fascist terrorist group that is bent on carving out in the North and East of our country a separate State.

They want to convert the multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-religious society, which we have enjoyed for many centuries, into a narrow, mono-ethnic, mono-linguistic State.

The methods that this group employ have demonstrated a capacity for unmatched savagery and brutality. They use conscripted child soldiers in battle. They use suicide bombers to assassinate our political leaders, even the leaders of their own community.

They have murdered a Prime Minister of India and a President of Sri Lanka. They have bombed our Central Bank and murdered hundreds of people. They have bombed a commuter train carrying innocent workers back home in the evening. They have bombed the holiest shrine of Buddhism in the World.

At her final election rally, they bombed the President of Sri Lanka, causing the courageous lady to lose the sight of her right eye and to escape with her life only through a miracle. A few weeks ago a suicide bomber assassinated one of my colleagues who was leading a peaceful march in the capital city.

How has all this happened? It is because, unfortunately, most unfortunately, many of the supporters of this terrorist group make their living, by the hundreds, by the thousands, in the hospitable, generous, tolerant democratic societies of many of the western countries.

They are masters at using the laws of asylum to their advantage. They gather funds using spurious front organizations, seemingly innocent but well known to be fund gatherers, who fuel the war chest of the despotic leader of this terrorist group.

A democracy standing alone cannot possibly survive an onslaught of this kind because democracy is vulnerable, it is fundamentally constrained, limited by the demands of democratic practice and tradition.

A democracy even at a time of war has to remember the rule of law, the freedom of the press and all those requisites of a practising democracy that we speak of in the Warsaw Declaration.

How then do we fight, how then do we survive? My plea is a very simple one.

My plea today, in this historic city of Warsaw, as we are about to launch what would surely become a famous declaration spelling out the fundamental principles of democracy - my plea is do not please forget that unless the democracies of the world decide to stand together and fight together and always come to the aid of a member in peril, democracy will not survive.

A challenge to democracy anywhere in the world is a challenge to democracy everywhere. The great liberal democracies must wake up to the fact that it is their duty to come to the aid of a democracy in peril in practical ways, with moral support, yes, words and declarations, but also by a demonstration of political will that sends a message to the terrorists of the world that the birth of the Warsaw Declaration will see the end of terrorism.

Thereafter, there will be no succour, no solace, no safe haven, no place to hide, no place to run for the terrorists of the world because all of us the democratic States will stand together and fight together. That is my simple plea, this morning in Warsaw.