Future uprisings

Thursday 11th May, 2023

Government politicians must have heaved a huge sigh of relief when the first anniversary of barbaric attacks on the Aragalaya activists at Galle Face and the equally violent backlash, which led to the collapse of the Gotabaya Rajapaksa government, passed without incident, on Tuesday. They however should not dupe themselves into thinking that the public has simmered down, and it is plain sailing for them, again. Let them be warned that the situation is far from rosy. There is a massive build-up of anger in the polity, and the government had better stop testing the people’s patience, which is wearing thin.

The Cabinet of Ministers is reported to have requested President Ranil Wickremesinghe to appoint a presidential commission to explore ways and means of preventing the occurrence of uprisings like Aragalaya in the future. They seem to consider presidential commissions a silver bullet of sorts. Or, is it that they are planning a witch-hunt against their political opponents on the pretext of a presidential probe?

There is no need for a special presidential commission to ascertain the causes of socio-political upheavals that shook the country last year. The main reason for the uprisings was the incompetence of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his government. Most of those who were responsible for the failure of that administration are in the current Cabinet; no wonder the country is not making any progress.

If the economy had been properly managed with timely action taken to shore up the dwindling foreign currency reserves in keeping with expert advice, on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s watch, the country would have been free from trouble. Fed up with the failed, dysfunctional Yahapalana government, which was formed jointly by the UNP and the SLFP, among others, the people voted the SLPP into power in 2019, hoping for a better future. The SLPP regime also failed pathetically, as is public knowledge. It is only natural that the people have no faith in the incumbent SLPP-UNP administration and are resentful. How could a country succeed with a bunch of failures at the levers of power?

The best way to prevent future socio-political upheavals is for the SLPP-UNP government to resign forthwith, paving the way for a general election so that the people could get rid of the failed politicians and, above all, vent their pent-up anger. One should not be so naïve as to think that the cantankerous politicians in the Opposition are mavens capable of performing economic miracles, but the incumbent administration, which is responsible for the current politico-economic crisis, is without any moral right to continue to govern the country. Can there be anything stupider than to expect a failed government that is responsible for bankrupting the country and refuses to mend its ways to sort out the economy? You don’t award the custody of a rape victim to her rapist himself, do you?

So, let it be repeated that instead of calling for a presidential commission to prevent future uprisings, the Cabinet, which consists of total misfits, save a few, ought to own up to its failure and resign.

Perhaps, one can argue that the government’s fear of future uprisings is unfounded. Most of the leaders of the Aragalaya have now joined the mainstream political parties; the educated, intelligent youth are leaving the country in droves, and there will be no one to take on the corrupt, incompetent political authority. The people have had to spend less on education and health owing to the current economic crisis, according to the latest Central Bank annual report, and future generations may not be literate and healthy enough to challenge the political dregs in power.