Hobson’s choice for govt.

Saturday 9th July, 2022

The government of the Rajapaksas by the Rajapaksas for the Rajapaksas not only destroyed the economy but also created conditions for the ruination of democracy. Current political upheavals which have the potential to plunge the country into anarchy would not have come about if President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had heeded calls for the formation of an all-party interim administration instead of trying to perpetuate the family rule by appointing a puppet government. Basil Rajapaksa keeps the current Cabinet on a string by leveraging his control over the SLPP in spite of having resigned from Parliament. He knows more than one way to shoe a horse, as we have said in a previous comment.

Corrupt deals continue to be struck under the present regime as evident from serious allegations against the state-owned gas company, Litro, and the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation. A minister has had to step down temporarily over a bribery allegation. Leopards do not change their spots, do they? How could the international community be expected to help a country governed by a bunch of kleptocrats? Economic recovery and political stability will continue to elude this country as long as the current administration, which has manifestly failed and is corrupt, remains in power and continues to carry out crooked deals without making a serious effort to sort out the economy. One wonders whether the government leaders are exacting revenge on the public for rising against them.

The Opposition is not alone in calling for the resignation of the failed Rajapaksa-Wickremesinghe government; religious leaders, professional associations, trade unions, and members of the public who are undergoing untold suffering are also asking it to resign forthwith, and pave the way for a truly national unity government to extricate the country from the tentacles of the Rajapaksa family. Let the government be warned that unless it steps down immediately, its bigwigs will run the risk of defenestration.

Unfortunately, some bankrupt political forces are riding the crest of the current wave of public anger and furthering their political interests. The blame for this situation also should go to the incumbent regime, which is clinging on to power.

Those who thought the Galle Face protesters were a leaderless, pressure group stand corrected. Politicians who infiltrated and manipulated that protest campaign, which was initially apolitical, have crawled out of the woodworks. The Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) has said a formidable power centre has to be established outside Parliament, which it has dubbed a failed institution. It has demanded that the anti-government protesters who do not belong to the political parties represented in Parliament be given representation in the interim government to be formed. What are the selection criteria to be used for that purpose? Isn’t the FSP, which cannot win elections, seeking to savour state power on the pretext of empowering the protesting public? The Rajapaksas returned to power by raising people’s expectations, and their enemies are now exploiting people’s woes and frustration.

The anti-government forces on the offensive may be united at present, but they are bound to break ranks and even clash after achieving the common goal—the ouster of the incumbent dispensation. There’s the rub. We have seen this happen in countries where the Arab Spring took place, and those nations slid into anarchy. Libya is a case in point. Hence the need to prevent the disparate forces that have banded together against the current administration from becoming a law unto themselves. This is something the Opposition and all those who cherish democracy should take notice of.

The least the government could do to avert disaster and help resolve the political crisis within the framework of parliamentary democracy is to resign, and allow an interim administration consisting of all political parties represented in Parliament to be formed without further delay. Only a national unity government will be able to usher in political stability, mobilise all sections of society for rebuilding the economy, and, above all, let other nations know that Sri Lanka is ready to get its act together and deserves international assistance.