A PC poll in the North

The government's plans to hold provincial polls in the North within a year or so are welcome news in view of the immense good these elections could do from the viewpoint of Sri Lanka's democratic development. Right away, it needs to be pointed out that the latter concept should not be confused with material advancement pure and simple, although the degree to which a democracy matures qualitatively bears a relation to a polity's economic empowerment too.

However, it is the qualitative improvement of a country's democracy which is denoted essentially by democratic development. The Provincial Council system of this country has proved a contentious question over the years but it cannot be denied that the potentialities of the system are immense and that we are yet to exploit these strengths to the fullest. The PC system helps in making people's empowerment a reality in this country and to the extent to which it does this, the position could be taken that the PC system helps in democratic development or maturity.

Therefore, Minister Dullas Alahapperuma's recent statement to the effect that a PC poll is slated for the North over the next year or so is good news for those sections which desire the democratic development of this country. The statement is also an effective rebuttal of those sections of the Opposition which are of the view that the government is fighting shy of holding PC polls in the North. The government would not need to fear any polls of this nature as long as the needs of the people of the province are ensured. This, the state is endeavouring to do through the development effort.

But laying the bogey of separatism to rest is a number one need of the Sri Lankan state. One of the means of achieving this is the empowerment of our communities and the PC system would prove effective in this effort, provided the system is nourished and energized to meet the aims for which it was created. Personal and group empowerment is what democratic development is all about and this is why PCs cannot be dismissed as valueless.

Separatism emerged explosively in the North-East on account of the perception among some that personal and group empowerment was totally lacking. Holding the PC elections successfully in the province and giving the people of the province the opportunity to fend for themselves, to even a degree, through elected provincial representatives, within the framework of a united and geographically whole Sri Lanka, would help in ending the phenomenon of separatism permanently. Accordingly, genuine democratic development would enable the people of the North-East to see that parties, such as the TNA, are redundant.

Meanwhile, the long-established democratic parties of Sri Lanka or those which see themselves as national entities need to expand their influence in the North-East if the project of national unification is to be advanced.

If separatist parties made inroads into the hearts and minds of people, it is because the national political parties did little or nothing to build and expand on their support bases in the North-East. Perhaps, they did not send out the message with the desired loudness and forcefulness that they were for the totality of Sri Lanka. Perhaps, their policies in conceptualization and implementation did not drive this message home, even though they did speak the message.

It is time to take stock and reverse any detrimental trends. Those parties that see themselves as national political parties must eloquently speak the language of unity and do their utmost to take the North-East public along with them. Reportedly, some youthful sections of the North-East are for the SLFP and the UPFA administration. These sections must be taken aboard and nurtured into a regional leadership that will help in defusing the bogey of separatism.