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By Victor Ragunathan

In Geneva, Government of Srilanka (GoSL) is focusing on democracy and human rights as primary issues to be dealt with while Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is focusing on impending humanitarian crisis. It raises the question whether the participants on the GoSL side know the real meaning of DEMOCRACY and HUMAN RIGHTS. Let us focus on democracy and its subdivisions. What is the value of democracy in a POLICE state where conflict between two communities is not resolved and the NORMALCY is not achieved, at least yet!

[Geneva Talks II begins - Photo:TamilNet]

What is democracy?

Democracy is about the people and their power. The power or authority exercised in a democracy is derived directly or indirectly from the represented people in one of two forms. One is Direct democracy and the other is Representative democracy.

In a direct democracy everyone is given the opportunity to participate in making all policy decisions. In countries and large organizations, direct democracy is rarely utilized because it would be cumbersome and inefficient. No decisions would ever be reached.

In representative democracy it entails people voting to elect representatives in a free and fair electoral system to make policy for them under a wide range of checks and balances to help ensure leadership accountability. Do the leaders in GoSL know what accountability is?

Democracy has freedom of _expression where people’s voices were heard in a non-violent way.

Democracy also has media freedom and impartial justice and people can count on the legal system.

In essence it has

-1.Accountability
-2.Freedom of _expression
-3.Media freedom
-4.Impartial legal system that the citizens can rely on.

What is the democratic process means?

1) Effective participation: All the members must have equal and effective opportunities for making their views known and an equal influence on what the policy should be.

2) Voting Equality: Every member must have an equal and effective opportunity to vote and all votes must be counted as equal.

3) Enlightened understanding: Each person must have equal and effective opportunities for learning about the relevant policies and their likely consequences.

4) Control of the Agenda: All members must have the exclusive opportunity to decide how and if each matter is to be placed on the agenda.

In summary all members retain the full rights that are implied by the four criteria listed above.

Based on the above - what is not democracy?

A democracy cannot be a theocracy. By its very nature a theocracy excludes a segment of society or relegates that segment to subservient status because its faith, language or race as it differs from that declared by the state.

A democracy and theocracy are incompatible, just as fascism and democracy, monarchy and democracy, dictatorship and democracy. A theocracy may use some facets of democracy, but the primary requirement of equal inclusion for all without prejudice can never be attained under a state religious rule.

What else is not democracy?

Democracies do not illegally occupy lands or distribute resources based upon preferences or racial superiority. Democracies do not force other people to live in anarchy refugee shelters, without food and water for days. Democracies do not limit travel or the commerce of one class of citizens in favor of another
They do not require citizens of one faith to have preference over state’s resources. Democracies do not provide relief materials to one segment of preferred community over the other. Democracies do not drive people from their lands at gunpoint, lands held by their families for nearly a thousand years without consideration and compensation. And democracies do not amuse themselves by shooting unarmed children or bombing schools and refuge places.

What is Fascism?

In the history of World, 14 defining characters had been identified.

1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism: Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.

2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights: Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of “need.” The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.

3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause: The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial, ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, rebels, etc.

4. Supremacy of the Military: Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.

5. Rampant Sexism: The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.

6. Controlled Mass Media: Sometimes media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.

7. Obsession with National Security: Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.

8. Religion and Government are intertwined: Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government’s policies or actions.

9. Corporate Power is protected: The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often is the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.

10. Labor Power is suppressed: Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.

11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts: Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility towards intellectuals of opponent views. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free _expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked. Schools are converted to military installations; editors who openly expressed their views are killed or sacked.

12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment: Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in

fascist nations. In other word, it is a POLICE STATE.

13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption: Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends, family members and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.

14. Fraudulent Elections: Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.

In reviewing of the all 14 characters, does the HAT fit into the head of GoSL?

What are the signs of fascism that had been noted by scholars as warning signs?

1. Instability of capitalist relationships, markets and a threat to their leadership.

2. The existence of considerable declassed social elements, disproportional inflation and sky rocketing cost of living

3. The stripping of rights and wealth focused upon a specific segment of the population (race), specifically the middle class and intellectuals within urban areas as this the group with the means, intelligence and ability to stop fascism if given the opportunity.

4. Discontent among the rural lower middle class (clerks, secretaries, white collar labor). Consistent discontent among the general middle and lower middle classes against the oppressing upper-classes.

5. Hate: Pronounced, perpetuated and accepted public disdain of a specific group defined by race, origin, theology or association.

6. Greed: The motivator of fascism, which is generally associated with land, space or scarce resources in the possession of those being oppressed.

7) Organized Propaganda:

a) The creation of social mythology that venerates (creates saints of) one element of society while concurrently vilifying (dehumanizing) another element of the population through misinformation, misdirection and the obscuring of factual matter through removal, destruction or social humiliation, (name-calling, false accusations, belittling and threats).

b) The squelching of public debate not agreeing with the popular agenda via slander, libel, threats, theft, destruction, historical revisionism and social humiliation. Journalists in particular are terrorized if they attempt to publish stories contrary to the agenda.

If we know what are democracy, Theocracy and fascism, then what is freedom?

Freedom is an engine of national and individual wealth and prosperity. Freedom also saves millions of lives from famine, disease, war, collective violence, and democide (genocide and mass murder). In other word more freedom, the greater the human security and the less the violence. Conversely, the more power governments have the more human insecurity and violence.

Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Power kills, absolute power kills absolutely. Single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic.

Freedom is a basic human right recognized by the United Nations and international treaties, and is the heart of social justice. Freedom is an engine of economic and human development, and scientific and technological advancement. Freedom ameliorates the problem of mass poverty. Free people do not suffer from and never have had famines, and by theory, should not. Freedom is therefore a solution to hunger and famine. Free people have the least internal violence, turmoil, and political instability. Free people have virtually no government genocide and mass murder, and for good theoretical reasons. Freedom is therefore a solution to genocide and mass murder; Free people do not make war on each other, and the greater the freedom within two nations, the less violence between them. Freedom is a method of nonviolence–the most peaceful nations are those whose people are free.

In conclusion, the democracy is not the answer to our current conflict as it doesn’t exist in anyway. Democracy is not having an election or multi party conference to solve the current dilemma.

There are two conflicting parties one is Tamil speaking and the other is Sinhala speaking. There should be only one voice on each side to resolve the conflict as no decision would ever be reached in a multiparty representation. Once an amicable solution is reached, and once the country is rehabilitated, we need democracy.

Theocracy has no place in our land as this will fuel fascism. Passing laws limiting or abolishing our freedoms will not protect us from extremism instead it add fuel to it. Restrictions create resentments and undermine society. The only way to end the extremism is to eliminate the fundamental problem. We have control over this and can change the circumstances causing it. To do so, we must open our eyes and acknowledge our own contributions to the problem, then take steps both diplomatically and financially to end the problem for good.

The enemy is within us. It is the “Power” and holding on to power and greed for the power that derailed our quality of life. When Theocracy mixed with Democracy it becomes Hypocrisy. When Hypocrisy mixed with Fascism and takes the Power, it becomes Autocracy. Under these circumstances Democracy becomes mere text book term and looses it valve.

If we need real Democracy in both word and deed, we need freedom first then we will see Democracy in pure form with its all value added on to it.