Mercenaries at the gates

  Firstly, we have been given a new definition to the word democracy; perhaps one which was never anticipated by ancient Greeks

When the mercenaries clear the path, the police and the military will peacefully walk into the scene with a lawful gesture (PIC AFP)

The new President Ranil Wickremesinghe faced condemnation by the international community as well as by internal actors including the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, soon after he assumed power. He could not at least enjoy his honeymoon where he received congratulatory messages for his new appointment. He was elected by parliament following the vacation of the post by Gotabaya Rajapaksa. When Wickremesinghe had assumed duties as the Prime Minister under former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa his house was set on fire during the protests on July 10. While the protestors have condemned his appointment itself, his actions have given a new and interesting interpretation to what he often refers to as ‘democratic politics’.

Three important transferences are to be noted. 
Firstly, we have been given a new definition to the word democracy; perhaps one which was never anticipated by ancient Greeks. Think of a ruler with no popular mandate. Wickremesinghe’s party could not secure any seat in the legislature and he himself entered parliament thanks to one single seat offered to the party for overall votes his party had received. A person fully rejected by popular vote is now holding the top-most position of political hierarchy. One could claim that this is “lawful” and it is the “democratic procedure” yet I am sure that it violates every possible interpretation of the concept of democracy. This, I observe as the difference between formal democracy and democratic proper; in other words, symbolic democracy and democratic real, that makes political analysts speechless. This perhaps is the best example in the entire world to explain such a shocking difference; to school and university students. While a small South-Asian nation has managed to chase away its political head for the first time, they have also given a new meaning to democracy as well. While it is obviously so odd, it is “constitutional” and it is legal as well. 

Secondly, we are experiencing a dramatic shift of political paradigm as well. Previously, we had an apparent difference between two major political alternatives. One with racism, extremism, anti-Western and anti-human rights discourse and one with pro-democracy, pro-human rights, pro-Western and good governance.  All of a sudden, now we have a collective front, of which Wickremesinghe is the main actor. Wickremesinghe has now engaged in a new venture cursing protestors, using emergency laws, deploying military against civilians and opposing the Western world for raising voice against human rights abuses.  This was the script that Rajapaksas and their followers previously played. While the previous binary oppositions are disappearing, we see Rajapaksa fans rejoicing the moves of the new President, whose power solely depends on the votes of SLPP members in the parliament.  While it is now clear that the May 9 attackers on GotaGoGama are not going to suffer any adverse consequences, the protestors are systematically being hunted down by “legal” means. 

The same person, who condemned the attack on protestors at GotaGoGama a few weeks ago, has now launched an attack on protestors soon after assuming power. This time with a new and sophisticated set of actors- ‘mercenaries’-was used to clear the gates of the Presidential Secretariat building and the Galle Face Green. Protestors, lawyers and even journalists (including a BBC reporter) faced suppression this time around. 

Apart from using police force and the military, politicians in Sri Lanka have resorted to the assistance of underworld figures for decades. A number of names of such underworld characters would surface in your mind. The notorious attack on GotaGoGama on May 9 was however largely an act of a mob consisting of politicians themselves, and their blind political followers. The police was accused of being inactive. Quite differently, it is alleged that trained mercenaries have been used in this operation as if they fight Somali pirates in the deep-sea. This way neither politicians, their followers, the police force or the military is going to suffer. Professional para-military help may be sought to crush protestors, as we have never witnessed before. When the mercenaries clear the path, the police and the military will peacefully walk into the scene with a lawful gesture.

All these “lawful” developments have paved way for another wave of protest. This time the protest will either fade away in its confrontation with this “constitutionally justified” and “lawful” state of affairs; or it may lead to more aggressive state of affairs, with more violence and bloodshed.  Only time will tell what would happen next.