by Sarath Fernando
We feel that it is useful to attempt a widely participated process of “People’s Organisations” intervening in the political campaigns related to the elections in the country. Elections are an occasion when economic, social and other policies are discussed among people and commitments are made by the candidates and political parties contesting elections.
There are a large number of organisations in the country that are representing the interests of workers in public and private sectors, farmers and the landless people, rural and urban poor, women, fisher people, plantation workers, youth, the unemployed, those affected by adverse policies and programmes carried out by governments and by the private sector.
These people’s organisations have had to struggle continuously to get their interests taken care of and to prevent policies and programmes that affect them adversely. There have been constant struggles against various policies that have made the people economically poorer and democratically, politically, oppressed. There have been struggles to protect people’s rights to health, education, social welfare, poverty alleviation, right to land, water and the forests.
Also struggles to protect environment and conservation of natural resources and rights to freedom of speech and democracy etc., Struggles against discrimination against women and the minority communities.
What is common to all these struggles is that they try to protect the interests of the poor and the oppressed against the agenda of the national and international capital and politically dominant forces
These struggles have become extremely important globally too since the big capital and leaders of big countries and international institutions such as the G-8, WB and IMF have proved unable to solve the problems of feeding the hungry, reducing poverty, preventing climate disasters and protecting peace. Experiences in Sri Lanka of youth uprisings and inter ethnic conflicts have shown the importance of reducing social disparities and other form of discrimination to prevent political violence and corruption.
The challenge before the people’s organisations for social, economic, political justice and environmental justice is to see if all these forces can unite in formulating a joint manifesto that expresses the common aspirations of all oppressed people to push forward their agenda before elections, during elections, and after elections.
As a starting point in setting up such an agenda we wish to put forward a set of proposals that briefly outlines the interests of all these oppressed groups which can be worked upon towards formulating a common set of proposals or demands. A draft illustration is given below,
Approval and implementation of labour laws that ensure, decent wages, working conditions, security of employment to ensure dignity and a worthwhile standard of living for all, rights of workers to organized action through trade unions.
Acceptance and implementation of an ecological agricultural policy, based on the principles of food sovereignty ( which ensures the right of farmers to decide on what food to be produced and consumed, how they are to be produced, where, and marketed at what prices and what technologies to be utilized ) that would contribute to the recovery of the regenerative ability of nature and natural resources and ensuring that the leaders of such an agriculture, the small and marginal farmers should have ownership of and control over agricultural plans, land, water, seeds and markets. Such a process should give priority to domestic production and consumption of natural, healthy food.
The ownership and control of the small scale fisher people over the basis of their livelihoods, the sea, the beaches and the inland water resources and to ensure proper marketing facilities to be affordable to the fisher people as well as the poorer consumers in the country. The fisheries policy should be a policy of sustainable fisheries that protects the fishing resources in the country. The displacement of fisher people from the beaches as well as from access to the sea and other fisheries resources for expansion of tourism and large scale industrial fishing should be prevented and the use of destructive fishing gear and techniques should be stopped.
The plantation workers should be given worthwhile wages and proper working conditions and also their right to decent housing, health, education and opportunities for social upliftment. They should be given land and food producing possibilities to improve their situation of food and nutrition and earn additional incomes. This is particularly necessary for the large number of fairly educated, but unemployed, plantation youth.
Their being granted the right to own land in their hill country living areas with
proper guidance and assistance in ecological and regenerative agriculture and
agro forestry could help in developing proper conservation and regeneration of
agriculture that would benefit the rest of the country too, by preventing erosion, pollution, floods, droughts and earth slips too. This is the way in which their dignity as proper citizens of Sri Lanka could be restored.
While taking measures to ensure that women in society enjoy equal status and dignity in the social and political life in the country, by removing the various types of discrimination that exist against women in society, political life and also in family life, it is necessary to eliminate the pattern of using women as cheap subservient labour in employment, particularly in foreign employment, in garment industries, various services, in plantations and in agriculture.
Women’s ability and potential in making a valuable, creative contribution in a process of sustainable development, including in planning, should be recognized and established.
The tremendous potential that the youth have in contributing to an approach to a development process that depends on the restoration of nature’s ability to regenerate itself should be recognized. Such an approach has the possibility of providing the youth with dignified professions and a life of satisfaction.
This is one way in which the very large numbers of young people migrating to cities and as unemployed poor could be solved. The educational system and the training processes in the country should be reoriented to see that the necessary knowledge and skills for such a profession is given to them. The potential for regeneration of land and agriculture has the potential to provide the youth, as agents of transformation attractive remunerations and a dignified role in society.
Tamils and Muslims in the country should be given due respect and the rights to use their culture and language and proper representation in the political systems. As is done in other parts of the country, the people in the Northern and Eastern Provinces should be given the right to land in their own territories and guidance and assistance to utilize this land and natural resources in a regenerative manner. Thus their right to their land and its fertility, development and productivity could be improved and also the possibility of these people using the benefits of their productivity.
The health policies and the health services in the country should be, improved in a way that all people, the rich as well as the poor could enjoy good health and services. Community health services should be improved. Proper ecological and environmental agriculture should be propagated to prevent diseases and the indigenous and natural ways of life and consumption should be propagated to promote healthy ways of living.
Democracy is the right of people to plan their ways of life. Suitable processes to ensure this right should be adopted in from the lower village levels, the regional councils levels, provincial levels as well as at national level. There should be mechanisms to ensure that implementation of such plans could be ensured and monitored by the people.
Similar proposals should be formulated in relation to Media and right to express views
Nature and environment
Culture and art etc.
This is just a sample of the type of brief proposals that can be included in a statement by the people’s organisations. These could be improved, adjusted or added on through discussion. We would like to have your suggestions, comments and additions in advance of a meeting of different sectors that we will convene soon to get agreement on these proposals.
Since detailed work and formulations have been done by people’s organisations in many sectors, they could be summarized and put together to work out a “People’s Manifesto” later.
Thanking you
Yours sincerely
Sarath Fernando
MONLAR.
20 February, 2010
7:13 AM
Ajith
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