An Election Battle to Save Peace: Nanthikadal-2, Exactly 75 Months On

Replacing China with IMF

IMF was the preferred lender to all UNP governments. The UNP regime has already discarded China and is keen to remarry the IMF. Everywhere IMF went it left a trail of death and destruction. For IMF to help a nation, the nation has to surrender all its good industries to the IMF. It doesn’t take a long term partnership view. Instead, it always looks to profit at the expense of the borrower. IMF also imposes political conditions for help. These include cutting government jobs in hundreds of thousands, increasing food prices and charging additional taxes. Under a future government, at least 75,000 government jobs will be either lost or suffer an actual reduction in salary after public sector restructure plans already in the UNP pipeline.

CEPA with India Makes Most People Unemployed

Due to intense pressure from India, UNP has already decided to sign the CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement) agreement with India, which Mahinda refused to sign in 2010. Under CEPA, Indian workers will be able to get jobs currently held by Sri Lankans in both government and private sectors. Small businesses will also be taken over by Indians. Locals will be without jobs and business. Interestingly, even traditional UNP supporters will suffer as their businesses will be rivalled and eventually taken over by Indians.

A large influx of Indians will be residing in Sri Lanka who will eventually settle down in Sri Lanka, which is way ahead of India in per capita income, quality of life and human development index. These new arrivals will be able to manipulate political parties in Sri Lanka as new kingmakers. No other country in the world, except South Korea, has signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement with India. However, thanks to South Korea’s (a developed country) high bargaining power, it managed to keep India at bay. Sri Lanka will be unable to do so.

A Bridge to India

In 2002, then Prime Minister Ranil proposed a bridge to India. Now he has revived it with South Indian politicians agreeing with him. If the UNP wins, the bridge will become a reality within a decade. A large influx of South Indians will come to Sri Lanka changing the ethnic composition. Water, food, transport, education and healthcare systems will be destroyed by this massive influx of Indians to the small island. These systems are already in stress.

In 2014, India officially stopped the Sethusamudram project to allow for the possibility of a bridge across the strait. There is the real danger of it becoming a reality over shallow waters in the Mannar basin.

Impending Dictatorship

All democratic countries recognise the right of the people and their elected representatives to elect and dissolve governments. However, according to the 19A passed without showing it to the people, the next government is guaranteed a minimum life span of 4 and a half years! It means no matter how harsh, cruel and dictatorial the oncoming government is people will be unable to replace it. This is a scary thought, which hints at UNP’s plans for extremely harsh measures, particularly economic measures, against the people. Voters have six (6) days to make up their mind to avoid this calamity ahead. Mahinda on the other hand skilfully avoided economic meltdown in 2006 and thereafter by turning to alternative lenders without compromising people’s interests.

Ranil’s Unimaginable Greed for Power

Ranil holds the world record for the longest standing Opposition Leader. There has never been a party leader in the world that wasted 22 years unable to get to the top post of the country except Ranil. He lost two presidential elections, four parliamentary elections and an innumerable number of other elections. Nevertheless, he still hangs on to power and wants more power. Mahinda on the other hand was party leader for just 8 years despite being the president for 10 years and prime minister for 2 years.

In order to retain his power, he went to extreme lengths like Batalanda (1989) where thousands of civilian political supporters of the SLFP and Sri Lanka Mahajana Party lost their lives.

Ranil was Prime Minister twice before and both occasions were disasters! People removed him from power within 15 months in the first instance and 28 months in the second instance. What is more interesting is on both occasions, UNP was routed very badly at elections showing how unpopular his governments generally are. This time he is coming with a constitutional safeguard of his government that prevents people from taking action against him for 4 and a half years. Coupling Ranil with this dictatorship provision creates a very bad despotic mixture.

Lives of Army Personnel and Peace at Risk

UNHRC report on war crimes in due at its interim session in September. It has already hinted 41 security forces offices are framed by the report. UNP government bigwigs have made it clear they will not prevent the capture and deportation of them. Such an act will lead to island wide unrest, violence and riots. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers who worked under them are also at risk as investigations will drag them into war crimes. They too will be captured and deported. It is a wrong move the UNP is trying. No country hands over its justices to the UNHRC! In other countries, these matters are handled domestically. Emboldened by the move, radical elements in the north will launch attacks on persons of different ethnicities plunging the north back to war. Relatives, well-wishers and patriotic Sri Lankans will be utterly frustrated by the betrayal. The country will be ungovernable. Sri Lanka’s external friends that protected Lankan war heroes will be let down causing an international embarrassment to Sri Lanka and losing its all weather friends.

Until its leadership changes, a vote for UNP is a vote for disaster.

Dilrook Kannangara