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The foul mouths of Diyawanna

08 Feb 2022

A video of Ports and Shipping Minister Rohitha Abeygunawardena directing defamatory remarks at Opposition and Samagi Jana Balawegaya Leader Sajith Premadasa and another political party was widely circulated in the media, and although those remarks show a tragic side of Sri Lanka’s lawmakers, the immediate reaction of many who saw the said video was laughter.  This is neither the first nor the only time parliamentarians made remarks of an unparliamentary nature, and criticism based on personal and irrelevant matters has unfortunately become a part of Sri Lanka’s political culture. Such are not new even in the Parliament, and certain statements made by MP Thisakutti Arachchi in November of last year, which came under fire for being sexually suggestive and derogatory, are a good example about the level of freedom lawmakers have been given to utter whatever they feel. Even though the freedom of expression is a right afforded to everyone and some politicians are more familiar with colloquial derogatory language, the role of politicians is not something that permits carelessly throwing around words as one pleases or being exempted from the repercussions of the irresponsible use of words. However, personal attacks, especially those during serious discussions, have gone unaddressed for decades, to the point where people start to consider them a normal part of politicians’ speeches.  The people’s response is also one of the most worrying facts about this situation. There is a segment of citizens, or voters, who prefer, endorse, and sometimes even support these statements and/or politicians who make such statements, and that is a concerning situation as far as how the country’s political administration is expected to improve, and ultimately improve the country’s situation. However, when the people endorse uncivil acts by politicians, not only does it become exceedingly difficult to build a political culture that upholds values such as respect, civility, and being fact-based, but it in turn contributes to perpetuating the same qualities among the people. Needless to say, when the people lower their expectations of politicians and standards of the country’s political culture, the political choices they make tend to reflect those qualities. Politicians are public representatives who were elected, or were selected if they entered the Parliament through the National List, for the purpose of serving the public and representing the public’s interests. A substantial portion of this responsibility entails setting an example for the people and the country, because their role is a leadership role and what they say and do is followed by many. This incident as well as countless similar incidents that happened before could perhaps be a sign that Sri Lankan politicians are under the erroneous impression that being a leader means winning at any cost. Changing this situation will take a long time and major attitudinal changes. Although holding politicians accountable for their conduct seems to be the easiest and the most immediate solution, the public too have an equally serious responsibility in making better choices at elections. One thing Sri Lankans conveniently forget is that except for National List MPs, which is a meagre number compared to the total number of lawmakers, all other MPs were sent to the Parliament by the people. Therefore, the change should first start from the voters’ level, and the people need to be able to say no to politicians that do not fit the bill of a leader. This is a timely discussion, because we are living in a time where Sri Lankans are seriously reconsidering their political choices in light of the politicians’ response to the crisis situation the country is in. Further, there is a pressing need for a discourse on the qualities politicians must have and the seriousness of the role of a politician. Sri Lanka’s political culture needs to be reformed in a manner which emphasises the importance of politicians setting an example for their followers by countering policies, facts, and ideologies, not rival politicians’ personal lives or assumptions. With regard to speeches, even though being eloquent could be a definite advantage for a politician, it must not be at the cost of their own dignity and the dignity of other politicians they talk about. These changes must also include a better demand for facts and properly structured counter arguments over mudslinging and empty words. In addition, Sri Lanka can look into keeping records of politicians’ conduct, to give politicians a message that what they do, including statements they laugh away after causing damage, remain in the public domain. The people have an active, major role in ensuring that the representatives they elect are people who have humanity, respect, and regard for others, in addition to other essential qualities such as honesty and being skilled at what is expected of them. Those are personal qualities that affect an entire country, and should therefore not be disregarded.  


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