A people trapped in fake democracy

We are a people trapped in a fake democracy. I do not have to prove my statement. It is self-evident. We have a government that has no mandate from the people. This government ruined the agriculture of the country, defaulted on international loans, robbed the country to bankruptcy, with the economy ground to a halt with unemployment and inflation running high they made Sri Lanka a basket case. Our country has been made a global beggar, a pariah in the world financial scene. And the people have had enough.

People threw out the government on 09 July 2022. But using our so-called constitution, which has more holes than a piece of cheese, the same regime with a president who with his party was totally rejected by the people are undemocratically governing the country. People were waiting for the local elections to continue their struggle for a system change after their Aragalaya successfully chased away the Rajapaksas. But the present illicit president is continuing the same regime as the cat’s paw of the Rajapaksas. Now, he is trying all the tricks he can conjure up from his experience as a life long failed politician to somehow postpone the elections again and again till 2024. This is a caricature of a democracy.

In fact, democracy is successful only when ladies and gentlemen occupy the parliamentary seats. Jacinda Ardern has gracefully stepped down after an excellent job done as the Prime minister of New Zealand. What a ladylike gesture. When a man becomes the president of the country twice and still does not retire from politics but coms back to the parliament, it tells a story. The man is a rogue who cannot be out of power for then he will have to go to jail and return the loot to the people. When scoundrels like chain snatchers, cattle thieves, murderers, drug traffickers, brothel owners, thieves and cads are in the parliament and in the government don’t expect democracy to work. Then we have only a fake democracy. The opposition can go on debating, explaining, persuading, pleading and begging why elections should not be postponed or why the bill for restricting election expenses not be taken up now till the cows come home, and nothing will happen. The bill will be passed by the scoundrels and the elections will be postponed by hook or by crook. This is utterly fake democracy. Authentic democracy and scoundrels just don’t go together.

There are signs that we are moving towards an autocratic state. If the provincial elections are not held any longer and if the local polls are also postponed indefinitely, the mastermind behind the Central Bank robber will find some trick to bypass the parliamentary elections and even the presidential polls. This slide towards an autocratic state must be stopped at all costs, for we know what happened to so many countries that went on that road. They became failed and dangerous states with the people living in permanent fear.

People are waiting and watching. They won’t remain patient forever. If they are not given a hearing in the democratic way, they will be heard loud and clear in other ways. It will be back to the barricades, back to the streets, back to the Aragalaya.

Fr J.C. Pieris