federalidea.com

By: Dr. Rajasingham Narendran

While the word ‘Democracy’ has only one meaning, in practice it has come to mean many things to many people. ‘Demos’ in Greek means ‘Common people’ and ‘Democracy’ is the rule by the common people. Abraham Lincoln defined democracy as, “The government of the people, by the people, and for the people”- a definition that cannot be surpassed for its precision, brevity and beauty. In countries such as Sri Lanka, what is practiced in the name of democracy should be more aptly termed ‘Demoncracy’. Demons as we all know are evil spirits. ‘Demoncracy’ thus becomes, ‘A government of the demons, by the demons, for a foolish people’.

Diane Ravitch writing about democracy says, “When a representative democracy operates in accordance with a constitution that limits the powers of the government and guarantees fundamental rights to all citizens, this form of government is a constitutional democracy. In such a society, the majority rules, and the rights of minorities are protected by law and through the institutionalization of law.” Further, a USINFO publication states,” But the rule by the majority is not necessarily democratic: No one, for example, would call a system fair or just that permitted 51% of the population to oppress the remaining 49% in the name of the majority. In a democratic society, majority rule must be coupled with guarantees of individual human rights that, in turn, serve to protect the rights of minorities- whether ethnic, religious, or political, or simply the losers in the debate over a piece of controversial legislation. The rights of the minorities do not depend upon the goodwill of the majority and cannot be eliminated by majority vote. The rights of minorities are protected because democratic laws and institutions protect the rights of all citizens.”

It further says, “Democracy is more than a set of constitutional rules and procedures that determine how a government functions. In a democracy, government is only one element coexisting in a social fabric of many and varied institutions, political parties, organizations, and associations. This diversity is called pluralism, and it assumes that the many organized groups do not depend upon the government for their existence, legitimacy, or authority.” In a democracy, the people are ‘Sovereign’; the government has to have the consent of the governed; the majority in terms of the will of the people rules; minority rights and basic human rights are respected; free and fair elections are held; there is equality before the law; due process of law is entrenched; there are constitutional limits on government; social, economic, and political pluralism form the foundations of national dialogue; and values of tolerance, pragmatism, cooperation, and compromise underpin governance.

All the above concepts of democracy are to ensure that the people are justly governed. This essential aspect of democracy-’Just rule’- was not strange to us as a people. While many Sinhalese take pride over the victory of the Sinhala Prince ‘Dutu’ Gemunu over the reigning Tamil King, Ellalan (Elahara), they also celebrate the ‘Justness’ of Ellalan. Tamils too celebrate the ‘Justness’ of King Manu Neethi Cholan. Both are believed to have installed a bell at the entrance to their palaces that could be rung by any citizen in distress. When this bell was rung by a cow, whose calf was killed in a road accident by a chariot driven by the Prince, the King – in each instance-ordered that the Prince be also killed in a similar manner! This is the rule of law! Every Tamil child is taught the story of Manu Neethi Cholan. Under the rule of these ‘Just’ Kings not only, any citizen in distress had the ‘Right’ to seek justice directly from the ‘Sovereign’; but the ‘Right’ was also extended to animals! Justness involved human rights, as well as animal rights, at an age that preceded ours by several hundreds of years. These are the lessons we are supposed to learn from our history, to make us more human than we are.

The story of Kannagi (worshipped as Pathini Deviyo by Sinhala Buddhists) –the heroine of the Tamil epic Silapathikaram- once again demonstrates how the concept of justice underpinned governance in ancient times. When Kovalan- her husband- accused of stealing the Queen’s anklet was put to death, an outraged Kannagi argued Kovalan’s innocence before the King. The King stung by the injustice he had meted, dropped dead in shock. The unabated anger of Kannagi set the city of Madurai on fire! During the Chera, Chola and Pandiya rule in South India, the rulers were held to a straight and narrow path by public opinion expressed through poets. The poets were the media and civic institutions of the day! Their poetry defined principles of governance that remain valid to this day and will remain so into eternity. ‘Seng-Konmai’- Just Rule- was considered an adornment for Kings. Those ruling and are aspiring to rule in Sri Lanka, whether Sinhalese, Tamils or Muslims- do not care for the fundamentals or spirit of democracy, or the concept of ‘Seng-Konmai’.

Our President, Mahinda Rajapakse, at the ceremony held at his official residence in Colombo to swear in the members recently elected to the local government bodies in the East- unprecedented-spoke glowingly of democracy taking root in the East and said,” The country could now demonstrate to the entire world that we are a Nation that respects democracy. Very soon we will be ready to grant the same rights, freedom and the franchise enjoyed by the Eastern population to the Northern populace too.” His brother ‘ Strongman’ Basil Rajapakse has also been quoted as expressing confidence that the TMVP and many other parties will contest the forth-coming elections to the Eastern principal Council under the symbol of the UPFA alliance led by Mahinda Rajapakse.

How democratic the local government elections were, are debatable, considering the circumstances under which they were held and the nature of the participants. While it could be justifiably argued that a beginning had to be made to re-establish the principles of elective governance in the East- however flawed it may be- the counter-argument would be that it need not have been flawed to the extent it was. The neutrality of the process that governed these elections is questionable. The fundamental flaw is that the TMVP does not represent the pluralism required in a democracy, but is a grouping funded, armed and sheltered by the government. It depends on the government for its existence, legitimacy and authority. The national government has engineered a result that it desired. A sterile seed has been planted and it will be impossible for it to take root and become a flourishing democracy, as claimed by the President. Further, the adjective ‘Strongman’ increasingly being used to describe Basil Rajapakse, is not only untenable with democracy, but also bodes ill for the forthcoming elections for the Eastern provincial Council, to be organized and supervised by him. The results of course are likely to be predetermined and quite predictable. The results would be what the government wants! This will not be the democracy or the type of rights Tamils have demanded and sacrificed much for! This seems to be a replay of the District Development Council elections conducted by the Jayawardene government in the North and East! History seems to be repeating itself in short cycles in Sri Lanka. We also seem incapable of learning the right lessons from history. Winning an election is no longer dependent on the people’s free will, but on how efficiently they are manipulated to deliver victory to an individual or political party, through guile, violence and threat of violence.

How democracy can be re-established in the East now and the North soon, by the Rajapakse government, which has undermined the essentials of democracy in the rest of the island in the past two years in a rather cavalier manner, is a question that should be seriously examined by the people. A government that refuses to respect the constitution governing it, tolerates and instigates the climate of impunity and breakdown of the rule of law, justifies the violation of human rights, shelters men who break the law and indulge in criminality, uses its powers to withhold security from those facing serious danger to their lives, harasses journalists and the media, is unaccountable to the people as never before, debases institutions of governance non-chalently, lacks financial prudence, nourishes Sinhala-Buddhist extremism, has involved Buddhist temples and monks in its fight against terrorism, and is insensitive to the travails of the people, cannot be an instrument capable of re-establishing democracy in the North and East. President Rajapakse’s proclivity to talk through his hat, belying blatantly visible realities and to deliberately make ‘Sincere sounding’ misleading statements has earned us a ‘Pariah’ status internationally. Nationally, the results are becoming increasingly palpable- hopelessness, poverty, malnutrition, starvation and violence.

President Rajapakse has ‘Imperialized’ governance in Sri Lanka during his two year rule and has taken the process begun by J.R. Jayawardene, but held in abeyance some what since, to an extent that should be of serious concern to our people. Imperialism is unanswerable to the people, is insensitive to their wishes and involves exploitation of the worst aspects of human nature and corruption on an unprecedented scale. When such imperialistic tendencies are combined with sectarian nationalism, they can only ring the death knell for democracy. Imperialism and democracy are mutually exclusive. We cannot have an ‘Imperial democracy’, desired by our politicians-our ‘Uncrowned Kings and Queens’- if we are to progress as a nation fit to be in the 21st century.

The utter disdain our politicians hold for the principles of democracy and minority rights was displayed by W.D.M. Lokubandara, our current Speaker of Parliament in 1981, following the torching of the Jaffna Public Library housing 96,000 books and thousands of other documents- the historical and cultural treasure of Sri Lankan Tamils- by policemen and thugs guided by senior cabinet Ministers, when he asserted in parliamment,” If there is discrimination in this land which is not their (Tamil) homeland, then why try to stay here. Why not go back home (India) where there would be no discrimination. There are your kovils and Gods. There you have your culture, education, universities etc. There you are masters of your fate—-. If the sleeping Sinhalese wake up to see the Tamils trying to establish a Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka, then they will not be quite calm. It would be advisable for the Tamils not to disturb the sleeping Sinhala brother. Everyone knows that lions when disturbed are not peaceful.” Such thinking and attitudes have given rise to the Tiger-phenomenon and ensured its survival. This man is now presiding over the citadel of democracy in Sri Lanka- the Parliament. He was also at one time our Minister of education, who pontificated on the merits of filial respect expressed in the traditional manner! There are many of the same mindset in the Rajapakse government and those supporting it today. Can such men seed democracy in the North and East?

‘Demoncracy’ will destroy us as a nation unless we revolt. The ‘Demons’ that asserted themselves with how our minorities were dealt with, have now grown strong enough to overwhelm our governance as a nation. It is not only a problem affecting the Tamils, Muslims, Burghers, Hindus and Christians any more, but a problem affecting the Sinhala-Buddhists too. The demons haunting our democracy are in the present, but draw their sustenance from a past- as perceived by them- that has become our curse. Michael Roberts, the Sri Lankan born Anthropologist of considerable renown, rather poignantly wrote the following in 1999, “It is rather a puzzle to me that the staunch Sinhala activists today argue that devolution will divide the country. They do not seem to recognize the stark division one faces in Sri Lanka today. So they must be referring to the final, legitimized, judicial division. But this is perhaps to put a rational veneer on their thinking. In other words there is something deeper here, something that is not easy to understand. But understand it we must. And, speaking rationally, I also ask: How is it that these protesting voices do not see that in the recent past, a past they are fully cognizant of, the regular failure to grant concessions only pushed the Tamils further down the track towards separatism and worsened the situation for the Sinhalese. Retrospectively, this should be self-evident. But it is not recognized.”

We have to have a mass ‘Thovil’ –exorcization- ceremony to get rid of our curses from the past and the demons from the present. Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and Christians- as a people should come together to exorcize our democracy from the demons that have taken it over. These demons encompass both persons and phenomena. These demons should not permitted any space or corners to exist in our nation, whether in the form of persons or in the form of Sinhala extremism, Tamil extremism, terrorism of all kinds- militant and state, bribery, corruption, nepotism and disregard for the rule of law. These demons are haunting us as a nation as never before. They are haunting all of us- Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims. Sri Lanka should not be permitted to go any further down the slippery slope of ‘Demoncracy’, as countries such as the former Yugoslavia, Zimbabwe and Burma, to name a few have done.

[The original version of this article was published in the 'Colombo Post' of 25th March'2008]