Gota going, going …

Monday 11th July, 2022

So, the inevitable happened on Saturday. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has said he will resign on Wednesday. In 2019, he rode the crest of a wave of popularity to secure the coveted presidency by polling a whopping 6.9 million votes, and, together with his elder brother Mahinda, steered the SLPP to victory at the parliamentary polls in 2020. Their party obtained 145 seats and mustered a two-thirds majority by engineering crossovers. He then had all executive powers of the presidency fully restored with the help of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution. He would declare that his verbal instructions had to take precedence over the rules and regulations governing the public sector. But less than three years on, a wave of public anger made him run away and offer to resign.

Gotabaya, who was accused of ordering a brutal military crackdown on a peaceful protest at Rathupaswala in 2013, when he was the Defence Secretary, baulked at unleashing the military on the protesters who were all out to oust him as the President. Why did he choose to act with restraint, which is not characteristic of him? There is reason to believe that he was under pressure from some foreign powers to behave.

The people have spoken, at last, and their message is loud and clear. Those who test their patience, steal their funds, insult their intelligence, and ruin their children’s future ask for trouble. Politicians who enrich themselves fraudulently, renege on their promises and cause unbearable hardships to the public are bound to face the same fate as the Rajapaksas.

Some cadre-based ultra-radical groups sans little or no popular support have claimed the credit for the people’s successful struggle against the Rajapaksa regime, and are making various demands. True, those outfits were involved in Saturday’s uprising, but it is not only their cadres who poured onto the streets to make the President show a clean pair of heels. What we beheld was a mass uprising. The vast majority of the protesters were ordinary citizens who came forward to overthrow the bungling, corrupt Rajapaksa government, because they are undergoing untold hardships. Among them were professionals such as lawyers, doctors, accountants, engineers and university teachers.

The arson attack on Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s private residence spoilt the success of the mass struggle, on Saturday. It must be condemned unreservedly, and all those responsible for that crime brought to justice. Victory is said to have a thousand fathers, but crimes such as murders and arson are orphans. There is no dearth of politicians, parties and associations that claim the credit for the success of People Power campaigns, but nobody takes responsibility for the savage destruction of lives and properties during protests. The members of the Helmet Brigade, which carries out those attacks must be identified and brought to justice. They are a danger to society. Violence begets violence, and let those who resort to it to compass their sinister ends be warned that they are rendering themselves vulnerable, for this is a small country and they may reap as they sow when the boot happens to be on the other foot. Similarly, the brutal police attacks on journalists on Saturday must be condemned, and action taken against the culprits.

The self-styled Marxist outfits’ bragging reminds us of the proverbial chameleon which boasted that it, together with a herd of elephants, had uprooted a massive tree, on which it was proudly perched, when a curious animal inquired how the green giant had fallen. People’s sovereignty should be exercised only in the constitutionally prescribed manner, and under no circumstances should power sharing agreements be entered into with those who are without parliamentary representation. No council must be set up above the national legislature at the behest of ultra-radical groups that claim the credit for Saturday’s uprising.

The people have made it patently clear that they will no longer suffer corrupt, inept leaders gladly. So, if anyone is planning to line his or her pockets and strike questionable deals that are detrimental to the interests of the country, he or she is asking for trouble.

What the all-party interim administration to be formed shortly is expected to accomplish will be as formidable as the labours of Hercules. It will have to ensure that the ongoing efforts to secure the IMF bailout package will be on track; people will be granted relief; there will be a significant increase in national production; funds will be raised for importing food, medicine and fuel, which has to be dispensed equitably, and action will be taken to boost tourism and exports. Most of all, tentative dates for parliamentary and presidential elections will have to be announced. The wish list is not exhaustive.