Repeal the constitution, write another
Sunday 15 July 2012 

Perish, pro-Prabhakaran Tamil nationalism…

The present constitution must be repealed and replaced by a new instrument founded on democratic principles; the state must be transformed, secularism enshrined and minority rights guaranteed. Nothing less can be the left’s foundational position, notwithstanding tactical compromises that may need to be made along the way for temporary alliances. The goal of the democratic revolution is bourgeois democracy and a unified nation state: that is, guaranteeing democratic rights and freedoms, anchoring the division of power between the legislative, executive and judicial, making the repressive apparatus of the state (military and police) subservient to the public interest, guaranteeing the rights of minorities, and unifying the national market.
Unless and until we are well on the way along this road Lanka cannot be said to be a democratic nation in any serious sense. We have made progress in consolidating a national market but on all the other counts Lanka has slid back since independence from the British Raj in 1948. India, despite hideous shortcomings, is ahead in fulfilling these democratic tasks. All Lankan governments have been opponents of democracy but none has been as brazen, open and repressive as the Mahinda Rajapaksa UPFA regime. The LSSP, CP and DLFP leaderships are deeply and inextricably woven into this fabric, hence this call for a left programme is not addressed to them; that would be a waste of time.
This letter is the fifth and final in my offerings towards drafting a programme for the left, but it keeps the door open for bold liberals and democrats. Previous letters dealt with an overview, economic policy, industry, and the rural sector, foreign investment and services.

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