Approximately one year ago on May 18th 2009, I wrote an article on Sri Lanka’s second “independence”, the spirit I fostered at the time is not reflected in this article one year later. On April 8th 2010, Sri Lankans went to the polls to vote.
Yet I did not vote. Many others did not as well. It is clear cut that Sri Lanka’s population did not feel that their vote counted, and rightly-so. Yet, was it wise NOT to vote? Perhaps if one thinks of it as legitimizing an increasingly theocratic government by participating in the hopelessly flawed façade of democracy, then it makes sense not to be a party to it. Post-conflict human societies are usually vacuums for militant or ambitious leaders to fill. Now this can either be through questionable installations of “democracy” e.g.- the Hamid Karzai establishment or it could be military dictatorship much like Idi Amin’s.
In a society that has just emerged from a murderous war, humility and reconciliation should be foremost in the agenda of Ministers. It seemed to have slipped the minds of many candidates to pause and realise how important and historic this election would be in redefining our lives.
Though not a direct parallel, Sudan held its first multi-party elections on 11th April, just days after Sri Lanka. The undemocratic nature of the elections was brought to light in the international media. Opposition parties, who believed that the results would be rigged, boycotted the elections. This was an important move. If opposition parties boycotted elections in Sri-Lanka, it would have also brought to sharp relief concerns over the Rajapaksa regime’s democratic credentials.
So what now? With two elections post-LTTE, are we still an optimistic island? Yes, investment is increasing, job options are diversifying, and international tourism has increased. But what can be said about domestic concerns? Have you visited the Cancer Ward at the General Hospital? Have you witnessed the deteriorating Education system and the strain it has put on children driving them to suicide? Have you seen the environment, the garbage dumps, the rancid air? Have we taken the next step to include IDPs in Sri Lanka’s civil society? Is it safe for women? For ethnic minorities? For the media?