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THE OBSERVER

The Oldest English Newspaper in South Asia
Founded 4.2.1834
P. O. Box 1217,
35, D.R. Wijewardene Mawatha,
Colombo 10, Sri Lanka.
Telephone: Editor - 94-1-429226; Fax: 94-1-429230

Where do we go from here?

Voting in a new Government is not merely a matter of choosing the right policies. It is also a decision by the people about the direction in which they wish their society to move. 

And this is based on their historical memory of the direction in which society has been moving so far.

Post-Independence Sri Lanka has seen the early decades of peace, democracy and social welfarism lead to a dark period of a socially rapacious capitalism, the centralisation of power and the political encouragement of racism against the minorities. In the 1980s and early 1990s the country plunged into the depths of race riots, constitutional dictatorship, full-scale war, and economic exploitation compounded by economic stagnation. 

In the mid-1990s, the voters’ choice saw a sea-change in the national environment. Race riots are no more. While the war remains intense and the economy shaky, peace negotiating mechanisms are now in place, a radical formula for settlement prepared. The biggest trend has been in the end of dictatorial rule, an end to death squads and the liberalising of the mass media enabling it to expand into a major industry. 

This overall reformist trend away from intense blood-letting and repression is a process yet under way. Political thuggery is one powerful hangover from that awful past that needs redress. 

In making their electoral choice in December, the voters cannot be swayed merely by the various failures of the reformers but must weigh these in comparison with the overall trend.

They must ensure the continuation of this reform movement away from dictatorship, racism, and war-affected economy. Only a political leadership that began the process - with numerous setbacks and failings, no doubt - can take it forward, unless there is the option of a completely new leadership that is neither directly associated with that dark era nor is part of the recent, if partially successful, reform effort. 

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