In giving reasons to quit their role, the IIGEP stated that there is no political will on the part of the government to find out the truth about the alleged violations of human rights by agents of the state. This question of the absence of political will affects not only the investigations into violations of rights but, in fact, into all areas of national life. Perhaps a Sri Lankan living in these times may wonder what political will means at all as they have had no occasion to experience any such will being exercised by any regime in the recent decades. Perhaps it is the same experience as described in a political joke some time ago. A UN officer was trying to explain the definition of a refugee to a group of three people from three different countries. When the UN officer said that a refugee is a person who has suffered persecution due to political opinion, a person from one country asked, what is meant by political, another asked what is persecution and the third asked, what is opinion as each of them in their own country experiences had not known these things. In the same way, if a Sri Lankan wonders what is meant by political will that should be no surprise as they also have had no occasions to experience the exercise of any such will for the resolving of any of their problems.
It can be said that China, for example, has the political will to become a strong economy in the world and also to modernize the country as rapidly as possible. It can be said that India too has the political will to improve its economy as well as to improve the efficiency of its governance. At least sections of the political establishment of India also wants to see the eradication of social inequality by improving the conditions of its most discriminated sections, such as the Dalits and the indigenous people of the country. It may be said that South Korea has a political will to become a strong modern economy as well as a strong democracy. Even a small place like Hong Kong has the will to be an affluent place with a strong rule of law infrastructure and an anti corruption mechanism to guarantee stability. In the light of these experiences, if one were to ask what are the aims that Sri Lankan is demonstrating that it has the political will to achieve it is hardly possible to talk about any such thing.
In the early years following independence, the Sri Lankan regime showed some political will to achieve the improvement of its economy and also to improve the institutions of governance. There was some energy generated by this will that lead to debates in parliament and also the development of various perspectives by political parties backed by the countrys intellectuals to achieve these purposes. However, in the decades beginning from the 1970s and particularly after 1978, this will has rapidly disappeared. The disappearance of political will in Sri Lanka was accompanied by the development of the system of the executive presidency. In place of political will Sri Lanka now has the arbitrary use of power by the executive president. The action or inaction of the president is what determines the activities of the state. The political will of a people is normally given expression to by the head of the state and the governing system. Now there is a complete separation from whatever the nation wants and what the executive president wants. All that will happen is whatever that an executive president wants and if he does not want anything then there will be nothing. If the executive president wants an inefficient system of governance then there is nothing that anyone can do about it. If the executive president wants to allow widespread corruption then there is no way that anyone can prevent it. There is an expression that sums this up nicely, what does the gorilla have for breakfast? And the answer is: anything he wants.
When the constitution of a country itself provides for a political system based on an executive president who does not need to demonstrate any political will, that nation is fated to be without determination to resolve any of its major problems. It is this experience that makes even the words, political will meaningless.
