Towards a new political culture
The attack on a pregnant
woman by a group of UNP supporters in the campaign trail which
shocked not only the Head of State but certainly all civilized
folk in this country is only but the tip of the iceberg of the
mass degeneration of the political culture in this country. It
is certainly an indictment on the country's democratic
credentials where violence has been the staple at all elections
held in the post 1977 era. Hopefully the President's concern at
the deteriorating political culture would bring this blot on the
country's political landscape to an end going back to the era
when political campaigns were sources of fun and enjoyment where
elections were fought on issues and policies rather than with
guns, bombs, swords and bludgeons as is happening now.
Addressing the International Women's Day celebrations on
Monday, a highly disturbed President bemoaned the acts of
political violence directed at women. "This type of political
culture cannot be allowed in the country under any
circumstances", a concerned President told his audience.
All right thinking citizens will agree with him when he said
that the political situation has degenerated in the country. In
fact it is an understatement. It has gone far beyond
degeneration and reached the level of the criminal. If something
is not done and done quickly our political system will be beyond
redemption from the seedy criminal elements who have undoubtedly
lain siege of the country's political edifice.
No political party can absolve itself of blame in this
connection. All parties stand guilty of promoting this
degenerate political culture. What is more, things are
deteriorating fast and if timely action is not taken politics in
this country will be criminalized to such an extent that it is
bound to shake the foundations of democracy.
The incident in Mahara is just one link in the long chain of
incidents of political violence. It is no exaggeration to say
that the fractious nature of our politics has riven society
apart and seeped into all aspects of life. True, the UNP stands
accused for this shameless incident but to any one it is obvious
that this is just one example of the malfeasance that has taken
hold of the country's political system.
That such a barbaric act could have taken place at a mini
poll to elect representatives who after all will only be
overseeing the mending of culverts, clearing garbage and other
trivia only goes to show that there are much higher stakes in
the offing for the aspirants.
As mentioned in a previous editorial some of these candidates
are relatives of Parliamentarians or at least have links to them
and are using such mini-elections as a stepping stone to
national politics. The means of achieving this objective is of
no consequences on the basis that the end justifies the means.
Others are the spawn of middle level politicians (such as
provincial councillors) who too receive the necessary resources
and wherewithal to oil their election campaigns. In this giddy
cocktail the genuine grass roots politician is left in the lurch
negating the whole concept of Local Government which is
essentially for the ground level politician.
As long as this vicious cycle continues there is little
chance for eliminating violence. There is therefore a crying
need to reinvent the wheel and go back to the days where genuine
representatives of the people and gentleman politicians are
brought into the fray. A foolproof method should be evolved to
screen all candidates, so that only those with the appropriate
background and above all those who fit the bill will be chosen.
President Rajapaksa will have an unenviable task in cleaning
the Aegean stables. He will have to rid the climate of hate
politics that has seeped deeply into the country's social fabric
causing deep cleavages among communities based on political
rivalry. Ideally there should be ceasefire to begin with to
douse the political heat and all leaders should get together at
a round table and come out with ways and means to defuse the
situation.
For it is only through firm action from the top that the
murky subterranean depths to which our politics have descended
could be salvaged and channelled along the correct path.
Certainly the rot set in with the advent of the PR system
that has caused not only inter party rivalry but also
intra-party friction as well. There is therefore a need to
expedite electoral reforms that would revert us back to the
earlier system where things moved on an even keel. However if
the culture of violence is to be changed holistically there
needs to be a major appraisal on the causes that give rise to
such violence such as the choice of candidates and the need to
strengthen the existing mechanisms, paving the way for a gradual
waning of the culture of violent politics in this country. |