
Sri Lanka elections
ANOTHER ELECTION in Sri Lanka has been fought on the
national question and economic stagnation. On 5 December the United National
Party (UNP), led by Ranil Wickremesinghe, came to power after the most violent
election ever.
Up to 50 people were killed and hundreds injured amid
large-scale vote-rigging and intimidation. Nearly 80,000 voters in the Tamil
areas of Vanni and Batticaloa in the North and East were prevented from voting
for so-called ‘security reasons’. In Kandy district, more than 40,000 votes
were annulled. Local elections have now been called for early March. In fact, it
seems that the more the parliamentary system is undermined, the more frequently
elections take place.
The December general election will also go down in history
as the most intensely communal campaign. The People’s Alliance (PA), which led
the previous administration under president Chandrika Kumaratunga, and the
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP – People’s Liberation Front) led the
communalism. Neither of these parties address the real problems of the country.
The UNP, on the other hand, highlighted the need to end the bitter war between
the Sinhala-dominated state, on the one side, and Tamil forces on the other. Up
to 60,000 lives have been lost in fighting in the past three decades. The UNP
campaigned for a negotiated settlement. Its programme however is completely
based on big business interests and can offer no long-term solution, therefore,
to the conflict.
This is going to be the first test for Ranil and his
government. It has eased the sanctions imposed on Tamil areas, which could
improve the economic situation. However, when Chandrika was first elected in
1994, she also implemented similar measures before the situation again
deteriorated into war. The PA and JVP have already begun mobilising opposition
to planned talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
When the results are analysed they show that the majority of
the people rejected the communal campaigns of the PA and JVP. These parties used
the state media to claim that Ranil had made a secret pact with Vellupillai
Prabhakaran, the LTTE leader, to divide up the country. This bankrupt
communalist tactic failed.
The UNP gained because of deep discontent with the PA
government, which had also promised to end the war and has failed to stop the
worsening of people’s living conditions. We all know, however, that the UNP
represents big business and will implement a pro-imperialist programme which
will increase the burden to working class and poor peasants still further.
Another significant development was that the Communist Party
(CP), which contested the elections on the PA lists, failed to win any seats.
Since independence in 1947, the CP has always been represented in parliament up
to now. Similarly, the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) managed to win just one
seat. The LSSP and the traditional left parties are no longer a significant
force, having lost their identity as representatives of the working class and
poor.
The communal, petit-bourgeois JVP increased its strength
from ten MPs to 16. The Nava Sama Samaja Party (NSSP/NLF – New Labour Front)
leaders and Vasudeva Nanayaka with his Democratic and Left Party (which stood as
the Democratic and Left Front – DLF), helped to pave the way for the JVP by
reinforcing the mistaken view that the JVP is a non-communal and important left
force. The JVP used that to attract some workers’ votes.
Against this confusing background, the United Socialist
Party (USP – the Sri Lanka section of the CWI) contested nine districts in the
country as a workers’ party. The amount of votes received by the USP is
significant in view of the fact that the USP did not hold any public meetings
and had no paid adverts in the press, radio or television. In some polling
districts we got more than the NLF or DLF. In total the USP got 9,457 votes,
ending up in tenth-place overall in the whole country, despite the fact that we
did not stand in all constituencies. We recruited new members during the
campaign.
With the formation of the new government, the capitalist
business class has gained renewed confidence. The Colombo stock exchange rose by
40% as an indication of their feelings. The economic situation, however, is dire
– set to record its worst performance since independence, according to the
Financial Times (20 December).
Ranil has also set up negotiations with the Indian prime
minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, on the Tamil question. But reaching agreement is
not going to be easy. The national question in Sri Lanka has developed to a
situation where, without autonomy for the North being accepted, the LTTE will
not come to talks. The PA has refused to join a national government, but 22 PA
MPs went over to the new government, helping it achieve the two-thirds majority
it needs to change the constitution and go into talks on devolution.
The working class and the USP have a crucial role to play in
the coming period. The left must not repeat the same mistakes that were made
during the 1987-89 period, when most left groups backed the capitalist peace
initiative. The working class taking an independent stand is very important.
Implementing the World Bank’s programme, the UNP will introduce harsh
anti-working class measures. In this situation, the USP has a key role to play
in the country’s politics in the months ahead.
Siritunga Jayasuriya
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