Don’t make Sri Lanka a vulnerable nation

Undisciplined individuals have not only allowed the spread of COVID-19 they have also left room for a military presence in civil society activities

Sri Lankans have got used to living with a lot less. Salary cuts have been announced and even the sick have been made to go into survival mode. Pharmacies are opened only on selected days of the month. People have to toughen up and most importantly if one observes closely there are few or no options to complain about anything. 

Overall the country is in a way under military rule. There may be a lot of good things to say about how the men in uniform are administrating the country. But still people who love democracy and a certain amount of liberty wouldn’t fancy this system of ‘military rule’. Hence their only wish is for the COVID-19 to be eradicated, elections be held and a democratically elected government to be in parliament. 

There is much criticism regarding the government wanting to resume day-to-day activities pretty soon

But leave aside that new parliament to be elected, the system of governance we experience now could be an indication to what we’ll see as the system of rule in the future. The president is rarely heard and seen, but operates the system from behind the scenes. The Army Commander appears daily on national television and makes statements about how the country is progressing health wise. The only other sector which gets television time is national health care; invariably government doctors and medical experts who are in the state payroll. Aren’t we seeing a model of the system of governance which is to come? And what’s scary is when someone puts a post on facebook stating ‘shall we let the security forces continue to run this country’. 

There is much criticism regarding the government wanting to resume day-to-day activities pretty soon. The authorities have always wanted to hold general elections at the earliest. But later the talk was to open state universities in stages, before the elections; now scheduled for June 20. The FUTA has requested the University Grants Commission to explain logically the basis behind the decision to reopen universities in May. 

Only the wise might pick up the difference between not wanting an election and wanting the election being postponed. For the record even the National Bhikku Front has requested for the elections to be postponed

However the surfacing of more COVID-19 patients in quarantined areas on Monday forced the regime to cancel some of the plans to lift the curfew in some districts on Wednesday. Still the caretaker government, headed by president elect Gotabaya Rajapaksa, wishes to have an election on the scheduled date and the only person who challenged him to obtain the opinion of the supreme court on whether he (the president) should go ahead with an election is Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya. But now all those arguments all done and dusted with. 

It’s during these challenging times that the president offered a pardon to a former Army Staff Sergeant who was on death row. Some time after the presidential elections the president initiated a beach widening and development project at the Calido Beach in Kalutara. The project was initiated to help the fisheries industry and tourism and to halt the extensive sea erosion. But the project, despite having been cleared with an environmental assessment report, has earned the wrath of environmentalists who are concerned about its impact on the ecology of the marine environment. But that’s how Gotabaya Rajapaksa worked as defence secretary and these are two occasions where we’ve seen the shadow of his former self. 

The Army will step into controlling civil activities when people in areas where curfew is lifted don’t adhere to health regulations

Domestic violence
People who can report to work using a company or institute provided identity card these days are privileged. The government has declared that it would dole out a one-time stipend worth Rs 5000 to individuals belonging to certain selected categories which include CKD patients and senior citizens. The government also banned the opening of licquor shops. And regarding some among those confined to their homes we hear of domestic violence. Probably the government never thought that it should take into account the number of alcoholics who would have withdrawal symptoms and attack their wives and children. There are records of injured householders being taken to hospital because their wounds were caused due to domestic violence. Inexperienced rulers tend to take huge decisions, but they might not bother to consider repercussions. 

Aren’t we seeing a model of the system of governance which is to come? And what’s scary is when someone puts a post on facebook stating ‘shall we let the security forces continue to run this country’

People remaining in this country must be given an opportunity to earn a living as long as the means of generating income falls within the framework of the law. Often the middleman uses smart economics to be in business and lower the cost paid by consumers at retail. Eliminating the middleman would mean those buying at retail would be doing so much travelling; hence the advantage gained by eliminating the middleman is lost. The present curfew is also eating into some businesses like rice and fisheries; because of the absence of the middleman. 

The All-Ceylon Multi-day Trawlers Association is demanding a 50 % fuel subsidiary. Its members claim that a bumper harvest has ended in losses because of the prevailing situation in the island. For the record though the cost of harvesting a kilo of fish is RS 550 and the Fisheries Ministry is purchasing a kilo of fish at Rs 250; hence there is no way to cover costs. 

One of the biggest problems in the island is the difference in the political thinking among people which can be high as 50 against the other 50 in a group of 100. When the president affirms that he doesn’t wish to reconvene the old parliament it means that we have to go for an election. But the question is whether the state is exposing its citizens to great danger by conducting polls in the midst of a pandemic? On Monday the safety net that Sri Lanka had over COVID-19 was broken when 33 new cases contracting the virus surfaced. Now, suddenly we’ve become a vulnerable nation to this pandemic. Most educated people in the country, who have an iota of knowledge about health, want elections postponed. Some people intoxicated by the word called ‘patriotism’ don’t want elections and prefer the military like rule this country is subject to now. Only the wise might pick up the difference between not wanting an election and wanting the election being postponed. For the record even the National Bhikku Front has requested for the elections to be postponed. 

The Army will step into controlling civil activities when people in areas where curfew is lifted don’t adhere to health regulations like wearing masks, board overcrowded buses and don’t maintain the one metre distance between individuals. The Army will intervene when the smart middleman moves away from his role of cutting cost at retail and operates a mafia. The undisciplined individuals have not only allowed COVID-19 to spread in this country they have also left room for a military presence and its control of civil society activities. 

And while we must constantly remind ourselves of that old saying, “ A country deserves the rulers it gets” we must strive hard to develop the nation and safeguard democracy; because development can take place under the clenched fist of a dictator who doesn’t value democracy.