SO, ONCE again, at the cost of some Rs 12 billion of public funds, we have to face a Presidential election.
Two equally bloody, corrupt and parasitic Capitalist Alliances have come forward for the contest, represented by Mahinda Rajapakse and Sarath Fonseka.
This Presidential campaign is going to be a bitter and deadly fight between two equally reactionary camps of the ruling class as to who is going to feast on the blood of the Tamil nation, and that of the proletariat and all exploited and all oppressed classes and nationalities and communities, and exercise chauvinist-fascist dictatorship over the people.
Let us not become mere pawns in a deadly game of chess played by two rival camps of the very same Capitalist ruling class. Let us hold this State and this ruling class accountable for the crimes willfully committed against the people and against humanity.
Let us do so as a basis to mobilise mass protest and agitation against the prevailing Capitalist political order which represents the interests of global Capitalism, by building resistance and revolutionary struggle to defeat the militarist-chauvinist-fascist agenda represented by both ruling class candidates.
The continued incarceration of some 200,000 internally displaced Tamil persons in concentration camps in the North, including elderly, children, wounded, sick and pregnant women, under pitiful sub-human conditions, is a damned indictment of the prevailing neo-colonial Capitalist State and political order.
Along with the gross criminal violations of human rights committed during the war, these violations constitute continued crimes against humanity.
Who is to be held accountable for the horrible massacre of seventeen humanitarian aid workers, the murder of five Tamil students, the assassination of Hon Joseph Pararajasingham, Hon Raviraj, Mr Lasantha Wickrematunga and others?
Along with these abominable crimes, is the crime of keeping some 12,000 political prisoners in various detention camps and prisons, against whom no legal charges have been filed. Some have languished in these dungeons for over a decade.
In this context of the willful defiling of our collective dignity and humanity, we demand the immediate and unconditional release of all detainees and political prisoners.
Until such time that these internally displaced detainees are released, their supervision and management should be undertaken by their own representatives.
In order that they may be resettled in the original areas of habitation and enjoy the right to life, the military regime in these areas, along with all high security zones, should be dismantled, and the armed forces withdrawn.
We demand that Emergency Regulations and the Prevention of Terrorism Act and all such draconian fascist legislation be rescinded.
We demand the dismantling of the Sinhala supremacist Comprador Capitalist state, which functions as an agent of Global Capital, as a basis for granting the democratic freedom of the exploited and oppressed masses, including the right of national self-determination of the Tamil nation cohabiting in the North-East so it may enjoy its right to live with dignity, equality, autonomy, security and democratic freedom, equally with that of the Hill Country Malayaga Tamil nationality, the Moslem nationality and all other ethnic-religious communities.
The Executive Presidency: A Tool of Global Capitalism
The Executive Presidency is a tool of Global Capitalism. Former President J R Jayewardene brought in the executive presidency to serve a particular agenda.
The open economic policy needed such a strong political head. If the Multi National Corporation (MNC) system is to come in and play the important central role expected of them, it was necessary to give all the facilities requested by them. Thus it was introduced as an instrument to support the MNC system.
When they need any agreement either economic or security or any other it will be easy to go through an executive head, with the ministries of Defence and Finance than through parliament with all the obstacles of transparency and criticism. Information will be confined to secretaries and advisers to the president and decisions can be arrived at, without delay.
So it was brought in to facilitate international moneylenders and plunderers of global capitalism.
Global capitalism is the modern version of imperialism. It integrates the entire MNC system with the IMF, WB and the WTO as management organs.
We explained all that in February 4 1978 and Bahu was locked up in prison for that.
Now everyone is clamouring for the removal of this tree of vultures, but once they get elected they hold on to it.
This is to serve their global masters, and also to exercise fascist dictatorship over the people that much more effectively.
Today, the global capitalist system is in disarray facing an acute economic crisis. All attempts to put the system into order have not been sufficient so far.
Still to come is a food crisis that could put a large part of humanity into hunger and death.
There is an energy crisis and a threat to the global environment so it is vital for us to seriously consider developing our food production, particularly paddy, fish and milk. If we do not turn towards a nature oriented, environmentalist approach we may be too late.
In the past three decades, the so-called development projects were responsible for the insurrections both in Sinhala and Tamil rural areas. Because it created poverty and alienation while the rich became richer.
While the local industrialist and producer were marginalised, a large section of the population was thrown out as human dust unconnected to the system.
The plight of women and children, particularly in slums and in rural areas became most miserable.
Patriarchy combined with militarisation and the rise of the under-world reduced most women to the level of domestic slaves.
The struggle of youth and the proletariat was used to intensify the repression in all sectors. The media repression was so bad many media people ran away from the country to escape death.
But the world tendency is against this global system working on the imperative of super profit.
The global capitalist system based on an unbridled search of super profit should be displaced by a system of production, where the means of sustenance shall be owned by the workers and farmers, in unity with all exploited and oppressed people, and based on advancing their revolutionary needs for liberation.
Intensifying Exploitation, Oppression and Repression
While denying the vast majority of toiling, suffering people of their right to a life free of poverty, indebtedness, misery and degradation, the ruling class used the open economy to amass vast fortunes, build empires of private profit and plunder, and to waste public funds, through naked corruption.
The Collective Agreement relating to the Plantation workers, which has split the workers movement and betrayed their interests, is a good example of bondages created. It should be torn up.
A minimum basic daily wage of Rs 500 for all plantation workers with the minimum wage in all sectors at Rs15000 per month should be established with an increase in wages/salaries of all government and private sector workers in accordance with the present Cost of Living Index.
The just grievances of workers, graduates and students should be addressed democratically and with justice, as opposed to erecting barricades, baton charging, showering tear gas, arresting and violently suppressing their human and democratic rights.
This regime is on trial for unleashing the very same armed forces that brutally decimated the Tamil uprising and its leadership, against the predominantly Sinhala workers, students, graduates and other oppressed masses.
So much for the ‘patriotism’ of these chauvinist candidates.
Away with Illusions: Raise our Vision and Advance to the Future
How can there be democracy in a land, which is kept divided by nationality and religion? Even now, the two agents of the global system Mahinda and Sarath, clamour for democracy without any hint of pulling the masses together in national unity.
Both worked together to crush the Tamil uprising that was waged ferociously to defend the autonomy of their people. Both were singing and dancing with their masters about the victory until the workers started the battle in the work places.
The strikes pushed them in to a fresh debate and they emerged as a two headed serpent to face the people.
Yes, we lost in both insurrections but we beat them back in the trade union battle.
Now they have come out in a presidential election united in policy but divided in camouflage.
Let us get together and give a real blow to both of them, and move forward for a united Lanka to face the dictates of global capital.
Let us build the strength to raise our vision of a world without domination, exploitation, oppression and war!
Let us unite our forces across divided boundaries. Let us march forward towards a people’s democratic state governed by People’s Assemblies representing the workers, peasants and all oppressed classes, nations and nationalities and communities.
This shall embody the unity and solidarity, the freedom and democracy of the North, East, South and Hill Country in the form of a united, independent and democratic People’s Republic of Lanka, led by the working class, as a transition to Socialism and the goal of Communism.
• Unite To Resist The Global Capitalist-Fascist Agenda And Bring Down The System!
• Free All Internally Displaced Detainees And Political Prisoners!
• Rescind Emergency Regulations And The Prevention Of Terrorism Act!
• Down With Imperialism And Neo-Colonial Domination!
• Victory To The National Liberation Struggles Of The People Of The World!
[01 Left Front – 02 United Workers Party – 03 Ceylon Communist Party (Maoist) – 04 Socialist Party]
December 17, 2009
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National Savings Bank of Sri Lanka
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