Let’s not forget the lessons of history - EDITORIAL

With the military defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May 2009, the country heaved a collective sigh of relief. It was widely believed - especially in light of the then President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s famous quote that the days of minority and majority communities had come to an end and all citizens would be equal - an era of peace and prosperity could dawn on the country.

At the 2010 presidential election, Mahinda Rajapaksa was re-elected President for a second term by a grateful electorate. However, religious minorities came under attack. The forces of law and order did little to stop the attackers. Did the mob leaders have state sanction? To those communities who had fallen victims, it seemed so. The President also began to be accused of corruption, family bandyism, cronyism, suppression of dissent and a variety of misdeeds including inability to check the rapidly rising cost of living.  

 At the 2015 presidential poll, President Mahinda Rajapaksa was defeated.  Maithripala Sirisena, the victorious presidential candidate was voted into power on an anti-corruption/anti racism ticket. He promised to reduce the cost of living, end corruption and do away with the Executive Presidential system of government.

His government initially brought down the cost of living, but the regime perpetrated a major financial scam on the country. It made no effort to charge those whom it accused of corruption and did little to stop attacks on minority religious groups – the Christians and Muslims. The presidential system continues.  Tensions between the President and parliament made governance difficult and the government stumbled from one crisis to another. Politically inspired strikes by student and doctors’ trade unions disrupted day-to-day life. The Easter Sunday bombings of April 2019 killing over 250 in churches and tourist hotels was so-to-say the icing on the cake. It also killed off the tourist trade - leading to massive loss of employment.  

When the present President Gotabaya Rajapaksa presented himself as presidential candidate on a ticket of law and order, re-building security systems and tackling the cost of living, his victory was inevitable, given the track-record of the incumbent regime.  At the 2020 presidential election, Gotabaya was elected. Shortly thereafter the Coronavirus struck. President Gotabaya’s initial tackling of the pandemic saw him initially bring the virus under control. At the general election, his party was given a near 2/3rd majority by a grateful electorate. Since then, the government’s handling of the pandemic has gone downhill; today the pandemic is out of control. The lockdowns that continue under different terminology has left over 550,000 daily paid workers (over half the workforce) without employment and a means of feeding their families. Employees in the mercantile sector have had their wages slashed.

Many small enterprises remain closed. Today the cost of two basic meals a day / per month costs more Rs. 30,000/-. Yet the average monthly income hovers around 25,000/- per month or less, leaving insufficient funds for food, education, transport, medical needs or recreation. Schools remain closed and over 70% of students do not have access to distant learning facilities.  Government has also banned import of petroleum-based fertilizer on grounds of environment protection, (but is widely believed to overcome a shortfall of foreign exchange). The excuse, if true, is laudable. But it has left the farming community from cultivators to tea, rubber and coconut plantations are in a mess, as no viable alternative is in place.

The mishandling of the ‘MV Xpress Pearl’ incident has left fisher folk destitute. A shortfall in agriculture harvests is to be expected, leading to fears of further price increases. Government’s answer to these problems has been to increase the cost of fuel. Not by a few rupees, but by a hefty Rs. 20/- per litre on petrol, claiming a rise in world market prices. That claim is only partially true. Government also adds a huge Rs. 39/- in taxes per litre to this cost. Additionally financial mismanagement has led to inflation leading to a drop in the value of the rupee further adversely impacting the effect of the fuel hike. This move will also hit hard the three-wheeler drivers, private bus owners and drivers – a significant support-base of government.

UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe added fuel to fire pointing out when world market prices were low, the benefit was not passed on to the population. President Gotabaya’s 1 ½ years in power is turning disastrous. Food shortages and further price hikes are looming. In the past, food shortages led to J.R. Jayewardene gaining a 5/6th majority in parliament and the stripping Sirimavo Bandaranaike of her civic rights. Unless there is a drastic change in the attitude, we may well see history repeating itself.