Despite the existence of a UNP-SLFP alliance at the present time a
question mark hangs over the future of the alliance in 2020 when the
next presidential and general elections fall due. The indications are
that the UNP and SLFP are both planning to revert once again to their
traditional roles as political foes to each other, with each seeking to
defeat the other at any cost and monopolize the fruits of power. Past
practices that these parties have used against each other include
denying their opponents their civic rights afte legal and political
procedures of doubtful integrity, and the fanning of ethnic nationalism
to steal a march over the other.
The six chief ministers of provincial councils governed by the SLFP who
met with former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, himself a former SLFP
president, expressed the strong desire of the rank and file in the party
for a rapprochement between both factions of the SLFP, one led by
President Sirisena and the other by the former president. The hope of
the SLFP party membership is that a reunification of the SLFP will
enable them to defeat the UNP and other political parties at future
elections. The concern of both factions of the SLFP is that if they go
into the local government election process without unifying themselves
they will be handing over victory to the UNP.
PROLONGED DELAY
The prolonged delay in holding the local government elections which are
now two years overdue is most likely to be connected to the divisions
within the SLFP which will disadvantage them and hand over the advantage
to the UNP. The reason given by the government for the postponement of
elections is that the Delimitation Review Committee, which delayed its
own report had now handed over an incomplete report with many errors in
it. After the report on their findings has been completed and handed
over to the government, the government itself is complaining that the
report is flawed and needs to be further revised. The perception that
the government is seeking to avoid holding elections any time soon, is
further undermining it.
Apart from undermining the government’s image as a democratic entity
that is backed by the people, the rift between the UNP and SLFP is also
leading to a lack of coherence in policy making. The government appears
unable to progress on the three important economic initiatives it has
undertaken. The Chinese investment in Hambantota Port and the industrial
zone in the adjacent area are at a standstill. The Economic and
Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) with India continues to be in a
prolonged process of negotiation. The GSP Plus tariff concession by the
European Union requires Sri Lanka to accede to international human
rights standards and to international covenants it has signed. On each
of these three economic issues President Sirisena has either been
blocking or slowing down what the UNP has been proposing.
The issues on which President Sirisena has stepped in to intervene have
their downsides. He has strongly opposed corruption in the government
and refused to sign on to projects which appear to reek of it. The
Chinese are seeking a 99 year lease which has implications for the
country’s sovereignty as China is not just any other country, but an
expanding world power that is a rival to India which is Sri Lanka’s
closest neighbor. The controversy over ETCA with India reflects the
larger concerns in Sri Lankan society about being swamped in an open
economic relationship with India. On the other hand, there are also
issues on which the President has intervened where his positive
contribution is much less clear. An example would be the draft National
Human Rights Action Plan (NHRAP) on which he has made strong comments
and registered his opposition.
The President has come out publicly in favour of the government’s
decision not to proceed with legal reform with regard to decriminalizing
homosexuality. The presence of archaic laws does not reflect positively
on either the Sri Lankan legislature or on the cultural enlightenment
and tolerance of the population at large. In addition the President has
not yet gazetted the Office of Missing Persons Act which was passed by
Parliament in August last year. This was one of the transitional justice
mechanisms promised by the government to the UN Human Rights Council in
October 2015. This has eroded the government’s credibility especially
amongst the Tamil people who suffered the largest amount of enforced
disappearances and also the international community who expect the
government to adhere to international standards.
PRESIDENT’S PROBLEM
The problem for the President is that he is unwilling to take policy
decisions on controversial issues that would alienate the SLFP faction
that is headed by former president Mahinda Rajapaksa. Former president
Rajapaksa’s speech at the Joint Opposition rally last week gives an
indication of the thinking that prevails amongst this faction of the
SLFP. He said there were plans to replace the present Constitution with a
separatist one prepared according to the needs of LTTE sympathizers
abroad and the so-called international community. He also said the
present government was boasting that they had regained the GSP+ tax
concession, but the EU would only grant the facility after they
fulfilled its conditions, including legalizing homosexuality.
The best way for President Sirisena to break out of this type of
backward thinking is to dispense with his need to obtain their support.
At the present members of the president’s team complain that they are
left out of key government decisionmaking perhaps due to the fear that
they will oppose them for narrow political reasons. This suggests that
the UNP and President Sirisena’s faction of the SLFP should cease to be
political rivals. The agreement at the presidential election of 2015 was
that the presidential candidate would contest under a common electoral
symbol where the UNP and those in the SLFP who supported the president
joined together. The agreement that followed the victory at the
presidential election and general election of August 2015 was that the
UNP and SLFP would cohabit for a minimum of two years which was later
extended to five years.
Putting an end to the debilitating rift between the UNP and SLFP faction
headed by President Sirisena requires that the agreement to form a
government of national unity should be extended to beyond 2020. This
suggests that the same agreement that prevailed at the presidential
election of 2015 should be entered into when the 2020 elections fall
due. If this agreement is reached, President Sirisena will become
empowered to stop attempting the impossible task of obtaining the
support of the SLFP faction led by former president Rajapaksa. Instead
he can, and must, work as a full and equal partner with the UNP headed
by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. The UNP also needs to include
the President and his team in joint decisionmaking. They need to work
together, consult and decide together, in a manner where the two become
one. This is the way out of divided and contradictory governance which
is yielding too little fruit for the people who are impatient for
fundamental and genuine change that will transform the country.
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Tuesday, January 31, 2017
UNP-SLFP UNITY BEYOND 2020 IS KEY TO NEW SRI LANKA--Jehan Perera
by Dr Jehan Perera-Monday, 30 January 2017
The formation of the Government of National Unity in the aftermath of the victory of President Maithripala Sirisena at the presidential election of January 2015 generated hopes of a rejuvenation of the polity and the unleashing of its full post-war economic potential. However, much to the disappointment of those who believed in the new government, the rift between the UNP and SLFP, which are the two main constituent parties of the government, appears to be increasing with the passage of time. At its root is the perennial quest of politicians and political parties for power, to gain it, keep it and not to lose it.