Towards a Government without Political Parties; Key to a new home grown political culture in Sri Lanka (Outline Draft for discussion:) -Part 1
Posted on July 28th, 2018

Dr Sudath Gunasekara  (SLAS Class 1) Retired Permanent  Secretary to Prime  Minister Mrs Sirimavo Bandaranaike

28.7.2018

 Introduction

There is unanimous agreement that the political party system, introduced by the British is one of the major impediments that has ruined good governance in all countries under colonial rule. A review of British colonialism all over shows that when they left the colonies they also left behind a legacy of their own political, administrative and legal mechanism and cultural remnants, replacing the original native systems, to continue the colonial grip in order to perpetuate their hegemony and exploitation. Westminster political party system that was alien to the natives was the main instrument through which they manipulated and controlled these countries with the assistance of a new generation of rulers they have nursed over the years, subservient and servile to them who acted as their accredited local agents even after the so-called Independence given to them. Therefore no country that was subjected to their depredations can ever be free, either politically economically, culturally or otherwise until and unless these alien elements are completely eradicated by a resurgent native social upheaval. The validity of this conclusion holds true to this country as well.

Although the removal of the whole colonial package and its replacement with a new system of government based on our own civilization called ”Civilization’ State as Martin Jaques has described in his book ‘When China Rules the world’’ is the best remedy to this malady as Gunadasa Amarasekara suggests it is not that easy in a context of over 5oo years of virtual destruction of the native systems. Nevertheless removal of the alien system is a must if these countries are going to be free, independent and developed nations. In this exercise therefore one has to make a start with the removal of the worst colonial legacy, that is the political party system introduced by them to keep the nation eternally divided, confused and leaderless. In this exercise the first curse we need to discard is the Political party system. Therefore the need to abolish all existing political parties should be the priority number one as none of them are formed on the principle of national integration and development.  In this country they were formed on narrow ethnic, linguistic, religious bases to keep the colony eternally divided. Those formed by foreign educated, though opposed to the Western model, still completely alien and incongruent to the local socio-political and cultural milieu.

The Tamil and Muslim Parties on the other hand are found purely on ethnic and religious bases, looking for self-assertion, not accepting the status quo of the Sri Lankan society. Even the notion United National Party, the name of the first political party hat was found in 1947 was directly contrary to the concept of one nation as it is based on the notion that this country has many nations as its name clearly implies. Though the SLFP on the other hand is not tainted with this weakness, in practice it also has to fall in line with the same principle to compete to attract minority communities in competition with the UN , that is committed to the hilt to this in principle. As such none of the existing parties can bring all Sri Lankan people together to form one united nation for nation building as long as this notion of many nations is not removed from the minds of the people of this country.  Minorities have made maximum capital alternatively and while getting their things done they use it as a clout to make and unmake Governments. The competition and the struggle between the two major national parties to woo the minority vote and the never ending communal and religious woos has converted this Island in to a veritable battle field of ethnic and religious conflicts, fuelled by both local and foreign elements, have led to the present political, economic and social instability in this country while making the majority weaker and weaker.

Therefore the need to invent a system of government, sans political parties, to keep the people together, as one nation as it had been always the case for 2600 years in this country and to maintain the  status quo of the majority. In this mission the native Sinhala people have to take the lead first by giving up all their blind party affiliations such as UNP SLFP, JVP etc, and form in to one group under one strong patriotic national leadership. Thereafter that national leadership has to make a clear declaration as to what Sri Lanka is, what its nation is and where the minorities stand. Once that is done the minorities have no alternative but to fall in line with the majority and give up their dreams of separation and integrate with the natives or migrate to their original motherlands

The best option I propose to resolve this for Sinhalese is to form one strong national Front as suggested above to rule the country for 10 years under 15 or 17 Executive Committees like in the days of the Donoughmore system where all MPP elected will together form the Committees and the Government.

The political agenda given in the Mahanuwara Charter 2018 and elaborated in the Siya Panata given as Part two of the people’s Mahanuwra Charter 2018 that could be used as the basis of this leap forward. Everyone has been talking for years about the need for a new system. But no one has so far found or seriously thought about any practical solution for this vexed national problem. Conventional political parties have been fighting with each other for power and wooing the minority vote for survival without giving any serious thought to the national conundrum. The minorities on the other hand had never voted the UNP or the SLFP. What happen is they are driven like cattle by their communal leaders to vote only members of their respective communities and thereafter they auction their demands and join the party that agrees for the highest bidding or join the party that forms the government on the other hand This is how they have been changing governments for the past 70 years and got the maximum at the expense of the majority rights.  Meanwhile the main national parties had been groping in the dark without realizing the realizing the tragedy they are committing.

What I have put down here is a straight and solid proposal, though appears to be impracticable by the cynics, which I consider the only way to rescue this nation. What I outline here is the result of my search for a workable solution to that all important puzzle. I am fully conscious of the difficulties ensued. But I have an inner feeling that if we implement this proposal it will be a turning point in the country’s political history and it will offer a permanent solution in our search for a satisfactory answer for this vexed problem. It is a new idea that came to my mind, capable of generating a live debate on this subject. Two people have inspired me in this mission. The first is my good friend and colleague the late UB Wijekoon, an uncommon politician who presented me a copy of a book called Paksha Desapalanaya Ratata Sapaya written by him in (2010) highlighting the need to change this curse; making a request appealing to me to think about a solution for this cancerous social disaster. Dr Gunadasa Amarasekara who wrote a book recently (2016) titled Sabbyatva Rajya” calling for a new system of government based on our own civilization, inspired by the Civilization State concept of Martin Jaques in his When China rules the world” is the other person who accelerated my search for a suitable answer. I thank both of them sincerely for their inspirations.

I must confess with humility that this is not the result of an in depth research, on this subject. It is only a hurriedly prepared note prepared based on my thirty five years of experience and understanding of our political system, past and present and the future needs of the country, to be presented at a discussion organized by my colleague and friend late Dr Nath Amarakoon at Navinna, Nugegoda on 15th October 2015.

I wish and hope this note will inspire all patriots to search for the answer we all need very badly to rescue the motherland and the nation from complete disintegrations and imminent threats, both internal and external.

The Philosophy and Mission on the purpose of the State

1 Balachackram hi nisrāya Dharmachakram Pravartatē” (The Wheel of Power Revolves on the Wheel of Dhamma)

2 Bahujana Hitāya Bahujana Sukhāya” Lord Buddha. (For the Good of the many; For the Happiness of the    many)

And definitely not of the politicians only, as it has come to stay today, in this country.

Objective

To replace

The disastrous system of Government we have in this country today, what I call a Government by the Politicians, for the Politicians and of the Politicians”

With,

A Home grown system of Government of A Government by the People, for the People and of the People,” based on the age old Dasaraja Damma, the Dharmasokian model, Pansil and the Mahasammatha concept of state craft that had made this country a Proud Land of plenty, prosperity, peace, justice and righteous governance for 2500 years.

and

To set up a new form of Government similar to what Martin Jacques calls the ‘Civilization State,” based on our own political philosophy, institutions and systems, traditions and social values that formed the  foundation of that heritage, to liberate this country from the shackles and clutches of Western colonial hegemony and exploitation. It is also an attempt to fully free our people from their mental servility to Western forms of Government, alien and utterly inappropriate to the East; to inspire people of this country to understand the value and relevance of their age old and time tested native system as the golden key to the portals of our future prosperity and pride.

My final aim here is to call upon all patriotic citizens to ‘wake up’ from hibernation and to rise up to rally round a mass national movement to save the Motherland and lift it up once again to lofty heights as a strong, vibrant and a prosperous nation.

Political parties the curse of the Nation

Of all legacies left behind by the British, political party system, has been identified as the most disastrous and baneful factor that has divided and ruined this country and the Sinhala nation ever since 1948, though the seeds of such division was sown by the British right from the beginning of their rule in 1815. The name of the first political party the UNP (United National Party) suggested by Governor Mason Moor in 1947 advanced the idea of the presence of many nations in this country and it was given legal recognition by incorporating it to the constitution under Sec 29 of the Soulbury Constitution. It planted the first virus of the concept of many nations in place of one nation concept that existed from the dawn of history of this country up to 1815. It is now widely accepted that the British colonial policy was the foundation of the conspiracy of divide and rule they adopted to destroy the Sinhala nation. It has now come to stay as the most fatal cancer that has killed the one nation and one country concept in this Island nation and destroyed the political stability and unity beyond all conceivable limits. What is even worse is that the colonial powers still continue to do so by promoting the divide and rule policy of the British. Therefore the crying need for an immediate solution to put back this great nation once again on its own feet.

The proposed Model envisages replacing the existing so-called Western democratic model of government imposed on us by force and intrigue by them, with a homemade system, sans political parties, administrative and legal systems and social values imposed on us by them, but incorporating some of the good aspects therein. Going back to our roots in search of a permanent remedy for these ugly legacies of political, social, economic and psycological maladies handed down to us by the West, to disrupt, disorganize and destroy our country to achieve their diabolical strategic, military and economic goals, is the aim of this effort.

I begin on the assumption that we have not got any independence in 1948. I challenge any one who says we have got any independence other than a British made Parliament to make legislation and a made in Britain Constitution to run the affairs of the State for them by a bunch of black whites they left behind when they left. The way how the West runs this country even today with the assistance of their stooges is sufficient proof of this pathetic situation. Have we won independence over our motherland, our language, religion, political institution, legal freedom our social the heritage and values as India or Miyanma did in 1947?  Do we have at least a homemade Constitution? Isn’t this country not run by the West orchestrated by the UN and the so-called International Community and India to suit their agendas? So in this backdrop how can one say we are an independent nation?

The following homemade model is proposed to make this country once again a free and Independent country.

(This is a revised version of an article first posted on September 28th, 2016 Lankaweb)

Part two on the proposed model of Government will follow.

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