Progressive Politics & The Right Kind Of Left
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Bharatha Premachandra’s wife and daughter
Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra’s grieving daughter (and possible political successor) was probably not even born when several of us in the SLMP’s leading ranks rapidly disembarked at his house in Kolonnawa, an hour after he had survived the assassination attempt by the JVP. His aged father, a trade-unionist of the Old Left, had surprised the hit-man by pinioning him, giving Lakshman the chance to grab his weapon and shoot. That evening or the next day, Bharatha Lakshman, clad in shorts, rolled into a conclave of the Sri Lanka Mahajana Party founded by Vijaya Kumaratunga (himself killed by the JVP). His act was a model of resistance to Pol Potist ‘Red fascism’. At the time we were both members of the Political Bureau of the SLMP (I was elected an Asst Secretary of the party).
That the brash young man who had survived a JVP assassin was slain decades later by bullets fired by those on his own side, is suffused with a dark if obvious irony. His death may, however, have not been entirely in vain. Not only was his killing “a flash of lightning that illumined reality” (Lenin), his funeral may be seen by future chroniclers as a turning point or seismic social shift; the point at which hitherto passive civic consent visibly withdrew from the culture of political violence. The funeral also saw a gathering of the vast moderate centre of the country’s politics and democratic political tradition, signalling a significant dissent against violence and impunity in our society.
The killing of Lakshman and the social mobilisation at his funeral brings to the forefront the issue of ethics, and if the Left in any part of the world stands for anything it must stand for ethics and ethical values. For the Left to be successful it must occupy the moral high ground and be seen to do so. How do the JVP and its breakaway faction, the UDF, fare in that respect?
The failed armed revolutionaries of the Latin American Left were able to be popularly elected into office within thirty years while the JVP remains on the margins, because – among other things– the character of the violence that the Latin American Left engaged in was romantically Quixotic or Robin Hood like, i.e. ethically justifiable, as that of the JVP in its second insurrection of ’86-’89 indubitably was not. Those Latin American Leftists who engaged in violence similar to that of the JVP’s second uprising, such as Peru’s Sendero Luminoso and Colombia’s FARC, have been unable to make a democratic comeback. The JVP, having made such a re-entry, has been stuck somewhere halfway and is in a decline, however temporary or lengthy that may be. Is the JVP or its breakaway UDF willing to make an honest self-criticism of its past, and if not will it ever overcome the haunting social doubts about its core character?
The competition between the mainstream and dissident JVP, complicated by a four cornered struggle between the JVP, UDF, NFF (ex-JVP) and JHU could trigger, for the militant Southern youth, an unhealthy escalatory dynamic. While the JVP and UDF are the real competitors for the more serious minded and politically literate youth, it must be recalled that the leaders of all four organisations were in a single party and one side of the barricades: they were all in Rohana Wijeweera’s JVP and were on the violently anti-devolution side of the barricades in 1986-9.
Neither the JVP nor the dissident UDF seems to know how to handle the dimension of anti-imperialism and relations with a government that adopts an independent foreign policy and is manifestly under external pressure, even threat, from the Empire. Then again, that’s not a failing limited to them, that’s an abiding flaw of the Lankan Left, which never adhered to the Marxist-Leninist dictum of ‘unity and struggle’ in relation to a government that is itself threatened by imperialist hegemonism and interventionism.
It is incumbent upon any left formation to identify the basic Marxist-Leninist stand in matters pertaining to a dependent, peripheral capitalist formation such as that of Sri Lanka, in danger of political domination from outside while facing an unresolved nationalities question within. One would reasonably expect the Left perspective in such a situation to consist of the opposition to secession and the defence of national sovereignty, territorial integrity and unity; the opposition to imperialist and neo-colonialist hegemonism, interventionism and the defence of national sovereignty; a solution to the nationalities question based on a degree of political space that accommodates a deep-rooted collective identity (an electoral map of the areas won by the TNA and the TULF at successive post-war, post-LTTE elections reaffirms an irrepressible existential reality); and the opposition to neoliberal economic policies and cutbacks of social entitlements while proposing an attractive and realistic economic policy for growth with equity as in Lula’s Brazil.
A progressive and Left politics must operate on two fronts: state and society. Today, Left politics cannot be about the overthrow of the state, but its remodelling. The state must not be sought to be overthrown not only because of the balance of forces and the danger of anarchy, but because the disintegration of the state will only strengthen the forces of separatism and external intervention/domination. In an era of neoliberal globalisation and neo-colonialism renamed ‘liberal humanitarian interventionism’, the state especially in the global south, must be strong enough to intervene in the market on behalf of the citizens and also defend the nation, i.e. national sovereignty from external hegemonism, and national unity and territorial integrity from secessionism.
However, progressive politics often gets it wrong three times over. Firstly, it confuses a strong state with hyper-centralisation and defends or opposes one while confusing it for the other. Secondly and more importantly, it confuses the state with the status quo. While in some cases the defence of the former requires the defence of the latter, it is not always so, and sometimes the state must be defended against the status quo and at other times, a progressive status quo must be defended against the reactionary elements of the state. Thirdly, it confuses the state with the government or the administration. For a progressive Left formation, it should be perfectly possible to defend the state and its core interests while criticising this or that act or aspect, policy or faction of the government/administration, or indeed while taking its distance from ‘the government’, ‘the administration’ and the governing ethos.
The victories of the Left in contemporary Latin America have been founded on broad Left and progressive unity, no more so than in Uruguay where the Tupamaros have been at the core of the ‘Frente Amplio’ (Broad Front) which has lasted for decades. Can the JVP and/or the UDF overcome the Wijeweeraist DNA of vicious sectarianism? The future of the Lankan Left may depend on it. They could do no better than to diligently read, study, absorb and apply Antonio Gramsci. That’s pretty much what the Latin American Left did.
While the ethical factor of a barbarically violent past unaccounted for honestly, may always remain a ceiling for the JVP’s or UDF’s ascendancy, there is a largely ethical role that these radical Lefts can play in any society. The Left must be the voice of justice and fair-play in every sphere and for everyone. This does not mean ‘levelling down’ in the name of social justice or protesting only about class exploitation. It means standing up for universal fair-play. An authentic Left should be the party of resistance to all forms of injustice and oppression of anyone. It should be the Ombudsman, the Tribune, of the unfairly treated and downtrodden everywhere in the country. It should be in the vanguard of the struggle against racism and all forms of social discrimination, be it ethnic, linguistic, religious, gender, class or caste. It should unite the exploited, oppressed, marginalised and alienated, overcoming all barriers of language, region and ethnicity. It should campaign for equal rights of all citizens and the actual, active exercise of those rights. It should stand, not so much against globalisation as such, but against neo-liberal globalisation, and for another globalisation, an alternative globalisation. It should not only be a party of resistance but also of radical reform and renovation.
A project for a sustainable Left resurgence depends on whether it can effect a difficult synthesis, of a radical realism, offering a politically mature citizenry a convincing vision of a different, more advanced and better Sri Lanka and the world. It should stand for and embody a different, more civilised social behaviour. It should represent and incarnate an exemplary citizenship. It should not be mired in traditionalism but be the vanguard of transformation, in the first instance of social consciousness, mentalities and outlook. It should not be imprisoned in history; it must make history, exiting the cycle of conflict and breaking through to the 21st century.
Dear Dayan, earlier you criticised Dr Nesiah for not naming the LTTE. Can you now name Mr Premachandra’s killer?
@ wijayapala
Nice question. I’m waiting with bated breath to see the answer…
The people who stand for ethics and ethical values (be it from the left or right)do not want to overthrow the state. They want to overthrow the ‘Family’that has hijacked the state.It’s that simple. Dictators are now becoming an endangered species as the recent happenings in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya have shown us. All that the right thinking people from the left and the right want is a ‘state’ that is accountable to the people…and not a ‘Family Dictatorship’that has the grandiose notion of forming a ‘Thousand Year Family Reich.’
Dear Wijayapala,
wITH A JUDICIAL INQUIRY ongoing?
Dayan, but you had given us a hint:
“That the brash young man who had survived a JVP assassin was slain decades later by bullets fired by those on his own side”
What did the judicial inquiry into Rajini Thiraganama or Kethesh Loganathan’s death reveal?
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DzeMZGGQ0ERk%26feature%3Drelated&h=7AQHGV8o1AQFfEwe9PMrwT9TY_nWp5O3SXwJI5ClUzwcqfw
This is slowly but surely happening in Sri Lanka. Truth becomes lies and lies becomes the truth. The guilty become innocent and the innocent become guilty.
@wijayapala
…ha ha ha…are you satisfied with the answer you got from the good doctor?
Wijayapala is discerning enough to know the difference between the poliotical criminality and impunity in Mulleriyawa ( and he has intelligently read between the lines) and a war waged by a secessionist -terrorist army, headed by Prabhakaran, in course of which a great number of killings of unarmed Tamils were carried out by Tiger assassins ( eg Amirthalingam’s , whose assassin was shot dead by a policeman).
Dayan, yes I know all about the LTTE’s killings. What I want to know is whether Colombo is turning into another Jaffna where impunity is law.
Why else is there a need to write in a way for the audience to have to “read between the lines?”
and the killings of thousands of unarmed Tamils by the state.
Dear wijayapala;
“Dayan, yes I know all about the LTTE’s killings. What I want to know is whether Colombo is turning into another Jaffna where impunity is law.”
Really wijayapala, that is a one of the most pertinent questions to ask today. I also think the government is running havoc, turning blind eye to the concerns of the people. There many above the Law today. Defeating terrorism is not an excuse for all sort of tomfoolery.
Thanks!
Dear wijayapala;
Here is an example for the “Situation Report of Colombo” today.
Thanks!
Oh! I forgot the link
http://groundviews.org/2011/10/24/bully-boys-and-bully-girls/#comment-38099
Thanks!
Ha ha ha Presidunce, I’d be more delighted to hear what you were doing when the LTTE was bringing destruction on your entire people.
@ Wijeyapala
I have news for you
Our friend Bean here is no Tamil
Rest I leave to your discretion
Ha! Ha!! Shehan, Most of the Tamils are not Tamils in this blog, it is a well known fact. Ha! Ha!!
Thanks!
Hi Yapa
actually I was stating a fact
There are many Tamils who go by Sinhala names in this blog
But our Bean belongs to UNP dinosaurs of pre 1956 caliber.
The kind that feel Right wing English speaking Royal/Thomian upper crust should rule over the sarong johnnies (or Amude wearing idiots as one prominent academic cum UNP MP belonging to this class once said)
According to these morons Sri Lankans especially Sinhalese should forget their glorious history and culture and become hippies.
In countries such as USA for example ,where people don’t hesitate to flaunt their patriotism these kind of animals are an anomaly.
Lucky they are in SL.
Shehan
“But our Bean belongs to UNP dinosaurs of pre 1956 caliber.
The kind that feel Right wing English speaking Royal/Thomian upper crust should rule over the sarong johnnies”
That is an interesting theory, but PresiDunce’s writing/thinking skills don’t match what you are talking about.
Interesting, but not surprising, that Dayan J. uses Premachandra’s death to blast the JVP, while remaining totally silent on Rajapakse’s role in creating the environment for said tragedy to occur. The JVP was never progressive; for example, it opposes free markets and devolution. The JVP is really a right-wing, Sinhala-Buddhist fringe group. A much better description of the Left would be the UNP – look at JR and Ranil’s neoliberal economic policies or Ranil’s attempts at devolution.
For a progressive Left formation, it should be perfectly possible to defend the state and its core interests
Translation: smooth expansion of the Rajapakse empire from Dondra to Point Pedro, using investment capital provided by any number of rogue states (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D4TATHZSUQY/TXHQKQSsjvI/AAAAAAAAAmc/z97eiox6uJs/s1600/dictator_Colonel-Gaddafi_mahinda_rajapakse.jpg), so that the jumbo-sized military can successfully silence the few who dare speak out, while we the tiny elite of sycophants that benefit can sing the praises of Monsieur from our Ile Saint-Louis château.
Dear Dr. Jayatilleke,
Pray tell what triggers this lecturing for a progressive politics from the left in an article that starts off with a reference to internecine warfare in the current administration?
I read this article with increasing interest as it dawned upon me that you are implicitly accepting that no “progressive politics” can come from the current “administration” or “status quo”. To me it reads something like this: don’t expect the current “government, the administration and the governing ethos” to take the “moral highground”, stand for “ethics and ethical values”, be at the “vangaurd of the struggle against racism”, “unite the exploited, oppressed, marginalised and alienated” etc. etc. but that the “left” should step up to the plate and present a progressive vision (the latter of which I fully agree with you on, given their lack of a contribution to help shape a just solution to the ethnic conflict).
The question however is whether you are asking for the co-opted left to come to the rescue of the current adminstration by articulating a vision of progressive politics so that they can be bailed out, or is this progressive politics you harangue the left for meant to overthrow the current bankrupt and moral low-ground governing ethos? If it is the latter, maybe we are finally reaching convergence.
Have a good day.
Try not to ‘overthrow’ anything George, as it might overthrow you. Instead, contain, countervail, shift, transform.
Dear Dr. Jayatilleke,
Would this also have been your advice to the Colombians as they were preparing to send their President, Alberto Fujimori, who defeated a ruthless terrorist organisation, to serve 25 years in prison, and their Head of Intelligence Services, Vladimir Montesinos, who now has a comfortable cell not too far from the cell of the leader of the ruthless Sendero Luminoso you refer to in your article?
Your advice is oh so Obama like, something that went out of fashion with the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak. If we are to talk about progressive politics and ethical values let’s emulate those who have succeeded in bringing about radical transformations not about waxing someone’s limp moustache trying to make them look better!
But then again this is all talk in’it?
Alberto Fujimori was President of Peru, not Colombia.
My apologies…. I got diverted by references to FARC and ended up in Colombia. It should read: “Would this also have been your advice to the Peruvians…..”
Thanks for the correction Nigel.
Hiya George, just popping in, Sunday being the day off between the Leaders’ Forum at UNESCO (moderated by Zeinab Badawi; good speech by Boris Tadic) and tomorrow’s scheduled vote on Palestine, which if it goes through, would be historic. Shan’t be online till the World Philosophy Forum ends in mid-late November.
What makes you think I have any problem with a decision by a duly elected government and implemented through a national judiciary, with regard to crimes by a predecessor administration? I am delighted by the sentencing of the Argentinian naval officer, nicknamed the Angel of Death, by an Argentinian courts, under Christina Kirschner’s re-elected government, for the crimes he committed 35 years back.
I mean, look, you didn’t see me writing or speaking in protest against the hearings into the abuse of power by ms Sirimavo Bandaranaike, did you?
Ha…ha…Dr Dayan is very very good at shifting and transforming…most of us have been aware of that for some time now…
Hey, Beanie boyo, so is the Sri Lankan electorate…or haven’t you noticed?
Dr. Dayan Jayatilaka,
‘Tamil Terrorism’ is wiped off in Sri Lanka now. But it is still used in the south to mislead the ordinary Sinhalese people. The Sinhalese will be facing similar killings very often, as they not accept sharing of power or the country.
Dear A.S. Uthayakumar
“The Sinhalese will be facing similar killings very often, as they not accept sharing of power or the country.”
Sorry I didn’t understand you- who exactly will be killing Sinhalese?
Dear wijayapala
After the wipe off of ‘Tamil Terrorism’ the Sinhalese politicians, the ruling class and the media under their control have not much to tell the Sinhalese people about Sri Lankan affairs to capture power and loot the country. They will have to make use of other things. Thus, killings and other things will have to happen very often among the Sinhalese. To stop or reduce this, they have to continue the ‘Tamil Issue’ and the ‘Western interference’ in our country. But, they will not go against their longstanding ‘friends’. They will show some lame opposition to the West and India to get the concessions they expect. The only easy and durable way for them is to keep the ‘Tamil issue’ always at the boiling point. So: NO reconciliation; beating drums of possible continuation of ‘Tamil Terrorism’ and more army intelligence personnel will be sent to the North and East for covert operations so that they could debate on these issues in the parliament without debating on matters concerning development, education,justice,peace etc.This tactics have been used by the successive governments of our country for the last 64 years. So do not worry much.
Dr. Dayan Jayatileka
You have written:
“An authentic Left should be the party of resistance to all forms of injustice and oppression of anyone. It should be the Ombudsman, the Tribune, of the unfairly treated and downtrodden everywhere in the country. It should be in the vanguard of the struggle against racism and all forms of social discrimination, be it ethnic, linguistic, religious, gender, class or caste. It should unite the exploited, oppressed, marginalised and alienated, overcoming all barriers of language, region and ethnicity. It should campaign for equal rights of all citizens and the actual, active exercise of those rights. It should stand, not so much against globalisation as such, but against neo-liberal globalisation, and for another globalisation, an alternative globalisation. It should not only be a party of resistance but also of radical reform and renovation.”
History of the Leftists in Sri Lanka confirms that they talked and wrote something, but in action they did just the opposite! You will know what the leftist in the coalition government did with the Republican Constitutionin 1972. Now, most of the so-called leftists are in the MR Government.Do you think that you are an exception? Touch your heart and answer.
Idiot -
there is no heart in all this….
the words are coming from the head – can you not see the difference
sri lankans are captivated by words coming out of their heads
that is how we are so articulate and yet so stupid
more important than the words – are where they are coming from –
and this is broader than who is saying them