{"id":216216,"date":"2021-02-01T13:47:20","date_gmt":"2021-02-01T08:17:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=216216"},"modified":"2021-02-04T15:48:43","modified_gmt":"2021-02-04T10:18:43","slug":"sri-lanka-in-myanmars-shadow-a-democracy-pact-is-imperative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/sri-lanka-in-myanmars-shadow-a-democracy-pact-is-imperative\/","title":{"rendered":"Sri Lanka In Myanmar\u2019s Shadow: A Democracy Pact Is Imperative!\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Dayan Jayatilleka<\/a> –\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka<\/p><\/div>\n

It\u2019s Myanmar<\/a><\/span> today and could very well be Sri Lanka<\/a><\/span> tomorrow, or more correctly in 2024 if the election results are not to the liking of the military or the ex-military brass.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Coups are not always against Opposition parties; quite often they are against governing parties. The Myanmar coup was not against the Opposition; it was against the Aung San Suu Kyi<\/a><\/span> who was the figurehead leader, and the party she leads.<\/p>\n

The lessons for Sri Lanka are obvious. We are on the road to Myanmar and are already halfway there. Michelle Bachelet\u2019s Report<\/a><\/span> is helpful in the light it sheds on militarization<\/a><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The political parties, by definition civilian and democratic, and civic organizations, across the spectrum must initiate a dialogue and move towards a common forum for the defense of democracy against the encroachments of militarization. It must be a forum for the single, overriding purpose, which can take the form of a Pact, of commitment to the rules of norms of civilian electoral democracy.<\/p>\n

I propose a \u2018Democracy First\u2019 Forum which should consist of all sectors that would be affected by military control. This ranges from parties and trade unions, to women\u2019s movements, artists and all manner of civic organizations. All those who would be affected by the closure of civic space should come together; be brought together. As in the case of the ECT issue, and earlier the Neville Fernando Private Medical College issue, the traditional Government vs Opposition, and pro-Government vs. pro-Opposition divides need not be rigidly observed or take priority.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At greatest risk are the Left and minority parties. Of the two the Left is most vulnerable. Already plans have been announced for a new Constitution and a new electoral system. The electoral system will doubtless restore the high cut-off point. The Special Presidential Commission will be used as it was by JR Jayewardene and political opponents knocked out. The Opposition will be sought to be crippled as in 1982, in time for a referendum on a new Constitution. The imposition of the Essential Services Act shows what will happen to trade union struggles in the future.<\/p>\n

One of the positive spin-offs of the ECT issue was that KD Lal Kantha and the JVP trade unions were reactivated. Other positive spin-offs were that the JVP and FLSP shared a platform. Furthermore, a common patriotic space was carved out on economic issues, bringing together Leftists and Southern nationalists, in which the presence of the Left was a safeguard against racism.<\/p>\n

The very discourse of the regime especially in its response to Bachelet\u2019s detailed charge of militarization reveals an ideology and a drive which will inevitably lead to repression. Bachelet\u2019s Report pretty much sounds a loud alarm on such an outcome. \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The regime\u2019s policy practices all round show what its economic model is and who its domestic corporate allies are. A showdown with the trade unions, especially the left-led ones, is inevitable. Two, three, many Weliweriyas (and Welikadas) are on the way.<\/p>\n

KD Lal Kantha is a rational, realist, radical and a potentially unifying figure for the Left, or at least a coordinating figure between all left tendencies\u2014most significantly the JVP and FLSP. This potential must be acted upon swiftly; it must crystallize.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lal Kantha has also been the best exponent of a left-populist discourse which is a crucial driver in the struggle for democracy and against dictatorship.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The unity of the left tendencies is absolutely critical because the Left in any country, represents the element that is most thoroughly inoculated against racism, ethnoreligious supremacism and xenophobia. This is evident in the rational radicalism of the well-informed Pubudu Jayagoda of the FLSP, even in the course of the ECT campaign.<\/p>\n

What is needed is a Democratic Popular Bloc of parties, mass organizations of the working people and students, and civic organizations.<\/p>\n

The lesson of history, including current history, is clear. If a common platform and stand are not arrived at in time to halt and resist militarization, that common platform or unification of democratic forces will take place behind bars, after military rule is imposed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":41118,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,46,8,2375],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-216216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-constitutional-reforms","category-editorial","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\nSri Lanka In Myanmar\u2019s Shadow: A Democracy Pact Is Imperative!\u00a0 - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/sri-lanka-in-myanmars-shadow-a-democracy-pact-is-imperative\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sri Lanka In Myanmar\u2019s Shadow: A Democracy Pact Is Imperative!\u00a0 - Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[…]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/sri-lanka-in-myanmars-shadow-a-democracy-pact-is-imperative\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-02-01T08:17:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-02-04T10:18:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Aung-San-Suu-Kyi-walks-to-008.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"460\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"276\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dayan Jayatilleka\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dayan Jayatilleka\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/sri-lanka-in-myanmars-shadow-a-democracy-pact-is-imperative\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/sri-lanka-in-myanmars-shadow-a-democracy-pact-is-imperative\/\",\"name\":\"Sri Lanka In Myanmar\u2019s Shadow: A Democracy Pact Is Imperative!\u00a0 - Colombo Telegraph\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/sri-lanka-in-myanmars-shadow-a-democracy-pact-is-imperative\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/sri-lanka-in-myanmars-shadow-a-democracy-pact-is-imperative\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Aung-San-Suu-Kyi-walks-to-008.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-02-01T08:17:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-02-04T10:18:43+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/754610f57449c7be5e5814d3d53310f6\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/sri-lanka-in-myanmars-shadow-a-democracy-pact-is-imperative\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/sri-lanka-in-myanmars-shadow-a-democracy-pact-is-imperative\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/sri-lanka-in-myanmars-shadow-a-democracy-pact-is-imperative\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Aung-San-Suu-Kyi-walks-to-008.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Aung-San-Suu-Kyi-walks-to-008.jpg\",\"width\":\"460\",\"height\":\"276\",\"caption\":\"Aung San Suu Kyi takes oath at Burmese parliament\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/sri-lanka-in-myanmars-shadow-a-democracy-pact-is-imperative\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Sri Lanka In Myanmar\u2019s Shadow: A Democracy Pact Is Imperative!\u00a0\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/\",\"name\":\"Colombo Telegraph\",\"description\":\"In journalism truth is a process\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/754610f57449c7be5e5814d3d53310f6\",\"name\":\"Dayan Jayatilleka\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bbfd553b46b4b6b7e8b3a4a4c91f66c2a0d8a3bcbeec217c521cd46dbf3b8815?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bbfd553b46b4b6b7e8b3a4a4c91f66c2a0d8a3bcbeec217c521cd46dbf3b8815?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dayan Jayatilleka\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/author\/djaya\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Sri Lanka In Myanmar\u2019s Shadow: A Democracy Pact Is Imperative!\u00a0 - Colombo Telegraph","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/sri-lanka-in-myanmars-shadow-a-democracy-pact-is-imperative\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Sri Lanka In Myanmar\u2019s Shadow: A Democracy Pact Is Imperative!\u00a0 - Colombo Telegraph","og_description":"[…]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/sri-lanka-in-myanmars-shadow-a-democracy-pact-is-imperative\/","og_site_name":"Colombo Telegraph","article_published_time":"2021-02-01T08:17:20+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-02-04T10:18:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":460,"height":276,"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Aung-San-Suu-Kyi-walks-to-008.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Dayan Jayatilleka","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dayan Jayatilleka","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/sri-lanka-in-myanmars-shadow-a-democracy-pact-is-imperative\/","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/sri-lanka-in-myanmars-shadow-a-democracy-pact-is-imperative\/","name":"Sri Lanka In Myanmar\u2019s Shadow: A Democracy Pact Is Imperative!\u00a0 - Colombo Telegraph","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/sri-lanka-in-myanmars-shadow-a-democracy-pact-is-imperative\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/sri-lanka-in-myanmars-shadow-a-democracy-pact-is-imperative\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Aung-San-Suu-Kyi-walks-to-008.jpg","datePublished":"2021-02-01T08:17:20+00:00","dateModified":"2021-02-04T10:18:43+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/754610f57449c7be5e5814d3d53310f6"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/sri-lanka-in-myanmars-shadow-a-democracy-pact-is-imperative\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/sri-lanka-in-myanmars-shadow-a-democracy-pact-is-imperative\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/sri-lanka-in-myanmars-shadow-a-democracy-pact-is-imperative\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Aung-San-Suu-Kyi-walks-to-008.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Aung-San-Suu-Kyi-walks-to-008.jpg","width":"460","height":"276","caption":"Aung San Suu Kyi takes oath at Burmese parliament"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/sri-lanka-in-myanmars-shadow-a-democracy-pact-is-imperative\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Sri Lanka In Myanmar\u2019s Shadow: A Democracy Pact Is Imperative!\u00a0"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/","name":"Colombo Telegraph","description":"In journalism truth is a process","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/754610f57449c7be5e5814d3d53310f6","name":"Dayan Jayatilleka","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bbfd553b46b4b6b7e8b3a4a4c91f66c2a0d8a3bcbeec217c521cd46dbf3b8815?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bbfd553b46b4b6b7e8b3a4a4c91f66c2a0d8a3bcbeec217c521cd46dbf3b8815?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Dayan Jayatilleka"},"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/author\/djaya\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Aung-San-Suu-Kyi-walks-to-008.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216216"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216216\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":216220,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216216\/revisions\/216220"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}