By Fr. Sarath Iddamalgoda –

Fr. Sarath Iddamalgoda

I have come to realize that without a “System Change” there is no solution to the present day crisis. The prevalent system is established not to serve the interests of the masses in our land but to serve the self-interests of the greedy politicians. Hence such a system-change can happen only if a people-friendly political party takes over the reins of power in the country by dislodging those currently wielding power.

In my view, NPP is the party which can bring about the desired change at this time of history. My preference for the NPP over other parties as the agent of anticipated change is not because that it is the best political party but because it is the party that can be trusted more than others. Furthermore, it is my wish that it becomes more people based than now for the sake of the present and even future generation in our land.

In my view, the way for NPP to become a better agent of change is by widening the space for people’s participation. The main reason why I was attracted to the NPP is not because of its capacity to capture political power but because of its vision to develop a “people’s movement” in the country. As such, what I wish to see in in the NPP is the development of more and more traits of a radical people’s movement within it.

In establishing the “Kottasa Saba” NPP has already provided a space for actualizing people’s participation in governance. However, one should not be complacent that the expected outcome will be automatically realized by mere establishment of such a structure unless steps are taken to empower those responsible for running such structures.

Such empowerment of the masses is an essential prerequisite for achieving the anticipated change. My suspicion is that the people who now rally round the NPP, would have been indoctrinated by ideologies contrary to that of the NPP unless people are ideologically conscienticized all efforts of the NPP can be counterproductive.

It is possible that such programmes for empowerment are already at work. More people will benefit if those experiences are shared with the others. There are other political groups as well which are trying to work out the concept of “People’s Councils”. Such efforts have to be appreciated because they are moving towards the same end.

Some of the activities that Kottasa Saba intends to introduce after acquiring power, can be worked out even prior to acquiring power. Let the Kottasa Sabas practice people’s power now itself to protect and conserve the resources of people, resources which the poor are already being deprived of.

Obviously, this is not an easy task. Therefore the NPP intellectuals, already at this stage, ought to intervene and empower those engaged in steering the grassroots processes.

For instance, Kottasa Saba can do a research on the natural resources available and as to what resources such as the Negombo lagoon, the sea and the coastal areas in the western province are being threatened by planned or unplanned and haphazard development activities. In such a context what is demanded of the emerging leadership is to initiate action to protect and conserve the resources available for the present and the next generation.

One of the grave challenges that every political party has is finding a solution to the national question. The major conventional parties handled the situation up to now by cooking up a story with which they hoodwinked both the Sinhalese and the Tamils.

NPP as a ‘people friendly’ party cannot follow the same path. It believes in the responsibility that has been undertaken to work for the well-being of all communities. In this regard I am aware that the NPP has already gone a long mileage. It has already visited several Tamil areas and held discussions with community representatives.

But in my view the difficult task of educating the mind of the Sinhala masses which has being polluted by the Sinhala power seeking politicians has not being sufficiently addressed.

May I suggest to the friends of NPP to engage themselves in a fruitful discussion on this matter.