Aragalaya At GotaGoGama For System Change!

By Ratna Bala –APRIL 30, 2022

Dr. Ratna Bala

“Whenever man and woman strengthen their back up they are going somewhere. Because a man can’t ride your back unless it’s bent”

“The forces that threaten to negate life must be challenged by courage. … This requires the exercise of a creative will that enable us to hew out a stone of hope from a mountain of despair.” – Martin Luther King.JR

What is the purpose of Aragalaya at GotaGoGama?

Although Aragalaya initiated as GotaGoHome protest it has awakened all Srilankan citizens from slumber to realise the dangerous rotten state they have been driven into by their leaders pretending as their protectors.

It has awakened them to be aware that their leaders are riding on their back to extract the nation’s wealth.

This awakening has rewarded the nation with unity among polarised multi-ethnic, multi religious and multi cultural communities.

This awakening is transforming the nation’s attitude and behaviour. We are shouting loud and clear.  Not anymore!  Enough is enough! We will not tolerate this corruption and the lies propagated by our leaders anymore!

This awakening brings thousands and thousands of people from all social groups to the streets to express their longing, hope, expectations and desires to see their country prosper with good governance without corruption and promoting justice, peace and equality.

This awakening gives us strength and stamina to stand up and straighten our backs!

Can this Aragalaya at GotaGoGama of the awakened people accomplish its goals? Can they solve our economic and political crisis?

What are their goals?

What are the reasons for current economic and political crisis?

In general deficiencies and dilemmas of representative democracy with specific characteristics related our history have contributed to current state of crisis. In representative democracy there are three main reasons for failures.

1) Failure of systems and institutions caused by loopholes enable for those who have self-interest to be able to take control and manipulate

2) the electorate who elect their leaders ill informed and not taking their responsibility to hold the leaders accountable

3) Certain groups who do not have a chance to take control of power and manipulate the system and the electorate to acquire the outcomes they want.

Without critical inquiry we as the electorate have been taken through darkness into a deep hole created by dividing the nation along ethnic- religious lines by our politicians to take control of the leadership and exploit it for their self benefits. Leaders were able to abuse their power freely as the people who elected them lived in clouded conscience unable to realise how they were condemned to stay bent in an ethnocentric religious black hole while their leaders with their extended family and friends abuse and accumulate wealth of the nation. This ethnocentric religious manipulation is the main default line created to stabilised self-interested leaders who were given freedom to extract and exploit the state coffers and institutions. Government institutions instead of being inclusive institutions have become extracting institutions. Constitutional amendments were made to strengthen their grip on power. Bribery, blackmail and bullying are used to silence and suppress opposition in parliament. People were fed with communal hatred speeches to be kept in hysterical down-trodden ignorance. Constitutional changes or elections did not to promote inclusiveness and pluralism. Military personal who normally grab power through coup, in Srilanka, with mind numbing ethno-religious dialect, militant Monks explicit exhibitions, display of brain washed intellectuals and with some sort of coup like mysterious Easter Sunday bombing able to convince 6.9 million people to vote for him to be elected as president!

We have had 30 years of brutal war with callous disregard for death, devastation and desperation inflicted upon the minorities. There are mothers still sitting on the streets looking for answers about their lost children. There are minorities silent suffering with humiliation of being treated as second class citizens in their own country. Large Diaspora somehow escaped the merciless war and were able to establish themselves in their host countries with dignity and respect feel alienated from their motherland. We have an extortionate defence expenditure in the name of safeguarding the nation from devastated innocent people. This alienation of large section of our population must have significant impact on the economy and existence of our nation.

Easter bombing, Tax reduction, organic fertiliser saga and Covid pandemic only brought forward this crisis sooner than later.

If the electorate are awaken from their clouded conscience they will be able to see that sharing power in reasonable manner with genuine devolution is a prerequisite to fix the default in democracy and establish progressive inclusive institutions and systems.

Can Aragalaya at GotaGoGama can change the system?

An awakened electorate with informed, critical and a creative mindset as expressed in Aragalaya at GotaGoGama may have the potential to achieve this goal!

What we know about it’s potential?

Leadership in governance which bring substantial benefits to the people can be categorised into three main groups.

1) Redefining leadership

2) Transformational leadership

3) Revolutionary leadership – involve violence, not for us!

It’s important to remember Democracy with its failures and chaos can provide a fertile ground with an opportunity for selfish political or military leaders to introduce dictatorship through strengthening authoritarian measures

Redefining leadership is trying to do what is possible in existing circumstances by mobilising the people towards feasible better solutions. They are mostly in the form of new legislations, some constitutional and economic reforms to address crisis, grievances and promote better standards for people. this kind of leadership can be provided by an individual or collective leadership by redefining what is possible and introduce a significant policy change in better direction.

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