Let us move towards future
together
by Lionel Wijesiri
We are celebrating today the 56th anniversary of our
independence - a glorious occasion that people of this country are
enormously proud of.
However,
it is also an appropriate moment for us to take stock of what it
has achieved since independence for the economic and social
emancipation of the masses. The widely held view on this point is
that we should have achieved more than we actually have in terms
of attaining economic and social advancement during more than five
and half decades of independent existence. Some other nations with
comparable economic standing at the time that we had founded our
country have surpassed us by miles.
One has to admit that the political parties, entrusted with the
sacred task of improving the lot of citizens, have failed to live
up to the expectations of the nation. And that is at the root of
all other failures. Our politics is not yet guided by a set of
rules honoured by the parties, and good governance in the
democratic sense still remains an elusive goal.
My Dream
There are different versions of Sri Lankan history; there are
as many versions-or more-of Sri Lankan independence: political
independence, economic independence, territorial independence . .
. It would even seem that most of our people do not even care what
kind of independence they have. Most do not even know which
Independence Day we are celebrating. But for me, the Sri Lanka of
my dreams is a nation in which no citizen is oppressed or
repressed on account of language, race, caste, creed, gender or
geography. It is a nation in which all are enabled to attain their
full potential and inspired to use these enhanced resources in
nation building.
56 years after independence we should have by now expanded the
job market and economic production, which in turn would have led
to a reduction and eventual disappearance of our economic
dependence. Moreover, by becoming the owners of our own destiny,
we would have strengthened our national pride and self-esteem.
Yet, have we?
With independence we should have worked out to take the reins
of developing our national environmental policy, created in
response to our particular conditions and needs, and directed to
protect our national heritage, improve our quality of life and
limit the great costs which occur as a result of environmental
damage. But have we?
What is important to a country's economic development is
whether that country has the capacity to take advantage of its
national assets - natural, human, political and cultural
resources; geographic location and infrastructure - in a creative
manner, so as to maximize their potential.
What is determinant in an independent nation's quest for
economic prosperity is whether that nation can use its sovereign
powers to exploit its resources and agree to beneficial treaties
with other countries with the purpose of stimulating its economy.
But have we done enough in this field?
56 years after independence ideally we should have had a fully
revitalised local manufacture, agriculture and service industries.
By assuming jurisdiction over our own management of our
international commerce, we should have been able to strengthen our
national industries, as all independent countries do. In addition,
by promoting the economic integration of industries that operate
in the country, prices should have come down, as products formerly
purchased in the foreign market, will be obtained from local
industries. But has it happened?
56 years after independence we should have attained complete
transformation of this country into a single united nation. But
has it happened? Economic disparities, the repressive nature of
policies, political resentments and social tension have all
contributed to the growing disintegrative forces.
Progress
Regionalism at first started as social and political
disintegration. But all central governments saw people's
resentments and disappointments as divisive elements to the unity
of the state and therefore it has tried to cure the socially
disintegrating communities with coercive measures. The results are
not what the governments expected. The social and political
disintegration have shifted toward territorial disintegration to a
point of no return.
More than ever before, "progress" is in political
focus today. It has become a mantra used by all political parties.
Indeed, we have the IT revolution to flaunt and so also the
progress we have made in stock market, Gross National Product
ratio, inflation and so on. We are in the "Fast developing
Countries" club. Trade barriers having collapsed, our markets
are glutted with "items of desire" if not of need. So,
the nation is progressing. But it is doubtful if the people are.
It is estimated that 85 per cent of the country's wealth and
resources are now in the hands of 15 per cent of the people. For
this 85 per cent of people in the non-elite sector, neither
freedom nor progress means anything. If anything, they are plunged
in unprecedented uncertainty and helplessness in the wake of
globalization and liberalization.
How do the one million farmer families (or five million people)
surviving on a meagre Rs 30 per day experience freedom and
progress? What does freedom mean for those who cannot have proper
3 meals per day, those who cannot afford medical treatment in case
of illnesses, and cannot find any employment for years together?
All these do not reflect the character or true potential of our
country.
Potentially, we are one of the greatest nations in the world,
but today we are known worldwide more for our levels of
corruption, pollution and under-development, which is why our
voice is listened to much less today than even three decades ago.
Move together
People with common sense who really care about the country are
demanding the political parties to reach a broad consensus on core
issues and play their due role. Their immediate vision should be
to revitalise what is at the present moment a highly polarised
political atmosphere that allows nothing positive to grow in the
country.
It is my confirmed conviction that our march to progress and
national dynamism cannot succeed as long as we continue to flee
from the imperatives of social justice.
To sum up, Sri Lanka of my dream is a society in which
diversities are not only tolerated but celebrated within a
framework of shared spirituality, in which political leaders do
not only pretend to be but in all honesty are the servants of the
people, and a polity in which the will of the people is sovereign
in this land.
At least, on this memorable day, let all our leaders agree
that, along with us, they must all move towards the future
resolutely and together, leaving the vexations and frustrations of
the past behind them. For while it is true that we cannot safely
and completely turn our backs on the past, we must at the same
time never permit ourselves to be so enslaved by it that we
overlook our primary duty, which is always to confront the
challenges of the present and of the future, using the lessons we
have learned from the past.
And the future that I speak of belongs, not to us, perhaps not
even to our own children, but to our children's children, and to
the generations that will come after them. It is because of them
that we must seek to husband the present with diligence and
determination. It is because of them that we must continue to see
ourselves more as the agents of change, than as the primary
beneficiaries of it.
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