Comments on: It’s a long way to the Arab Spring in Sri Lanka. We are still stuck in the winter of our discontent!

By: rdwijetunga

rdwijetunga — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 03:56:51 +0000

Dear Readers,
A revolution is needed when there is no legitimate and fair avenue of expression of displesure with the government which would lead to a change in leadership. In Sri Lanka the recent polls were accepted as fair by all. Results shows that the majority of People of Sri Lanka supports the government policies.
Therefore we Sri Lankans do not need any revolutionary blood bath to change the government as free and fair polling system is available.
Further more we are now in spring of our motherland after the horrible war. Only a few supporters defeated political parites daydream of a false spring with forign involvment.
RDW

By: Dinesh

Dinesh — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 11:48:44 +0000

A revolution is a complete social and political upheaval. The Russian anarchist Prince Petr Kropotkin said that a revolution was prepared and made by two great movements. One was the current of ideas – the tide of new ideas on the political reorganisation of the state – which came from the bourgeoisie. The other the current of action, came from the popular masses – the peasants and the labourers. When these two movements joined together for what at first was a common goal – when for a time they lent each other mutual support the Revolution occurred. But that is not enough for the revolution to break out. It is necessary to pass from theory to action, from an ideal conceived in the mind to its practical implementation by deeds. So why is that, the Revolution is not happening in SL?

Although bourgeoisie in it’s inception was a word to describe a particular socio economic class (a social class distinguished by it’s ownership of capital and their related culture), today in a revolutionary mindset the bourgeoisie can be defined as the middle class society. Today in SL the bourgeoisie is divided, pro MR and those who are against MR. Meanwhile the popular masses are pro MR to say the least. In that case a proper communication channel should exist between the proletariat’s (popular masses in today’s words) and the bourgeoisie. Which should be handled by whoever wants a revolution. But the fact of the matter is that there is no mode or channel of communication to get the message through.As long as the UNP is playing stupid politics using some of the most absurd methods of protests such as honking vehicle horns for long periods of time, dashing clay pottery on the ground and their so called future leader doing nothing other than going around the country donating fifty thousand rupees to churches, mosques, temples and kovils calling it “Sasunta Aruna” and not forgetting internal struggles in the party a revolution will never occur.To mention the modern day JVP in an article related to a revolution would be such a travesty, so not let’s talk further about it.

Kropotkin also said that a revolution will occur when, those in power resisted change till blood ran in the streets, it must never stop halfway, if it does it will surely fail. Once a revolution has broken out, it must develop to its furthest limits. Inevitably at its peak, the countervailing forces are forced to yield. Reaction will set in, but looking at Egypt, Syria and Libya can we assure that the result of a revolution would be better than what it was before?

A revolution in SL??? That day is far far far ahead. By the way did I mention that I’m being very optimistic about the day a revolution will occur in SL.

By: sonali

sonali — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 10:37:49 +0000

why do we need a spring when we have the option of ballot box? comparing democratic sri lankans to arabs who were at the mercy of kings, princeses and dictators is hardly doing them any justice imho.

By: Hash

Hash — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 20:48:55 +0000

This is not about a legitiamte alternative, spring, summer, autumm or winter…

IT is basically that Sri Lankan’s as a society have a sub servient and spineless demur towards most things… with a good doze of blinded ignorance ( this includes the pundits of Colombo – who in my view make the largest ofthis population) .. especially when it comes to politics… they do not have the prverbial “Testi’s” or moral ability to call a spade a spade..

thats how the regime continue to weild power irrespective of pludnering, murder and utter disregard to justice and social norms: our people basically have a view .. its ok .. let them go on.. after all they finished the war.. so let them do what ever they please… it is alos how ranil remains to stay in power due to a few bottlickers and spineless individuals who are duty bound due to possbily allegence to the school tie or those lack the strenght of the backbone to stand up and send him packing… How do you think these kudda MP’s murder, extort and strip people of even their basic civic rights… sub servient and spinelessness…

until such time Sri Lankans grow a spine on their backs and move away from having the Raj infused sub servient attittude we as a nation will never stand together nor be able to stand against injustice…

We will continue to be prostitues of those we elect and we will also make the future genrations (our children) vaggabonds of society..
Cest la vi

By: Burning_Issue

Burning_Issue — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 13:19:33 +0000

In reply to Dr Dayan Jayatilleka. Luckily for the Sri Lankan people, the UNP ‘reformists’ or ‘ rebels’ seem far more connected to reality than most GV writers/readers and appear to about to fix the problem!" What is your contribution to fixing the "problem" Dr if I may ask?

By: joker

joker — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 18:10:55 +0000

In reply to banu. Dear Intelligent writer, we just had two long dragged out elections just last year. You want a Sri Lankan spring? please, let us enjoy this peace and quiet for at least a couple of years

By: Dr Dayan Jayatilleka

Dr Dayan Jayatilleka — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:10:46 +0000

Jude, this is a good piece BUT you are ducking the main issue, as does the Gv constituency as a whole, because your perspective is part of the problem, not part of the solution.

The main point — which you are ducking — has been correctly identified by the NORAD study.

The report names the Sri Lankan political situation as one of uni-polarity. This provides a welcome opportunity from moving away from the usual categories and bringing to bear a systemic analysis on the Lankan condition. Such an analysis means understanding the whole, as a system, in which the parts behave according to the logic driving the system. Thus leader or political personality X would behave differently if the system was differently configured, while a different political personality would behave similarly if the systemic configuration remained unchanged. The key determinant is the uni-polar character of the system, which as the Norwegian study shows, was not always the case. It is a result, a product of the ‘lack of a credible alternative’, deriving from the ‘leadership crisis’ of the UNP, which itself has two sources, the ‘legitimacy crisis’ of the UNP leadership ‘because of its pro-western orientation and its neo-liberal economic policy and ‘the refusal of Wickremesinghe to step down despite successive defeats’. The uni-polarity is consequence of this causation and its by product is the possibility of electoral victory purely by appeal to Sinhala voters and the further resultant is the marginalisation and lack of leverage of democratic minority stakeholders. Thus, the ‘minoritarian liberal’ preference and support for Wickremesinghe undergird the uni-polar character of the ‘game’, and undermines the goal of ethnic reconciliation through reform.

Luckily for the Sri Lankan people, the UNP ‘reformists’ or ‘ rebels’ seem far more connected to reality than most GV writers/readers and appear to about to fix the problem!

By: dinuk

dinuk — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 08:55:26 +0000

Afraid that this is all rather overblown and not locally contextualized; globalized grand standing, by ex-pat. leftist, well-intentioned, Jude! 1. The simple point is that Lankans have had 30 years of violence and upheaval and people want to catch their breath for a bit of calm — to recover before the next round of political unrest which is fairly inevitable given the conspicuous consumption of the Rajapakse regime whereby the rich get richer and poor poorer..
2. That clown the P.M Dimu J had said that Lanka should stop importing fruits and veg and other “uneccessary” foreign debt increasing goods – Meanwhile Rajapakse bros Inc and related crony capitalists are importing of Lambuginis and Ferrraris for Colombo night races that are driving local communities nuts with the noise pollution and making roads unsafe at night as these play boys race by, and trees are being cut down willy nilly to pave the roads and buffer against crashes – All this is not making people very happy.
3. The UNP is a mess because of Ranil W’s dictatorship, Karu’s Hamlet act, and Sajith premadasa’s Sinhala Buddhist nationalist absence of imagination and intelligence.
4. The bloody Indians are meanwhile delaying on housing construction for IDPs in the north. They just want to sit in the northeast and turn it into a buffer zone. The GOI playing its usual games while the IDPs in the north are suffering, because not other INGO which would like to help can do so, since GoI has got the contract from GoSL. So the international humanitarian aid joke continues with India outdoing the Tsunami rent seekers from the West. Please come and check this out!

By: luxmy

luxmy — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 05:11:34 +0000

In reply to R.A.Ratwatte. Rajapakses will hire Bell Pottinger to delay the spring as much as possible

By: R.A.Ratwatte

R.A.Ratwatte — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 03:49:15 +0000

Winter leads to spring….not too far away !