Cadaverous politics

Thursday 14th September, 2023

Everyting is weaponised in politics and war, and not even corpses are spared. A long time before the advent of biological warfare in its present form, Mongolian warrior-ruler, Genghis Khan, used infectious agents as a military weapon. Historical records reveal that he had rotting corpses catapulted into the fortresses his army laid siege to, spreading diseases among his enemies. Some historians inform us that his modus operandi was effective. Centuries later, Sri Lankan politicians began using corpses as a political weapon very effectively. The practice continues.

In the 1970s, the UNP made the most of public outrage at the brutal killing of a young woman called Premawathi Manamperi during the SLFP-led United Front government’s counterterrorism operations against the JVP. Its leaders shed copious tears for the victim at election rallies and succeeded in turning public opinion against the SLFP. But about a decade later, they quelled the JVP’s second uprising in the most barbaric manner and left the streets strewn with mutilated and half-burnt corpses, which the SLFP used to regain public support and make a comeback in 1994. Politicians do not spare even the deaths that occur in non-conflict situations. They forget the dead they weep for after achieving their political objectives, and crimes remain unsolved despite regime changes as a result.

Cabinet Spokesman and Minister of Transport, etc., Bandula Gunawardena is using the death of an undergraduate who fell off an overcrowded train during the ongoing railway strike to vilify the striking locomotive drivers. The strikers must take full responsibility for the youth’s death, he said at the post-Cabinet media briefing. One cannot bring oneself to support any strike that aggravates the suffering of the public troubled by unbearable economic difficulties. Our hearts go out to the family of the unfortunate youth. His tragic death, which has shaken the nation’s conscience, must not be politicised.

Minister Gunawardena and high-ranking railway officials ought to refrain from insulting the intelligence of the public. They will not be able to cover up their failure to solve labour issues in the railway sector and prevent strikes. They are also responsible for the suffering of commuters who are stranded during railway strikes.

If the striking railway workers are responsible for the undergraduate’s fatal fall, will the Cabinet Spokesman explain why the Health Minister and his officials should not be held responsible for the deaths due to the use of substandard drugs in the state-run hospitals? Gunawardena voted against the recent motion of no confidence against Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, didn’t he? Besides, who should be held responsible for the lives lost at unprotected level crossings?

The Transport Minister and his officials stand accused of having done precious little to prevent the latest railway strike; if the protesting workers’ grievances had been addressed, they would not have been driven to strike. So, the question is why Minister Gunawardena and the Transport Ministry panjandrums have not accepted responsibility for the undergraduate’s death at issue. Moreover, trains are overcrowded even when there are no strikes, and many commuters travel dangerously, and some of them lose their lives. Shouldn’t the Transport Minister be held responsible for such tragic deaths?

The current economic crisis has caused many job losses and inflicted unbearable suffering on the public. Some people died while waiting in long queues to obtain fuel and other essential commodities. Patients are dying due to drug shortages. This unfortunate situation has come about owing to economic mismanagement and rampant corruption, among other things, under the Gotabaya Rajapaksa government. Doesn’t the Cabinet Spokesman think all those who have served as ministers in the incumbent administration and enjoyed numerous benefits should be held accountable for the current mess in the country?