Statement: Liberal Presidential Confirmation

Liberal Party confirms support for the Prime Minister

Following a meeting of its senior leadership with the Prime Minister, the Liberal Party of Sri Lanka has decided to confirm support for Mr Mahinda Rajapakse at the forthcoming Presidential election. The discussions made it clear that, on fundamental issues, Mr Rajapakse would pursue policies in accordance with basic liberal principles of democracy, equity, pluralism and transparency.

On the national issue it was confirmed that he understood the need for devolution and decentralization in the interests of strengthening people’s power. In this regard the Liberal Party had previously made clear its opposition to Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe’s abandonment of pluralism, when he proposed an Interim Self-Governing Agency which handed over total power in the North and East, and in all its component units, to the LTTE. Mr Rajapakse’s agreement that devolution was a necessity, but that it should be based on democratic institutions which could appreciate and respond to people’s needs at all levels, seems by far the more principled approach.

We welcome further his affirmed readiness to negotiate with all concerned parties, including the leadership of the LTTE. It is necessary however for such negotiations to be based on mutual flexibility, rather than the previous intransigence of the LTTE, which met such ready acquiescence from the UNP leadership. In discussing the structure and features of any future Constitution, it is vital that issues of principle based on maximizing representation and accountability at all levels be pursued, rather than ad hoc arrangements that permit authoritarianism both at the centre and in any units of devolution.

On social and economic issues, Mr Rajapakse confirmed his determination to pursue reforms based on the inevitability of globalization and the necessity of ensuring that all our citizenry were provided with the skills and opportunities required for the modern world. Though amongst the privileged this is assumed to be the UNP position, we have been worried for some time about the right wing authoritarianism of the current leadership of the United National Party. When this is combined with the populism that it has unashamedly expressed in its most recent manifesto, we worry even more, given fascist and poujadist precedents for this in the not so distant past. We have indeed previously expressed concern about Mr Wickremesinghe’s assertion, when he was last Prime Minister, that democracy was a luxury that it might be necessary to postpone in the interests of development.

On the contrary it is clear that an open economy would continue under Mr Rajapakse, but without the extreme features that Mr Wickremesinghe earlier seemed to advocate, though his current manifesto seems to appreciate that these cannot be implemented in a country like ours without severe social disruption. In this regard, as we have previously declared, liberalism as propounded in Sri Lanka has been based on modern liberal theory rather than libertarianism. Modern liberalism sees open economic policies, which liberals believe have been clearly recognized all over the world as essential for development in the modern age, not as ends in themselves but precisely because they contribute to the improvement of the lives of the worse off in society.

The Rawlsian concept of ‘maxi-min’, which enjoins that state intervention is essential, though it should be limited, to ensure that the benefits of economic growth reach the minimum levels of society, has thus been the guiding principle of the Sri Lankan Liberal Party. Unfortunately this approach was unheard of during the first decade of the open economy. Hence the sense of deprivation, amongst Sinhala as well as Tamil youngsters, that resulted in extreme violence during that period. The fruits of that callousness we live with still, and regrettably it seemed during the brief period in which the UNP took power recently that it was determined to recreate the Jayawardena era with regard to the less well off in most areas of Sri Lanka. Though the current UNP manifesto has pledged subsidies and import controls, this recent conversion does not carry conviction that Mr Wickremesinghe understands, or can satisfactorily address, the root causes that make such interference with market principles a necessity on occasion.

We should also note that we were moved In our discussion by Mr Rajapakse’s affirmation of the importance he had attached to the role of the late Lakshman Kadirgamar, a pillar of pluralism and moderation, and a confirmed liberal democrat as so many of the obituaries written about him declared. We are glad that, despite his assassination, the principles he enunciated will continue to influence a future Rajapakse government. We will do our best to further this in supporting Mr Rajapakse’s candidature in the coming months.

October 2005