Political tantrums should not stand in the way

Right at this moment, whatever the differences the people in this country may entertain, there is consensus by and large on one issue. It is the country should now be developed making up for the years that were lost during terrorism.

Whether, patriotic or unpatriotic, national or anti national, pro-government or anti-government, the palpable reality that people in Sri Lanka should come to terms with is, that the salvation of each and every one of us inherently lies in the development of this country.

The Government, having recognized this fully, has directed all its efforts and resources to achieve those aspirations and you could witness this whether you go South, the North, the East, the West or even to Nuwara Eliya in the middle.

Wherever you go, construction is taking place at such a pace and sometimes you may wonder whether it is possible for a country to launch a development drive of this magnitude after such a devastating war.

Tourism is upbeat, foreign investors are interested in this country the private sector is expanding into the North and East, the public sector is optimistic and more than everything else the greatest impediment that pummelled this country for 34 years, nationally and internationally, is further eliminated.

The atmosphere in the country is full of hope. Even those pessimists, who doubt the future of this country could look up to the world history and note that it is after a war that countries have recorded their best growth rates.

Despite all this sanguine hopes it is an epiphany however to notice that a section of the people in this country are bent on sabotaging these development activities.

These are necessarily the politically bankrupt groups who fear for their future in politics but the irony here is that such activities are performed in the name ‘democracy’ and paradoxically some people tend to believe in them.

These groups initially throw the law enforcement officers into tantrum and once the confrontation occurs they work towards exacerbating it further so that they can establish a ‘cause’ to continue their ‘struggle’.

Democracy

Democracy means ‘government of the people’ and that does not necessarily bestow a right on any section of people in this country to criticize the Government all the time and then lay obstacles on its path.

Such people unfortunately will have no constructive role to play in the development of this country and Sri Lanka can ill afford such ‘sick minds’ in its political process at this moment.

In any case democracy is only a means by which people are expected to fulfill their aspirations in life and hence it should not be construed as an end. We need democracy to develop the county to free people from hunger and other basic needs and therefore any attempt to thwart development and inflict misery on people should be viewed not as ‘democracy’ but rather as an antithesis of democracy.

It is in this light we have to view the various demonstrations and rallies organized by the opposition parties, the JVP and the UNP. If those demonstrations were aimed at de-railing the Government’s development activities the majority will have no sympathy for those responsible for them and would not hesitate to punish them when necessary.

The fact that they are elected representatives of the people does not bestow them license to indulge in actions against the country’s development.

The JVP is a party with a history of advocating the ‘revolution of the proletariat’ and they traditionally treated democratic practices as ‘cosmetic exercises of the capitalists’.

The UNP on the other hand is a party that believed in ‘democratic practices’ to a point where they often lost sight of the development ends for democratic means. But politics, being such an art that makes any impossibility possible nowadays, has caused the UNP Deputy Leader to visit the JVP members in custody after the recent disturbances in the South.

Such a scenario would have been unthinkable 20 years ago under the UNP regime where late Ranjan Wijeyeratne was Defence Deputy Minister.

Such a turnaround will invariably pose the question whether, it is the UNP, or the JVP, that has changed its policies after 20 years Politics certainly is not only the art of the possible but also the art of the expedient as well.

Valuable precedent

In another development, the Government again took firm action against one of its Deputy Ministers for allegedly taking the law into his own hands to punish an officer who had been found wanting in the proper discharge of his duties.

The particular Deputy Minister, while known to be a staunch loyalist of the party proved to be an embarrassment now and again to the Government with his histrionics. This was another act of the Government that the exigencies of the situation demanded and thus conveyed the message to everybody around that no man, could hijack the Government’s forward march.

The Government has set a valuable precedent and that is, that no ‘democracy’, no ‘political party’ and no ‘man’ is larger than national development, at this moment.

[email protected]