Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

04 August  2019

Why the Sri Lankan Presidency collapsed

It is close to election time in Sri Lanka now. Our real voting needs to start developing now. They say that in Politics there are no permanent friends nor permanent enemies but only permanent  interests. This applies to the voter also – that there is no permanent commitment to a particular political party but permanent interest in self-governance.

 In most of our relationships we identify with the person through a  position. If we ‘see’ the person before the position – then we no longer see the position. A position needs a structure and a relationship is the pathway between two positions in that structure. The driving force of the structure is the energy that is generated when earned benefits are foregone. Every voter as per her/his conscience is Equal to the elected leader without any official portfolio. When the voter respects such a leader – it must be due to some higher value . This higher value automatically develops when one foregoes benefits earned through that relationship. Merely working more does not elevate the status. Foregoing the benefits from the work to share with the other/s does elevate the status. Then the voter connects to other voters with whom such benefits are shared not as benefits but as higher level common policy.  To the extent this benefit is invisible but exists – one has governance power.

SLFP Member of Parliament Mr Roshan Ranasinghe is reported to have  stated that the current President of Sri Lanka was the most unsuccessful leader since 1948. The reason to my mind is the disconnection with the British under whose rule we were all minorities. Those who needed the high positions were motivated to raise their thinking especially through higher education. But once majority formed government – that was not seen as necessary by those who thought they were born with the silver spoon. It was a head start which automatically made them less abled than minorities.

I often say that when we do not pay our respects to our elders – and we separate from them including through their death – we inherit their negatives to the extent we did benefit from their positions and / or their work . That is how universe balances itself. Structures that facilitate us to pay respects prevents this negative heritage which is a curse/sin.

Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa who treated the West as ‘foreigners’ disconnected from Colonial heritage. Hence he inherited their negatives from which Sri Lankans claim they have gained independence. Once we do not actively use a structure – the truth in that structure adds itself to us. Mr Sirisena in turn disconnected with Mr Rajapaksa and thus inherited the negatives of his character which is invasion of ‘foreign’ parts of Sri Lanka as if we were One by faith. When we are not bound by common faith – we need intellectual structures to raise us to the higher common level. Then we become relatives and not one family at the primary level. Mr Sirisena who did not fight for that position did not have the courage to invade nor did he have the common belief to naturally feel one. Hence he inherited the negatives developed by Mr Rajapaksa who called the Westerners foreigners. Had Mr Sirisens respected those Westerners through the UN – he would have separated from Mr Rajapaksa by completing his relationship under the old structure. Most of us do this with parents when we become parents. The share in the victory against LTTE was Mr Sirisena’s dowry  from his previous structure. Had he abandoned that – he would have become truly independent of the old structure. Then he would have mentally been in equal partnership with the UNP.

Sri Lankan politicians have confirmed very poor structures worsened by quid pro quos of all forms. The higher thinking voter would not look to politics for self governance but would maintain the connection to facilitate self-governance for politicians. Not easy but achievable. Many mothers have done just that – even though they were never recognized as heads of their  families. 

The more benefits we draw from a position than our contribution to its development and maintenance – the more we collapse the structure. Mr Sirisena was the last straw in this.