Manifestos, masses and asses

Prime Minister Mr. Ratnasiri Wickremanayake sat impassively on the right of President Chandrika Kumaratunga on the podium accommodating the hotshots of the Peoples Alliance, as she extolled the virtues of her new party manifesto that she was unfolding to her party and the public.

We wonder what his thoughts were at that time on the new manifesto of the Peoples Alliance because not very moons ago, in February this year to be exact, he made a candid and astounding confession about party manifestos. Addressing senior public servants on’ The Role of the Public Service and Challenge to Development’ he proclaimed: ‘Election manifestos are documents that declare proposed policies of political parties. These are vote-catching gimmicks. All political parties utter lies in their manifestos and the party which utters better lies and more effective lies is the side that wins elections’ Mr.Wickremanayake went on to say: Political parties give various election pledges and that is how they win elections. If they do not utter lies, they simply lose. That is the reality, however unpalatable it is’. We have taken these quotes from President Kumaratunga’s and other PA leaders favourite paper the Daily News.

Quite obviously, Tuesday’s event at President’s House where the manifesto was launched was not the occasion for the Prime Minister to express such ‘unpalatable realities’ after President Kumaratunga painted such a rosy future ahead under the PA leadership. But the reality is that Mr. Wickremanayake had said the absolute truth regarding political manifestos.

The UNP, however, is an advantageous position vis-ˆ-vis manifestos because they have been in the opposition since 1994 and the question of keeping to the solemn pledges given has not arisen.

It was only in August 1999 that President Kumaratunga treated us to her ‘Vision for the 21st Century’ on the occasion of the 5th Anniversary of the People’s Alliance.

In mellifluous prose she said: ‘Destiny has chosen to bestow on my government the privileged responsibility of leading Sri Lanka into the 21st century and the new Millennium. Our vision for the 21st Century is of a new Sri Lankan nation marching confidently and in unison into and Era of Rejuvenation, Unity and Peace. It will be an Era of Enlightenment and Modernity.’

These are grand visions indeed. Two years – a long time for a government – have passed since these dreams were dreamed. But the Sri Lankan on the street has not even glimpsed a flicker of these ‘Eras of Rejuvenation, Unity, Peace, Enlightenment and Modernity’.

The Vision for the 21st Century spoke of a new millennium of a ‘ modern and prosperous economy in a society which cares for humanity led by a people -friendly and enlightened government’. The current murderous environment that has enveloped Sri Lankan society does not blend with the ‘society that cares for humanity’ perceived by President Kumaratunga.

The new millennium of a modern and prosperous economy’ too has failed to take off and in fact gone into reverse gear with the second quarter of this year recording only a 0.4 per cent growth as stated by the Central Bank. The ‘War’ and adverse foreign economic environment is said to be the main causes for the near zero growth of the economy . India, however, which too has to fight ‘ wars’ in Kashmir and many other places, while facing the same adverse foreign economic climate, has recorded a 4.4 per cent growth for this year according to Britain’s Economist.

Whether Mr. Wickremanayake had an election in mind that would have called for a new manifesto, when he made those candid comments in February this year, we are not aware of but manifestos can be damning documents, unless of course, the masses are taken to be asses who have a very short memory.

President Kumaratunga has said that the manifesto presented on Tuesday was a continuation of the 1994 manifesto, which spells out in detail the wonderful promises it held before the people. Space does not permit to detail the many pledges given but we will mention the promises made on the media that could have been easily kept since it does not involve economic or grave political issues.

Under the heading of Media Policy the 1994 manifesto states: ‘The PA is firmly convinced that the freedom of the individual cannot be safeguarded without a viable system of checks and balances operating as a restraint on government power...Major constraints arising from provisions contained in the Constitution, the Public Security Ordinance, Press Council Law, Official Secrets Act and paraliment (Powers and Privileges) Act will be removed by amendment of this legislation.......Action will be taken to broadbase the ownership of the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd...... Shares of Lake House will be traded in the stock exchange..... Government will not use its advertising control, influence or threaten any newspaper or media organisation’.

No comment is needed. The people can judge for themselves, on how much of these pledges have been kept.

As for the new PA manifesto, it is the same wine in the same old bottles with a lot of verbiage added in the hope that the masses will behave like asses.

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