Finding freedom

The ritual of Independence Day rolls around once a year, but the challenge is to infuse meaning to the celebrations that will march past Galle Face once again today. Last year, the highlight of the ceremony was the singing of the national anthem in Tamil but no such landmark symbol is expected today reflecting the danger that the Government’s reconciliation agenda has started to drift. 

Later this month, the Government will have to face another round at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) with Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera expected to address the gathering and Sri Lanka to be debated during sessions in March. In the run up, the Government has come under fire for attempting to backtrack on pledges made before UNHRC sessions in September 2015.

Caught between a rock and hard place, the President and Prime Minister have also been criticised over the possibility of foreign judges sitting on a hybrid court to try specific instances of disappearances and deaths during the last phase of the war, which could well try members of the military. With elections looming, political analysts have opined that it would be prudent for the Government to approach reconciliation but many thousands who pinned their hopes on this administration are feeling let down.  

The continued rhetoric of politicians, led by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa who has vehemently and repeatedly slammed the Government on measures to foster reconciliation including repealing the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), and pushing forward trials on disappearances, along with increased visibility of extremist organisations, show the political risks ahead for an already overburdened Government. 

Before the 70th Independence Day, Sri Lanka will have to tackle significant economic problems based on stronger fiscal consolidation, debt management, liberalising the economy and improving exports as well as craft a new Constitution. In a vulnerable global environment Sri Lanka will find it tough to attract investment and foster high growth. Economists have already warned the economy is showing signs of flagging growth and with low public revenue, continued borrowings seem to be the only answer to pulling back the Budget deficit. 

With so many balls in the air, the Government is struggling to communicate clearly with the public and prioritise its agenda. Change is hard to achieve for any Government, but it is particularly so for one that is aiming to put right decades of wrong. For Sri Lanka, keeping open the window of opportunity created by political change in 2015 and moving forward towards a sustainable peace may prove harder than winning the war.   

On the governance front, the Government has failed miserably. The Government’s failure to bring culprits in the February 2015 treasury bond scam to book, and inability to check corruption within its own ranks have fuelled accusations that the administration that was swept to power on an anti-corruption platform had lost its way. Corruption investigations involving members of the former Rajapaksa Government have also stalled, with no significant prosecutions or convictions to date. In fact, business deals involving questionable loyalists of the Rajapaksa administration have caused renewed discontentment among the public. 

Just two years on, the Government needs to find new rallying points to gather support and it may find the second round far harder.