Open Questions To The Opposition: A Plea To Have A Strategic Plan & Put Forward Your Manifesto For Us To Support You!

By Harendra de Silva –APRIL 16, 2022

Vidyajyothi Prof. Harendra de Silva

The present economic, psychological, and social catastrophe is unprecedented in living memory. It is partly a realization by the middle and upper middle-class intelligentsia of the folly of supporting the present government at the last election, its financial implications and irregularities as well as the gravity of a bleak future, hence the uprising in cities and English posters and proper discipline in protests. Remember, this group although not that big when you consider the whole population, represents the heart and the brain of the population! Although it is not that the base of the pyramid, the poor are not involved but they realise mainly the hunger and crop failures! It is interesting to observe the parallel uprisings in Negombo, Kurunegala and Galle are not coordinated, absolutely no mindfulness, and obviously by the lower rungs of society with marked violence! This type of unrest will not be contained and is what the rulers want! A scapegoat to tighten the noose. Certain things have to be noted if this uprising is to be sustained. Going on Aristotle’s theory of Rhetoric, in order to persuade a population to take decisive action, you need to fulfil 3 main criteria. One is the Pathos, the suffering of the people which no doubt is obvious. The next is Logos the logic of the argument which again is presented well with the reasons for the economic calamity and the issue of corruption and mismanagement. However, the most important aspect the ethos which is the authority and credibility of the speaker/ is rather lacking. Hitler and his group had accepted speakers, Gotabaya in 2019 had a host of ‘Viyathun’ and clergy of many denominations who were acceptable by the people. Although most were pseudo professionals some who indulge in mythological directions in their dreams for guidance including promotion of Organic fertilizer against all scientific odds to the contrary. They had all aspects of Aristotle’s Rhetoric covered to ensure victory. I personally believe the ethos needs credible and acceptable leaders who are guiding this uprising. Film stars, singers and sportsmen will show their faces make statements and go but the movement will not be sustainable for long. Some economists who make YouTube statements are not really linked to ‘this’ movement. The popular opposition political regimes are bewildered and are groping in the dark to get a foothold in order to piggyback the achievements so far. Failing which they may even attempt to sabotage the progress made so far! The wild horses have to come out but they should have an excellent track record of credibility. At the same time, in terms of reality, young and brave patriots may have honest hearts with a will but practical experience in administration and professionalism; (not simply a job but skills and attitude) may be lacking. Therefore, the old guard with a good track record irrespective of affiliations as long as they have no conflicts of interests may be needed. Some people in the professional groups need not necessarily be credible and may have different agendas. BE CAUTIOUS. We also need to be conscious of interests of our neighbours wanting to divide and rule through Federalism.

Another aspect of Rhetoric is Telos and ultimate aim in a campaign is crucial such as a motherland, Subha Anagathayak (although vague) is critical. Aristotle refers to the full potential or inherent purpose or objective of a person or thing, similar to the notion of an ‘end goal’. In this respect ‘Gota Go Home’ is totally inadequate end goal. If he does go home, what next? You cannot start thinking then! We need a broader outline of a process. The end goal should be a just society dispelling all myths, corruption, Good Governance (not what MY3 comprehended and practiced!) and a whole host of many end goals.

We need to know history, where we went wrong! There is no doubt that this reaction has climaxed due to a fairly prolonged series of poor governance over several decade and many if not most in the opposition too have contributed to the present state. Briefly, if you look back, the turning point was when the SLFP used (I don’t blame SWRD alone) racism with the Sinhala only slogan to gather the support of the base of the population pyramid to ‘blaze into power’, which resulted in experienced administrators and professionals, including Sinhalese leaving our shores with rather poorly educated, inefficient unprofessional group of ‘podi puthas (Mudiyanse T)’ and ‘kavi kola karayo’ taking over the legislature! This was followed later by the dismantling of the Senate, Judicial Services Commission, Police Commission, Administrative System of Permanent Secretaries (replaced by Stooge secretaries changing with the minister) amongst other changes. Then the takeover of private companies in a Marxist rage left a large number of State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) that are white elephants and financial burdens on the system but used only to give jobs to the ‘pakshikayas’ on both sides. In a nutshell these processes removed checks and balances, that addressed accountability and transparency and other components in good governance of a democracy, while strengthening executive powers of the leadership that introduced fearless corruption in a big way. It was this need that made people rally behind the 2015 ‘victory’! Although a few changes such as the 19th amendment and laws like the RTI act were positive steps, the leadership did not understand or did not want to understand the concept of ‘Good Governance’ because the crooks in the system did not want transparency, monitoring, or remove conflicts of interest and accountability etc to thrive personally. This is why commitment is necessary rather than tokenistic slogans! The Conflict between the President and the PM did not help. It was the Fox’s nephew wanting to manipulate a supposedly ‘simple’ Simon who had delusions of grandeur that dirtied the word Good Governance!

Coming back to the present dilemma: Several questions crop up. It is useful to be brief in the questions. This applies to the old guard opposition as well as the leadership in the new uprising.

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