Lanka SamaSamaja Party at 81: The fight for social justice is a continuous struggle
The masses who were used to see politicians in dark full suits addressing the people in English saw militant young intellectuals and political activists in red shirts addressing them in Sinhala and Tamil.
Lanka SamaSamaja party celebrates its 81st anniversary today. The 1st political party to emerge in Sri Lanka was born on December 18, 1935 with the twin aim of attaining full independence from British rule and the establishment of a socialist state.
The leaders of the movement had an enormous task before them to convince the masses of the fact that they had equal rights and that they should stand up against the repression that was enforced by the emerging capitalist system as well as from the aristocratic class, that was a powerful force at the time. The use of the word ‘Sahodaraya/ Sahodari (comrade)’ in addressing everyone irrespective of status in society, class or caste was the symbolic expression of the important message that all citizens are equal and the right to live with dignity and self-respect as equal citizens.
The next task was to breach the barrier that separated ordinary people from politicians who were mainly from the upper- class of society. Politics was accepted as the game of the privileged class and English language as medium of communication of politics. The LSSP broke this wall by addressing the masses in their languages -Sinhala and Tamil using their idioms. The masses who were used to see politicians in dark full suits addressing the people in English saw militant young intellectuals and political activists in red shirts addressing them in Sinhala and Tamil. The masses took the message -- and the working class people, who were even by that time active in the trade union sector but lacked a political direction, were made to understand the class struggle and the historic task before them to change society, liberate the working class and the oppressed section of society. Though the ultimate goal was a socialist society, the LSSP had an interim programme to carry on the struggle for the establishment of a soci- ety based on democracy and social justice and to work towards a welfare state. It was in keeping with the numerous struggles that were seen in countries throughout the world for social democracy.
The LSSP was able to give leadership to the struggle towards the creation of a society where the masses could live with self-respect and dignity within a society based on social justice. It is pertinent to note that militant LSSP leaders, while being revolutionaries, respected democratic values based on equality and dignity of man. For these leaders there was no contradiction in this stand as they believed a socialist society was based on equality and dignity of man which was best expressed in democracy.
It is history now that almost all the rights that the masses are enjoying today has been won through struggles led by the LSSP and other left parties.
The establishment of a democratic system of government within a welfare state in a short period was in itself a tremendous achievement. This principle was so solidly embedded that every attempt to go against democracy and a welfare state was resisted by the masses and was defeated.
The establishment of parliamentary democracy and the protection of parliamentary democracy were mainly due to the strength of the left within parliament and supported by the struggles of the working class led by the organised working class. It is the power of the working class that gave strength to the left leaders to fight within Parliament.
The struggle for full independence was achieved through the promulgation of the Republican Constitution of 1972. It is significant that the republican constitution was drafted under the guidance of Dr. Colvin R de Silva, the 1st president of the LSSP.
The defeat of the LSSP and the left at the parliamentary elections of 1977and the complete elimination of the left from parliament signalled the turning point towards the breakdown of the welfare state, social justice and democracy itself. The crackdown of the July 1980 general strike which resulted in near- ly 80,000 workers, among them almost all the leaders of the trade union movement, losing their jobs, deprived the working class of the strength that was in the forefront of the struggle to protect the welfare state and democratic rule. The happenings thereafter are recent history.
The executive presidential system that was introduced devalued parliament and hence the voice of the people and created dictatorial rule. This process was completed by the passing of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution. What follows was a complete breakdown of rule of law, independence of the judiciary, respect for human rights and in short democracy itself. This process culminated in the white van culture which ultimately ended up by the removal of the Chief Justice of the country most unceremoniously in the worse form not witnessed even in a country that nominally calls itself democracy.
Therefore, we reached the stage where the struggle for democracy and social justice again emerged as the main struggle before the masses. The LSSP which was within the government failed to carry on the historic task of the LSSP that is to fight for democracy and social justice.
The LSSP (majority group) emerged as a separate political party to carry forward the legacy of the LSSP to fight for the democratisation of the state and social justice which were the principles for which the party stood from 1935.
In spite of the historical and monumental betrayal by the LSSP leadership of all what the LSSP stood for and fought for by voting for the 18th Amendment, which brought about the complete suppression of democracy and the establishment of dictatorial rule by a constitutional President, the LSSP (majority group) has played a significant role in the emergence of the political movement which led to the people’s victory by the removal of the dictator on 8th January 2015.
Therefore the task of the LSSP (majority group) today is to protect the victory of 8th January 2015 and to take forward the struggle to attain the twin tasks of the movement of January 8th -- to democratise the state and bring about national reconciliation and social justice.
To give meaning to the victory of 8th January, it is necessary to enact a new constitution which has to be a rightsbased constitution accepting the principle of power sharing, equality and all-inclusiveness.
It is a repetition of history that LSSP (majority group) is in a major way engaged in this task. (The writer is General Secretary of the Lanka Smasamaja Party - Majority Group)