Let’s reject the illegitimate government and protect democracy

Purawasi Paura - Let’s reject the illegitimate government and protect democracy There are four governance structure that shape the everyday management and governance of the Sri Lankan state. These are the presidential office, parliament, provincial councils and the local government bodies. The sovereignty of the people is exercised through the representatives who are elected to these bodies. When this governance structure breaks down the country itself becomes dysfunctional. In Sri Lanka at the moment all these structures of governance have broken down. Because elections have not been held for years, local government and provincial government structures which are without people’s representative are completely dysfunctional. The massive people’s uprising in 2022 which resulted in the ousting of the cabinet of ministers, the prime minister and the president has rendered the current parliament incapable of representing the people’s will. The composition of the current parliament that was elected prior to the 2022 uprising, when compared to the situation today is a completely distorted one. The fact the people have rejected the current government has been well established through opinion polls conducted by the private sector, NGOs and even the government’s own intelligence agencies. With the parliament rendered illegitimate and 134 of the members of this illegitimte parliament have elected Ranil Wickremasinghe as the president, he has no moral or political legitimacy to govern. This illegitimacy is further established when one considers that he was not even able to win his own seat. This situation becomes even more ironic given that the last election campaign of the SLPP was premised against Wickramasinghe and his policies. Given this context, Sri Lanka today is a completely dysfunctional nation state in which representative politics has little meaning and is governed by a cabal who are forcefully occupying political office. There are three strategies followed by this cabal. 1. The complete shrinking of the democratic space in the country and converting the state repression that was operation up to now into state terrorism. 2. Hasty introduction of a rash of economic and legal reforms, which have been historically resisted by society. These changes will have significant long term impacts on the country. (since the parliament does not reflect the will of the people, parliament discussions and voting on these reforms have no meaning). 3. The spreading of ethnic and religious disharmony through groups which enjoy state patronage. There is possibly no other period in which the democratic space in the country has been so severely threatened. The depth of this crisis is signified by the arrest of a woman who attempted to walk along the road bearing a national flag. There are daily reports of how activists involved in the 2022 uprising are being hunted down. A situation in which no public protest or march is allowed has been created. A peaceful march is not allowed to proceed beyond a few meters and the use of hundreds of police and barricading roads has become commonplace now. There have been a number of deaths due to vicious attacks in which protestors are encircled and attacked with expired and toxic teargas. Trade union activities are blocked. The government is increasingly blocking all avenues for legitimate trade union protests and have been targeting trade union leaders and at the same time declaring certain services as essential service in order to prevent union action. The draconian prevention of terrorism act that is to be introduced can virtually define anyone as a terrorist and is a truly terrfying piece of legislation. It is also possible to observe a trend where the existing state repression is transforming into a form of state terror by calling the armed forces on to the streets without an rational basis. This is an extension of the militarization that existed in the north and the east of the country to the south. A clear indicator of the illegitimacy of this ruling cabal is how elections which are long overdue are being constantly postponed. This is because they fear their lack of popular support will be revealed. Therefore, as civil society groups our belief is that this government has no legitimate right to implement reforms, create conditions of ethnic and religious division and to restrict the democratic space in the country. It is our belief that rather than hanging on to power this government has to let go of power. However, there is nothing left for us to ask from this illegitimate government. Therefore, as civil society in Sri Lanka our appeal is to the people of the country and to the international community and to civil society groups in the north and south of the country and to political parties. Our appeal from the people of the country. A government that has not legitimacy does not have any right to cling on to power. Instead of exploiting weaknesses in the constitution all scheduled elections must be immediately held and the government needs to face public opinion. In addition to pressurizing the government to hold elections, civil society must initiate a discussion on how people can participate in the governance structures such as local government, provincial councils and the parliament and create the space to facilitate such participation. One example of this is how low income groups living within the Colombo municipal council had an opportunity to participate in budgetary decision making of the municipal council. We also need to direct our attention to how people can become active as citizens outside of these formal structures of governance. Another important provision that needs to be introduced is the means to hold a referendum when there is justifiable cause to believe that a people’s representative or a particular government has lost the trust of the people. We also urge people not to cow down to the state terror and the militarization agenda of this government. The appeal from the international community. The government in power does not represent the people’s will. This has been amply established by the people’s uprising of 2022 and numerous subsequent public opinion surveys. While we appreciate the international communities generosity towards the country, this generosity should not be towards an illegitimate, anti-people and anti-democratic government. Therefore, we urge the international community to pressurize the government to respect democratic freedoms, to hold elections and allow people to express their political will and elect a government of their choice, and until such a government is in place not to support reforms that will have a significant long term impact on Sri Lankan society. Appeal to civil society as a whole We ask all groups who stand in solidarity with us in opposing this anti-people government which has no moral or political legitimacy. We also support all forms of resistance against anti-people initiatives such as the anti-terrorism/ counter-terrorism bill, the reform of labor laws, imposition of unfair taxes and the governments attempts to incite religious and ethnic hatred and the attempt to militarize the country. Every single day and hour this illegitimate government stays in power, the list of anti-democratic and anti-people initiatives is likely to keep growing. The appeal we make from the northern, southern, plantation, Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim communities is that the solidarity that we develop in chasing away this illegitimate government should be turned into a movement where all Sri Lankans can lead dignified lives in a Sri Lanka that serves the collective good of the people. Appeal to political parties Do not enter into any cooperation as individual politicians or political parties with this government that lacks legitimacy and democratic credentials. All parties instead should work towards demanding elections paving the way for the true will of the people to be established both inside and outside the parliament. Political parties should also vehemently resist all anti-democratic legislation and initiatives taken by the government. Purawesi Pawura 7th June 2023