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Sri Lanka: A Democratic Revolution in the Making?
Change in Sri Lanka cannot end with the defeat of Mahinda Rajapaksa. An overhaul of the executive presidency and accountability for all war crimes going back to the 1970s need to be established and a new economic and social programme needs to be undertaken. A manifesto for the new Sri Lanka.
Two disasters were averted in January in Sri Lanka.
The first would have been the re-election of the corrupt and brutal Mahinda Rajapaksa regime in the presidential election of 8 January 2015. Rajapaksa’s defeat can be credited, first and foremost, to democracy activists across the spectrum — Sobitha Thero, trade unionists, students, teachers, women’s groups, political parties, social activists, artists, lawyers, civil society organisations, the Movement for Social Justice, social media activists, and so on — who organised the campaign for a common opposition candidate with such skill and courage that it succeeded despite the huge amount of money and muscle-power employed on the other side. Also credit should be given to the election commissioner, who carried out a tolerably free and fair election against heavy odds.
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