Face tough questions, including governance, in public forum

The country is at cross-roads at the moment; A crucial pivotal point in our post-independence history. We were an economy with a surplus and an example for other to follow; even a model for Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew.We could afford to deliver free education up to tertiary level and free health services to all citizen, which is unmatched anywhere in the world. From such a lofty and healthy position, we have fallen into deep debt and have declared ourselves officially bankrupt. We have also fought a civil war for three decades and are still struggling to recover from its after-effects and achieve meaningful reconciliation.

Corruption levels are one of the worst in the whole world that has pulled us down further. As a result of all these, two years ago, the citizens of this country revolted and took to the streets. They called for a total system change and brought about unimaginable changes relatively without violence. The finance minister of the country and the prime minister had to resign, and the president who was elected with a popular vote three years previously had to flee the country and then resign.

Those changes were brought about not through conventional methods of election etc., but by popular uprising. Since then it is only now that the citizens will get an opportunity to express themselves democratically by casting their votes.

At this pivotal moment we have thought it necessary to place before the people a few crucial issues that need to be addressed radically if the country is to turn around and achieve peace and prosperity. We are members of Parliament elected from the Northern and Eastern provinces of this country, coming from the districts of Jaffna and Batticaloa, which are predominantly or almost totally inhabited by Tamil speaking people, who are numerically the minority in the country. We represent a People who are yet struggling to achieve equal citizenship status and who at one time wanted to form a separate state and live independently for that very reason.

Other Tamil speaking communities such as the Muslims and Malayagha Tamils also continue to labour under the yoke of majoritarianism. The issue of unreasonable forced cremation during COVID 19 and the disenfranchisement of Malayagha Tamils whose paltry salary scales are just examples of historic injustices against them as well. The majoritarian tendencies have affected the women of the country also in significant ways, which is seen by the abysmal representation they have despite being 52 % of the voting population.

The country became bankrupt primarily due to financial mismanagement and corruption, and the civil war. To recover from the depths to which we have fallen, the assistance of International Monetary Fund (IMF) was sought. Well before the government seeking assistance from the IMF or declaring bankruptcy, we urged the government to go to the IMF but to take particular care with regard to the protection of the poor and vulnerable sections of our societies.

It is telling that the IMF identified “corruption susceptibilities” as a major challenge to economic reform and followed it up with “governance diagnostics”, signalling another major weakness in the system. We find that the engagement with the IMF has not been handled properly resulting in the poor in our country being badly affected through this program. Those below the poverty line have increased from 14% in 2019 and 30% now; there has been a huge brain drain in the country with professionals and those with skills to reactivate the economy leaving the country for better pastures and the poor also leaving for purposes of survival.

The government effected a domestic debt restructure, which exclusively drew from the Employees’ Provident Fund – the meagre savings of the working people of this country. Indirect taxes have been imposed placing a heavy burden on the poor, whilst many rich and powerful personalities continue to evade paying taxes with impunity. Business icon Dhammika Perera suddenly settling Rs. 1.15 Billion of default taxes just prior to be sworn in as a Member of Parliament is a case in point. The government has not taken any meaningful steps to collect direct taxes from so many defaulters who continue to pay bribes to avoid being prosecuted. The government’s tax policy is also warped in that simple solutions like rational tax on tobacco and alcohol is not implemented, presumably due to high corruption.

In this background there are several aspirants to high offices at the forthcoming Presidential and other elections. We have heard promises from all of them. We are a people who were promised rice from the moon and the abolishing of executive presidency within six months in 1994. Candidates have got used to giving promises blithely without ever intending to keep them. Presently there are three main candidates who are trying to convince an electorate that they will deal with corruption decisively.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe is boasting that he has passed an effective law against corruption. It is true that such a law was passed and remains in our statute books. But that is where it remains! Not a single prosecution has been launched against any of the known corrupt transactions, except showcasing Keheliya Rambukwella. The political party that has kept Ranil Wickremesinghe in office is known to consist of some of the biggest fraudsters in the country. That is why they were kicked out of office by the people. And yet President Wickremesinghe hasn’t moved a muscle to bring any of them before the law.

This and his long past record cannot suggest to the country that he will so much as lift even a finger against corruption if he is elected to the office of President. Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has inherited most of the UNP of old. There are many of them in his ranks who are seasoned politicians and well known for their corruption. Although he has promised to set up an independent public prosecutor’s office sans a conflict of interest of the Attorney General’s department, can the constituency take his promises seriously? NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake showed several files to the country not too long ago claiming that those were about corrupt deals of various politicians. However to-date he has not revealed to the country what those files contain. Can the country actually believe that corruption would be routed if he is elected to office.

If these persons are serious about their promises to eradicate corruption, will they be willing to face tough questions on these issues at a public forum. We are prepared to host a public event at which they will be given opportunities to answer such questions and convince the electorate. We call on all the serious contenders to the office of president to publicly announce their willingness to participate in such a forum. We can also use that forum to clarify from them questions with regard to how they will handle the economy from now on; how they will renegotiate with the IMF and the others for the benefit of the poor and the vulnerable; how the biggest income earners for the country – women in the plantations, garment factories and domestic workers abroad – will be empowered and given their due place in decision making and governance.

They can also respond to questions on governance – the issue of executive presidency, which all three of them have at various points in time promised to abolish and the question of meaningful devolution of power to the people of different localities and provinces to ensure settlement of the most troublesome issue that the country has faced since independence and to become a true republic.