After Mangala: Dare to dream

During a recent interview, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Spokesman M.A. Sumanthiran was asked the hypothetical question as to which political configuration his party would support in a future Presidential Election. The swift response from the usually tactful MP was that his party would support whichever camp was backed by Mangala Samaraweera.

At the time of his tragic passing, former Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera did not hold elected office and he did not lead a mainstream political party or movement. In death, Samaraweera was recognised for his principled positions – often unpopular and subject to ridicule in life – on democracy, pluralism, and the rights of oppressed and marginalised minority communities. Samaraweera, the fashion designer turned politician, was trusted and respected as a man who stood unwaveringly for something, a rare feat in Sri Lankan politics.

The country’s largest Tamil party recognised that Samaraweera hallmark in his lifetime and expressed willingness to hitch their wagon to his star four years ahead of the next Presidential Election. It is a damning indictment on the rest of the polity that the Tamils of Sri Lanka genuinely believed that Samaraweera was their one true friend in the south.

For all those who dream of an inclusive, united Sri Lanka, Samaraweera’s passing struck a heavy blow. There has been an outpouring of tributes about his remarkable life from friends and even political foes. Underlying the grief about his death is the devastating realisation that there is no replacement on the horizon to lead the movement for a pluralistic, free, and equal Sri Lanka.

These values are not prized by the current administration. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa made that clear in his inaugural presidential address at Ruwanwelisaya, when he announced that his primary duty was towards his main Sinhala Buddhist electorate. His actions since – from the forced cremation of Muslims to releasing convicted killers of Tamil civilians – have left no doubt about his vision for the country.

Naturally, those who believe in values unrepresented by this Government are flailing and hopeless after Samaraweera’s death. Their cause has lost its most vocal and fearless champion, and the constituency is desperately seeking a leader who will stand courageously for plurality, justice, and equality. Ordinarily the main Opposition party would be expected to step up and fill the void. But it is a truth universally acknowledged that the Sajith Premadasa-led SJB is not up to the task. Its tragic failing is that in the face of gross Government mismanagement, failure and rampant unpopularity, the main Opposition has failed – and failed abjectly – to inspire the political imagination of a suffering, fearful, and frustrated people.

The SJB suffers from a distinct lack of trust in its leadership. The Leader of the Opposition has taken no political or ideological position of significance during his long political career. There is no battle for Sri Lanka’s soul in which Premadasa has played a memorable role. His only saving grace during the failed 2018 coup was to reject the offer to usurp the premiership from his party leader. Despite receiving a whopping mandate from Tamil and Muslim voters in the 2019 election, Premadasa has never vocalised support for their rights and freedoms or shown solidarity with their struggle for justice. Rather, he has openly lobbied for the lifting of a US Government travel ban against Army Chief Shavendra Silva who has been accused of war time atrocities and remained silent on the issue of power sharing with the Tamil people. Naturally, the Opposition he leads lacks courage, conviction, and ideological direction. When COVID-19 claims 200 Sri Lankan lives each day, the SJB limits itself to a daily news conference and the Opposition Leader tweets about the latest medicines being developed to treat the novel coronavirus. 

Mangala Samaraweera proved that there was still room for principled politics in Sri Lanka. It took Samaraweera extraordinary courage to face political headwinds and remain true to his beliefs. That he was celebrated for this conviction should give every other Opposition politician pause when they oscillate on issues, quibble over semantics on burning national questions, and tinker with ideological positions to make them more acceptable to hawkish sections of the populace. Next time, Sri Lankans looking to build on Samaraweera’s vision for a free, democratic and multicultural nation cannot settle for the “lesser of two evils”. It will be an uphill battle, and perhaps one that takes longer than a single election cycle. But to keep hope alive for a different future, citizens must demand political leadership that inspires, and dares them to dream of a kinder, more inclusive country. Someone to finish what Mangala started.