Democracy Yes but anarchy No!

After having enjoyed universal franchise for well over 80 years, do we, as a nation understand the difference between democracy and anarchy? Well, some of us still do not seems to decipher one from the other and that includes senior Parliamentarians like Karu Jayasuriya who lead that demonstration into the Supreme Court premises last week.

Democracy is the responsible metamorphosing of people’s will into governance whereas anarchy is the state of lawlessness where people act on their whims and fancies.

Democracy rests on responsible and accepted democratic institutions that protects and nurture democracy whereas anarchy is irresponsible and seeks to destroy the very essence of those institutions that uphold democracy. However since there is a ‘people element’ in both these there is some tendency to think that the difference is only in degree and hence there is some relationship (even inferior) in mob violence to democracy. Such thinking could be the most delusive and pernicious because anarchy is the enemy and the antithesis of democracy.

It is in that light that we have to view last week’s joint Opposition campaign against the Government; whether it is act of enjoying the rights under our democratic system or an attempt to undermine the very democratic system that permits such demonstrations.

In effect choosing the Supreme Court premises to hold this demonstration becomes symptomatic as well as ironic.

Symptomatic because Supreme Courts is one of institutions from which democracy derives its freedom and ironic because disrupting its activities is a threat to that very democratic system.

In a way, last week’s activities were the inevitable outcome of the vainglorious campaign, the joint Opposition spearheaded for the past two months. At the very outset when the Presidential election wasdeclared in November 2009, the Opposition knew that it did not have a dog’s chance in winning it. But the UNP and the JVP had to do something to keep the party supporters hopeful. Hence they decided to do something unusual; to hire a man from the Government Camp, a man who fought the war so that they could cover their treacherous nudity and face the election.

Thus they hired the man who was the most ego centric and ambitious from among the five Service Commanders, to spearhead their campaign. It did not matter to them that he did not know; his ABC in politics, the basic nuances in international relations, the fundamentals in macro economics and the very tenants of democratic administration.

All what they wanted was to defeat Mahinda Rajapaksa and Fonseka with his overzealous exuberance fitted the bill.

The fact that Fonseka had been vilified as a ‘fraud’, a ‘war criminal’, a ‘law on to himself’ by the UNP itself did not mean anything to the UNP leadership.

They were prepared to engage even the devil to clear their way to power. Blinded by their lust for power and hatred for Mahinda Rajapaksa they gave no thought to what would happen to the country and democracy by their adventurism.

Fonseka started by writing a ‘fraudulent deed’, claiming all the credit for war victory to himself. He made all the possible promises, played all the trumps and even agreed to accommodate the very separatism he claimed that he defeated. But people naturally could not trust him.

People in this country thought at least the end of the election will put an end to this turbulence with acrimony, name calling and threats because they have had enough during the past many years and hence were eager to get on with peace and development. But the joint Opposition seems to be having different plans for the people.

They want to use people for demonstrations, satyagrahas and protest processions.

It appears that, the more it becomes clear that the Opposition hasn’t a hope the more desperate they become by resorting to extra judicial means.

If the Opposition knows what democracy is, it should also know that Supreme Court is a place where they entertain all opposition complains for their legitimacy and reasonability and then order redress accordingly.

But that process could be activated only by appealing in an acceptable and civilized way and not by storming the premises with mob violence.

If they can influence the judiciary with mob violence they can then influence even the Parliament House by sending about 1,000 people armed with stones and bats.

Karu Jayasuriya and the UNP should know that democracy cannot function that way. In a democracy people elect representatives who pass laws to govern the country.

The judiciary in turn interprets those laws and dispenses those in the interest of the people. That is how people’s will would finally manifest in the form of governance.

Therefore ‘peoples will’ is not the will of a handful of UNP and JVP supporters who try to take the law into their hands. How many people can UNP and JVP summon for their demonstrations? Let us say it is 1,000 or 10,000. Could the Government allow them to undermine the will of the 20 million people in this country?

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