Tuesday 14th February, 2023

The SLPP-UNP regime seems to think it will be able to retain its hold on power by postponing elections and using anti-terror laws against its political rivals on the warpath. Odds are that its ill-conceived strategy will not yield the intended results, given its unpopularity and the sheer intensity of public anger, but it will not give up easily. It is determined to have Inter-University Student Federation (IUSF) Convener Wasantha Mudalige arrested again. Colombo Chief Magistrate Prasanna Alwis recently released Mudalige on the grounds that the latter was not found to have committed any offences under the PTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act).

The government has, for the consumption of the international community, declared its intention to do away with the PTA, but it unflinchingly uses the draconian anti-terror laws to hold its political opponents at bay.

The Attorney General’s Department has filed a revision application in the Colombo High Court, seeking to have the above-mentioned Colombo Chief Magistrate’s order set aside. Far be it from us to tell the Attorney General what to do, and we do not wish to comment on a matter that is now before a court of law; it is best left to the learned judges concerned. But we cannot help wondering why the AG’s Department lacks that kind of high-octane performance where cases against those with links to the powers that be are concerned.

Several years ago, the police and the AG’s Department undertook to have former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran extradited from Singapore to stand trial here over the Treasury bond scams. But nothing of the sort has happened. Will they care to explain why they have failed to bring him back?

The government apparently considers its political rivals, who pose a threat to its rule, to be far worse than bloodthirsty terrorists and other such criminals. Otherwise, it would not have used the PTA against protesters. Its leaders have a history of kowtowing to terrorists and even giving the latter VVIP treatment.

The LTTE assassinated President Ranasinghe Premadasa, who was the leader of the UNP, and almost succeeded in physically eliminating President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. It killed countless leaders belonging to all political parties and all ethnic communities, destroyed public assets worth billions of US dollars, and committed other grave crimes such as the forcible conscription of children and turning them into human bombs. But the UNP-led UNF government (2001-2004) did not invoke the PTA in dealing with the Tigers, who were given kid-glove treatment at the behest of the then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Today, the UNP-SLPP government led by President Wickremesinghe has the PTA used against its political rivals!

The government will not be able to justify its decision to go all out to engineer the re-arrest of a protest leader released by courts while releasing convicted terrorists serving jail terms.

It’s conspiracy stupid!

Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera has warned of a conspiracy to cause fuel shortages and power outages in the run-up to the local government elections scheduled to be held on 09 March. He has stopped short of naming names, but it is obvious that his allegation is directed at his political opponents.

There is no way the Opposition could cut off power and petroleum supplies. Warring trade unions may be able to cripple the power and energy sectors by launching a general strike; the government continues to provoke them by trying to railroad them into accepting the new tax regime. But trade union action cannot be considered a conspiracy, and, above all, it is doubtful whether the Opposition and trade unions will throw the country into turmoil on the eve of the upcoming mini polls, where the government is expected to meet its Waterloo.

Is the government itself hatching a plot to create a shortage of essentials including fuel and extend the duration of power cuts in a bid to justify its claim that it is without money even for essential imports and therefore cannot allocate funds for elections? It knows that as for winning an election it has the same chances as a cat in hell, and therefore will not hesitate to go to any extent to derail the upcoming polls.