Dr Amaratunga with Minister Gamini Dissanayake

Note – the following manifesto was drafted by Dr Chanaka Amaratunga, with some assistance from others in the Liberal Party, for Gamini Dissanayake, the UNP Presidential candidate in 1994. It was amended after some suggestions by Mr Dissanayake, who himself composed the synopses that explain and clarify, at intervals throughout the documents, the concepts it advances.

Mr Dissanayake was tragically assassinated some weeks before the election, but this manifesto was presented to the public by his widow, Mrs Srima Dissanayake, who was nominated as the UNP candidate in his place. After her defeat, and the takeover of the UNP by Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe, the manifesto was repudiated as the personal vision of Mr Dissanayake. The Liberal Party is proud however to have been associated in the drafting, and then amendment in collaboration with Mr Dissanayake, of a document that advances a vision the nation would do well to reconsider.

The UNP Presidential Manifesto 1994

Vision for the 21st Century

Decision to Determine the Future

The Presidential Election on 9th November 1994 offers us, the people of Sri Lanka, an excellent opportunity to clearly decide our future destiny. At the Parliamentary Election of 16th August 1994, we failed to do that, as our voters produced a 'hung' Parliament, in which no party or alliance that faced the people could obtain a majority. The Goverment that was eventually formed is an uneasy coalition of the People's Alliance - itself a coalition of six disparate parties of contradictory political hues - the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, and an independent Member of Parliament from the Plantation area. That coalition has an overall majority of one seat. But, now that it has elected the Speaker from among its ranks, the Government Parliamentary group has only 112 Members of Parliament, the same number as the Opposition. The Government is thus dependent on its survival on the goodwill of several small parties in the Opposition. This goodwill cannot be taken for granted as mistakes will be made and unpopular decisions taken.

A Government in such a precarious position cannot give clear, decisive, enlightened and progressive leadership to a nation that must prepare itself to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

It is therefore at the Presidential Election, at which the entire nation will elect its Head of State and Head of Government for the next six years, that the real decision about the future course of Sri Lanka will be taken.

What Sri Lanka needs right now is a government that will give its people clear and decisive leadership and a strong sense of purpose. What is does not need is weak, ineffective and inexperienced governance.

The People's Alliance parliamentary group is the most diverse, contradictory coalition in Sri Lankan political history, and indeed in the political history of the liberal democratic world. Within its ranks are free marketeers, Sinhala racists, Communists, Muslim Fundamentalists, Trotskyites, Liberals, those who claim to be followers of Lalith Athulathmudali and followers of Vijaya Kumaratunga, and those who are fighting for the right of self-determination of the Tamils.

These contradictions will inevitably develop into a source of destructive conflict. When the common purpose for which the coalition was formed has been achieved or has broken down, individual and selfish interests will creep into its agenda.

At that stage, basic differences will surface and confusion and destructive conflict will result. Already, the Goverment's confusion over policy and uncertainty of purpose is evident. So far, some Cabinet Ministers and Deputy Ministers have been reprimanded for articulating statements that were inconsistent with the positions and policies of Government. Even the Prime Minister is guilty of this. She herself has been striking different notes on different occasions about many importtant issues. This kind of approach surely cannot be a sensible way to govern country.

The new Government is currently managing the affairs of Parliament rather poorly. We all know about the fiasco in which the Prime Minister was unable to deliver her Policy Statement and there was the premature adjournment of the House before any business could be done - the first time this has happened in Sri Lanka's Parliamentary history. Up to now no legislation of importance has been presented. Compounding these problems is an apparent lack of talent on the Government's front bench. Inefficiency, incompetence and disorganisation is the hallmark of the People's Alliance. Personal friendship to those at the apex of power has become the yardstick for important appointments, not competence or experience. Unless there is a noticeable improvement in the performance of Government in the near future, there will be further serious doubts about its capacity to govern our country and lead it successfully to the 21st century.

A Reformed UNP - Consistent Vision and Principle

If we were to ask ten selected members of the People's Alliance what the current Government stands for and what its philosophy is, we would be given ten different answers. That would not be the case with UNP members.

Although the UNP temporarily lost its way in recent years largely because of disunity, political infighting, laid-back leadership and complacency, it has never forgotten its commitment to liberal democracy, a market economy, a multi-national, multi-religious and plural society, and the advancements of the socio-economic interests of the under-privileged. This collection of principles has been the hallmark of all UNP Governments.

Under my leadership of the UNP, brief though it has been, the UNP has become a reformed and revitalised party. It is once again the party of openness and tolerance in Sri Lanka and the natural leader of the liberal democratic centre-right political forces.

Since I took over the leadership of this party, I have sought to take it back to its original culture of a kinder, gentler and more honourable party. That culture was evident to me when I first became a member of Parliament in 1970, and when the UNP was being led by Mr. Dudley Senanayake. In addition, I have committed myself to take the UNP and Sri Lanka into the age of modern technology, communications, information services, financial management, open markets, agriculture, improved education, health care and human development, and effective industrialisation: the kind of journey that befits a nation on the threshold of achieving significant success in the 21st Century.

I liken the United National Party to a vast benign river, whose waters are enriched by many different rivulets, streams and waterways. This party must be able to accommodate and represent the diverse beliefs, interests and opinions of all Sri Lankans.

In the political parties of the advanced liberal democracies in the United States, the United Kingdom, Western Europe, Japan, Canada and Australia a single political party has many organised tendencies which have institutional structures of their own.

In Sri Lanka we must now reject the irrational and outdated belief that the personality of the political leader should completely dominate the party and be indelibly stamped on it. The new UNP has already started to abandon this concept. With such a reformed and united UNP, we, as a people, cannot fail.

My vision for Sri Lanka

I would be unconvincing if after 24 years in the frenetic world of politics I were to say that I lacked ambition. Ambition is a noble virtue when used constructively and creatively. It is an inner energy that provides the driving force for success.

I do not seek the Presidency just for its glory, glamour or power. I have seen the emptiness in the lives of too many Presidents and Prime Ministers who chose that path but failed to place a stamp of moral authority on their office.

I seek the Presidency to bring about change and to provide a new kind of leadership that will alter our political landscape and climate, produce genuine consensus among our political parties, initiate much needed political reform and and move our country towards a new kind of politics - the politics of principle. All this I will do for the purpose of human development in Sri Lanka.

I see human development as development of the people, for the people and by the people. It is about investing in education, health and the many skills that will be necessary to help our people work productively. It is about empowering our people, and ensuring that the benefits of economic growth are distributed widely and fairly. And it is also about giving all Sri Lankans the opportunity to participate fully in the development of their country, the most effective participation being access to productive and well-paid employment.

I am well aware that my own party, the UNP and the governments in which I have served must accept responsibility for some of the ills in our country, which we must cure in order to move forward. We must reject and abandon the politics of cynical manipulation and the politics of violence, malpractice and the underworld. The on-going conflict and the tragic loss of life which have resulted from such destructive conflicts should teach us some valuable lessons. For example, the enactment of a law does not make it an acceptable law, and the adoption of a constitution does not guarantee unquestioning acceptance. Too often in our recent history we have seen some of our citizens take up arms in defiance of laws which they felt were partisan and in defiance of a constitution which they thought was unfair and self-serving.

I belive that my style of leadership could bring about genuine political consensus and reform in our country. It is in that context that I ask you for your support during the next Presidential Election.

Tomorrow's leaders will face many difficult problems and challenges. Yet, I do not fear the future. I see my island home Sri Lanka becoming:

1. A free democratic, peaceful, and just nation.
2. A country of ethnic harmony and tolerance.
3. A country that is prepared to share power for the good of all its peoples.
4. A vibrant market economy.
5. One of the best educated and healthiest countries in the world.
6. A country which is technologically literate, prepared to get on to the cutting edge of technological development.
7. A country familiar with the intricacies of international trade and world markets and the complexities of international finance and investment.
8. A country which puts development of its people - all its people - above everything else.

Priorities

To turn my vision into reality, I will try to implement the fundamental reforms that are listed below:

(1) Constitutional Reform

On my election as the President of Sri Lanka I shall place before Parliament proposals for a Constitution which will contain the following features:

1. In regard to the Executive, the following options will be placed before the people at a Referendum, the verdict of which I pledge to accept:

   1. The restoration of a Parliamentary and Cabinet system of government.
   2. The creation of a reformed Presidency elected by the people and which would include the features set out below:
      1. The term of office of the President would be reduced to five years.
      2. The President would not have immunity from the operation of the law.
      3. The President would not be allowed to hold ministerial portfolios.
      4. The President would appoint as Prime Minister the Member of Parliament who can command a majority in the House.
      5. The President would only make minisetrial appointments with the concurrence of the Prime Minister.
2. The creation of a bicameral Parliament consisting of two chambers, the Senate and the House of Representatives. 60% of the Senate shall be elected and 40% nominated. The House of Representatives shall be an exclusively elected chamber.
3. The election of the House of Representatives and of the elective element of the Senate by the system of proportional representation known as the mixed system of constituencies and the national list as exists in Germany.
4. The restoration of the freedom of conscience of Members of both Houses of Parliament by ensuring that no members of the legislature shall be expelled under any circumstances whatsoever.
5. A comprehensive Bill of Rights, not subject to executive convenience.
6. The adoption of judicial review of legislation.
7. The creation of a Human Rights Commission with substantial powers before which any member of the public can seek redress for violation of individual rights.
8. The adoption of the widest possible degree of devolution to Provincial Councils on the basis of territorial units to be agreed with representative political forces of the North and East

I am determine to help in the creation of a Constitution that unites this country, for I am very conscious that the partisan constitutions of the recent past have deepened our country's wounds.

(2) Economic Reform

If elected as President of Sri Lanka, I will use it as a mandate to carry out the following economic reforms:

1. Ensuring the primacy of the private sector in the economy and the reduction of the powers of state and the bureaucracy to a neccessary minimum.
2. Providing the necessary infrastructure to operate a successful market economy.
3. The promotion of effective measures that will ensure minimum standards of welfare for everyone.
4. The rationalisation and the reduction of the number of Ministers and Ministries in an effort to promote efficient policy making.
5. A reform to the tax system to facilitate capital accumulation, investment, entrepreneurship, employment, growth and international competiveness.
6. A review and reform of labour laws to make them more conducive to the efficient running of the market economy, and to price stability.
7. The adoption of appropriate monetary and fiscal policies to ensure an efficient market economy.
8. The establishment of a Constitutional Right to private property as a pre-condition for a market economy.

By implementing those reforms I shall build on the immense contribution of previous UNP governments in dismantling the restrictive and stultified economy of 1970-1977 which was based on rejected and outdated Socialist and Marxist principles - principles which incidentally are still strongly upheld by many persons in the People's Alliance. I shall also accelerate privatisation and deregulation in order to establish a successful market economy. Welfare programmes of previous UNP governments, including Janasaviya, will be continued with greater efficiency to provide social stability and to protect the underprivileged within a vibrant market economy.

UNP Economic Achievements

The constituent parties of the PA, the SLFP and the Left have in the past formed governments whose economic policies were devastating to the economy of Sri Lanka and to the lifestyles of its people.

Perhaps the most frightening scenario I can imagine is a repeat of the events of the dark days of 1970-1977 during the next few years of governance under the People's Alliance. The People's Alliance will try to hang on to power at all costs and is prepared to make whatever provisions it must, to do so. Its claim that it is committed to a market economy should be accepted only cautiously. Time will reveal its true intentions. To conceal the nakedness of its disastrous economic record and the dogmatic left-wing past of the Prime Minister and many of its other members, the PA is trying to camuoflage its socialist tendencies by parading before the people a few economists with proven credentials in terms of commitment to market-oriented economic policies. This is hardly reassuring and in fact is a great source of worry for a nation that wants to be a Newly Industrialised Country by the year 2000.

The record of the economic management of the UNP is there for anyone to see, study and compare with that of the other parties.

It is the UNP which laid the foundation for a free society based on the creation of wealth. UNP governments in the post 1977 era enabled Sri Lanka to once again become a wealth generating society by releasing the talents and creative energies which were bottled up in its people during the previous seven years of a socialist administration. It was from that foundation that Sri Lanka was propelled to become the fastest growing country in South Asia.

In accordance with good liberal democratic policies, the UNP introduced the concept of a property-owning democracy into Sri Lanka. Providing opportunities for individuals, families and enterprises to own property gave Sri Lankans a feeling that at last they were going to get a real stake in their country and its future. The UNP created a property owning democracy by implementing the following measures:

1. The peoplisation programme which gave opportunities to the public to purchase shares in a large number of enterprises and provided shares free of charge to the employees of such enterprises.
2. The Swarnaboomi Scheme giving land titles free to the landless.
3. The Mahaweli programme which gave land and employment to the landless.
4. The Janasaviya programme which gave financial support and opportunities to the poor to create small business enterprises.
5. The 1.5 million houses programme which gave houses with the right to ownership to many in need of housing.

When the UNP assumed the stewardship of our economy in 1977, our exports amounted to US$ 95 million. By 1994 exports stand at well over US$ 2 billion (2081 million).

This record of sustained economic growth through a market economy, privatisation and deregulation, buttressed by a programme of social welfare has forced the PA government through its Prime Minister to claim in her 13th September "Economic Policy Statement of the Government of Sri Lanka" that her Government would pursue "market friendly" policies. This is a far cry from what she pledged over the coffin of her husband in a previous incarnation as leader of the United Socialist Alliance. You the people of Sri Lanka must decide whether you can trust these so-called new converts to market-oriented economic policies to take charge of the future of your country.

My involvement in the successfully completed Mahaweli Programme enabled me to make a direct and tangible contribution to the development of Sri Lanka. This project provided irrigation to 102,000 hectares of new land from which over 120,000 families benefited. Every year an excess of 550,000 tonnes of paddy and 70% of our chillies are produced on Mahaweli lands, in addition to more than 70% of our electricity.

The Mahaweli story is one of national success. It is not just a story of skill, motivation and creative energy but also a story of imagination, vision, hard work and sacrifice, persistence, implementation and a doggedness to see things through. These are all essential qualities of good leadership.

(3) Devolution and the Resolution of the North-East Conflict

I have always believed that every ethnic and religious group living in Sri Lanka should have its identity respected and secured. It is also my firm conviction that the sharing of power between diverse political, ethnic and religious groups is the true mark of a democratic society. Such beliefs and convictions prompted me to give my fullest support to the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord and also the 13th Amendment to the Constitution which was the first serious attempt to share political power with minorities. Unfortunately, lack of political will and an inadequacy of the powers under the 13th Amendment have frustrated the people of the North East - Tamils, Muslims and Sinhalese - who are now dissatisfied with the Provincial Councils system.

Some countries are now realising that one of the best ways of reducing and preventing internal conflict is to get their people to participate more in government and to give them more input into the important decisions that affect their lives. These can be achieved by decentralising or devolving more power to local government and by giving more freedom to people's organisations. In some undesirable instances, however, devolution may unwittingly empower the elite and not the local people whom it is intended to benefit. If devolution is to reduce conflict and promote human development, it must therefore be accompanied by genuine democracy at local level.

The devolution of power from government capitals to villages and provinces is one of the most effective ways of empowering local people, promoting local harmony and public participation, and increasing efficiency.

It is in this context that I am proposing that a devolution of power to the Provincial Councils in Sri Lanka will give this country the best chance of ending the long and costly ethnic conflict that has torn it apart and also its best chance of establishing national unity. To increase efficiency in those Provincial Councils, we must ensure that there is genuine democracy operating at the local level and we must also allocate more financial resources to them. It is interesting to note that industrialised countries allocate 25% of total government spending to the local level while developing countries delegate a meagre 10%.