Power politics and fake causes

Tuesday 25th August, 2020

Newly elected Thamil Makkal Thesiya Kuttani MP C. V. Wigneswaran would have us believe that the incumbent SLPP administration is a government of Sinhala Buddhists by Sinhala Buddhists for Sinhala Buddhists. He has said something to this effect in his recent speech in Parliament. The fact that the ruling SLPP has won the local government, presidential and parliamentary elections without the help of the minority parties that consider themselves kingmakers; its support base is confined to the predominantly Sinhala areas and the President, the Prime Minister and ministers were sworn in at places of Buddhist worship may have prompted Wigneswaran to draw that conclusion.

Wigneswaran needs a foil to make himself out to be a saviour of the Tamil people and eat into the TNA’s vote base. He is trying to have his voters believe he is taking on a Sinhala Buddhist government. The SLPP leaders however, will not mind Wigneswaran’s remark, despite its negative connotations; instead, they will use it to win over more votes from the majority community.

There have been quite a few self-declared liberators of different ethnic and religious communities, in this country, and they have even formed political parties to champion their causes and gain political mileage. Among them are some Buddhist monks, who succeeded in securing the support of the majority community to enter Parliament, in the early-noughties; they promised to safeguard the interests of the Sinhala Buddhists, but ended up being a bunch of politicians and lost popular support. Their party, the JHU, has since opted for political coat-tail rides for survival in politics. Some prominent Buddhist monks who banded together purportedly to liberate the Sinhala Buddhists and sought a mandate, at the recently concluded general election, are now at each other’s jugular over a National List slot. Their conduct is unbecoming of Buddhist monks.

The TNA claims to have the liberation of Tamils as its goal. However, the political ambitions of its leaders have taken precedence over its ethno-nationalist agenda as can be seen from its internal dispute over its National List seat, and the serious allegations of electoral fraud that an unsuccessful candidate has levelled against one of its leaders. The growing disillusionment of Tamils with the TNA is evident from the severe erosion of its vote bank; the number of the TNA MPs has dropped from 24, in 2004, to 10. It has lost one seat to the SLFP, of all parties, in its stronghold!

The SLMC, which has evinced a proprietary interest in the Muslim community, and benefits from a block vote, opted for a political marriage of convenience with a previous Rajapaksa government which was also considered a Sinhala-Buddhist administration. It now finds itself in the exalted company of the JHU as a coalition partner of the SJB. One should not be surprised if it joins the incumbent government which, in Wigneswaran’s book, looks after the interests of only the Sinhala-Buddhist community.

Having suffered the worst ever electoral defeat, the UNP is also now planning to endear itself to the majority community in a bid to shore up its vote bank. So much for its much-flaunted liberal outlook! The SJB will be compelled to vie with the UNP to win over the voters in the majority community. There is no other way it can improve its electoral performance.

Our reading of Sri Lankan politics is that the ethno-religious agendas of political parties are not genuine. Going by the manner in which successive governments have let down all communities, we think we have had governments of politicians by politicians for politicians. They may claim to champion various causes, but what really drives their leaders is their insatiable quest for power, which is their religion. Political parties craftily identify themselves with certain ethnic or religious groups to create block votes, which they exploit to capture or retain power. That is the name of the game.