Paradise regained, but lost again?

by Dr Upul Wijayawardhana

‘Lord Naseby: UK dispatches have cleared Sri Lanka of five major accusations.’ This banner headline of the front-page lead story by Shamindra Ferdinando, in The Island of 31 March, would have eased, at least slightly, the pains of Sri Lankans undergoing hitherto unknown sufferings. Lord Naseby fell in love with Sri Lanka during his stint as the marketing manager for the famous British firm Reckitt & Colman in the 1960s. His fond memories of the stunning scenery, and of conversations with leading politicians, led Michael Morris (as he then was) to establish the first All-Party Sri Lanka Parliamentary Group in 1975, when he was elected a Conservative MP. He has since worked tirelessly to safeguard the reputation of the country he loves from the onslaught of malicious propaganda belittling its unique achievement of defeating a ruthless terrorist group. This, he has done in spite of lukewarm support from Sri Lankan politicians and opposition from his own government. If one were to believe in rebirth, it could be easily said that his previous births were in Sri Lanka.

The 85-year-old peer was in Sri Lanka to launch his memoirs, ‘Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained’, and addressing a distinguished gathering at the BMICH on 29 March, he reassured Sri Lanka, yet again, that he would stand by it against the UNHRC witch-hunt. He assured that he would try very hard to convince the UK government to make public the sections of the Colombo British High Commission dispatches, censored by London, pertaining to the last phase of the Vanni offensive. Whilst our foreign friends, like Lord Naseby, are doing their utmost to our benefit what are our politicians doing? Is it not a fact that the Paradise Regained, according to Lord Naseby, is being lost again due to their actions and inactions?

While political badgering continues externally, what is happening internally is far worse. People are undergoing hardships never experienced before; not even during the austere regime of Sirimavo Bandaranaike. The gradual deterioration that occurred then, gave time for people to adjust.

Some politicians make ridiculous statements. I am not referring only to politicians like Minister Lokuge. He is joined, at times, by Minister S B Dissanayaka, who also makes absurd statements! Some officials seem even worse.

The Chairman of the PUCSL, while claiming that he had allowed only a 10-hour power-cut though the CEB asked for one lasting 12 hours, stated that people could work from home. He seems to have completely misunderstood the concept of working from home.

Nobody can work from home without the help of electronic devices like computers and routers, which obviously, do not work during power cuts!

There are daily power cuts lasting 10-13 hours. How can a country function with power cuts of this magnitude? This is happening in spite of the government’s assurances that power cuts will end soon. The current power crisis could have been averted if the then Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila’s advice had been taken seriously. Anticipating fuel shortages and lack of water for hydropower, planned short power cuts should have been imposed much earlier.

Gammanpila and Weerawansa were sacked for their criticism of the government but equally vociferous Vasudeva was spared! By the way, Vasudeva Nanayakkara himself has become a joke as he promised to resign if the government went to the IMF. The IMF report is to be tabled in Parliament and the President must be keenly waiting for Vasu’s resignation letter!

The President himself seems to be selective in sacking ministers. Susil Premajayantha was sacked for a single remark in a market but Dayasiri Jayasekara, who holds a similar position, is free from trouble in spite of criticizing the government at every turn! The fact that the government is shielding former President Sirisena over the Easter Sunday carnage has led to speculation that he may have a hold on the Rajapaksas.

Instead of going to the IMF, like many governments in difficulty have done, the latest being Argentina, our Finance Minister began going around the world with the begging bowl. The only achievement of the Governor of the Central Bank is that he got a Cabinet rank! Sensing our predicament, Big Brother and Uncle Sam are sending bigwigs to entice us with proposals from banned organisations allied to defeated terrorists. A ‘Lanka Spring’ is in the offing!

I am no admirer of Ranil, but all credit to him not only for attending the All-Party Conference but also for the positive contributions he made. However, it was all ruined by the Chairman of the UNP who pronounced that Ranil could solve our economic problems in 48 hours if he was given necessary powers! He may have been buoyed by rumours circulating that Rani would be appointed Prime Minister to make such a ridiculous statement. Has Ranil got a magic wand or has he stolen the Aladdin’s magic lamp from the Finance Minister? But there is a more sinister interpretation. Perhaps, as some suspect, the agitations in the country are engineered by the UNP and, if so, they would stop with Ranil’s ascent!

The UNP, the SJB and the JVP have only one solution to the problem: they want the reins of government handed over to them. But they have no policies; no solutions! We have a government incapable of solving basic problems. The Opposition is even worse. The excellent editorial “Of that call for ‘Lanka Spring’” (The Island, 1 April) analyses the situation well. A ‘Lanka Spring’ would be the surest way to lose paradise again!

When I read the announcement that the print edition of The Island on Saturdays had been suspended due to the scarcity of newsprint, my heart sank. I do not think this happened even during Mrs. B’s time! In the UK, we used to buy the Saturday edition of The Telegraph, which cost £2.00 before the pandemic, but price increased gradually, and we stopped buying it last week when the price reached £3.50 (over Rs. 1,350)!

(I am glad to hear that the publication of Saturday’s print edition of The Island will resume today.)