Time to awaken

Yesterday in this page, former Sri Lanka diplomat and former Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Kalyananda Godage drew attention to the potential dangers posed to society and the country by alienated educated youth of this country in the Sinhalese regions and the need to address their concerns immediately.

In the North and East the youth engulfed in terrorism have been carrying out an insurrection for 15 years while in the regions outside the North and East there had been two youth insurrections, the first in 1971 and the second in 1988-89. The causes for all these insurrections have been identified. More so, in the Sinhalese regions and detailed reports have been made such as that of the Youth Commission of which the present Cabinet minister Prof. G. L. Peiris was a prominent member. Given this background, it could be presumed that the PA government is well aware of the lurking dangers ahead and the remedial action that needs to be taken. But the government's attention has been focused in other directions, particularly the resolution of the Tamil Problem and the conflict with the terrorists and it appears that attention is not been focused on problems of the youth of the Sinhalese areas and that appropriate action is being pursued successfully.

That the JVP or at least a faction of it has emerged after the crushing of the 1988-'89 insurrection was seen by its ability to muster much support at the last May Day rally of the party. The JVP which has a MP in parliament and a scores of others in local government bodies has been claiming that it has given up armed struggle to capture power and that they have taken to the democratic process. There are many who doubt this claim because of the two insurrections that were staged

The question that should concern all political parties is: Are conditions that exist today the same as they were or not before 1971 and 1988-'89? Since previous youth insurrections were led by educate youth, their status today should be examined first.

The PA government has been opening up institutions of higher education at a rapid pace and increasing the intake of students. But churning out graduates who have little chance of finding jobs which they think they are entitled to would only be adding fuel to fire. And with privatization of state ventures the government sector has been reduced drastically. The private sector is 'the engine of growth' today but traditionally this sector has been limited to the English speaking elite or the middle class. There is no denying the fact that this situation would cause greater anger and resentment among the non English speaking youth. Recently the universities and the private sector have been attempting to come to terms with the situation and provide openings for this youth in this sector. But whether this attempt will be successful and if so how long it will take to make an impact is anybody's guess. The situation is such that not only arts graduates but even science and engineering graduates find it hard to get employment. Crash programmes for employment were pledges given in the PA manifesto but whether they have come to fruition is not known.

The North-East conflict which has taken a heavy toll of the poor youth is undoubtedly an issue causing concern among them.

There has been some degree of employment in some trades such as in garment factories but here too there is much anger and frustration because of the poor pay and working conditions. An angry and frustrated labour force is much more of revolutionary potential than scattered unemployed people. The Middle East labour market has been a main source of employment but the educated youth are debarred from those countries.

One area where a dent has been made is among the self made small businessmen and entrepreneurs.

Even more important than employment opportunities are factors of a feeling of injustice and deprivation. Bribery, corruption, affluent life styles and loss of confidence in established political parties have been identified as reasons for youth revolts.

Leaders of political parties are in the best position to test the mood of present day youth. If youth are not joining the established political parties in large numbers, then the indications are that they are being attracted by a Third Force.

Twice before, the country's leaders have been rudely awoken to an insurrection in Sinhalese regions. It is not that they were unaware of the state of unrest that prevailed but they were occupied with other issues. The time is now ripe to awaken before history repeats for the third time.