When fools rush…

Saturday 24th April, 2021

The National Operations Centre for Prevention of Covid-19 Outbreak has decided to ban May Day rallies, this year, and its decision is most welcome. Mass gatherings are bound to trigger another wave of infections and plunge the country into chaos. It was a huge mistake for the government not to impose travel restrictions in the run-up to the recent Sinhala and Tamil New Year. Drastic measures are called for to avert another round of lockdowns.

Two good doctors have, in their articles published on this page, and elsewhere, issued severe warnings. Many other medical experts have done likewise as they fear a devastating third wave of infections engulfing the country. Worryingly, all their warnings have gone unheeded, and some political outfits are planning to hold May Day rallies in defiance of the ban. It is a case of fools rushing in where angels fear to tread.

Pandemic or no pandemic, it does not make any sense to hold political rallies on May Day, which is for workers and not politicians. What we see on this day are political dog and pony shows with workers being reduced to mere spectators. Workers must assert themselves without grovelling before politicians at least on May Day.

The bane of the labour movement in Sri Lanka is that workers have become slaves of political parties, which have their own trade union arms. Politicians use workers as a cat’s paw to pull out political chestnuts. This explains why trade unionism is growth-retarded here and workers’ rights continue to be suppressed. Workers ought to learn from their counterparts in other countries such as Japan, where trade unions are independent of political parties and fiercely fight for their rights while acting responsibly to increase national productivity, the be-all and end-all of a country’s economic progress.

The JVP has vowed to go ahead with its May Day rally. It says the ban at issue is politically motivated; the ruling coalition is divided and cannot hold a joint rally. True, the SLPP is facing crippling intra-party disputes with even some of its senior ministers joining its ginger group. Its constituents are divided and are not likely to be able to hold a common May Day rally. That may be one of the reasons why the government has decided against conducting its May Day events and is urging others to follow suit. But the fact remains that the threat is real; there are signs of a resurgence of infections and precautions must be taken.

One may argue that the SLPP’s problems are a blessing for the country in that the government would otherwise have held the biggest May Day rally despite the national health emergency. That the SLPP is not in a position to hold its May Day rally due to its internal problems is no reason why its rivals should act irresponsibly and endanger the lives of not only their faithfuls but also others by holding May Day events.

The JVP’s argument that the country remains open with millions of people commuting daily, and therefore the May Day rallies could be held does not hold water. Ideally, the country should go into lockdowns, given the worsening pandemic situation, but it cannot afford to do so for economic reasons. Last year’s lockdowns cost the economy dear with thousands of people losing their jobs. The country can always do without stupid May Day shows, which, if held at this juncture, will make an already bad situation worse.

The national healthcare system has reached the breaking point. The IDH is bursting at the seams, as we reported yesterday. The number of patients has exceeded its bed capacity. The same is more or less true of other hospitals, which overflow with patients even when there is no epidemic or pandemic. How bad the situation will be in case of a tsunami of infections sweeping across the country is not difficult to imagine.

It is unfortunate that the JVP, which pontificates to others on responsibility and accountability, is planning to hold its May Day rally despite warnings; it is bound to rue its impetuous decision.

The JVP unflinchingly used guns, bombs and swords to carry out mass killings in 1971 and in the late 1980s. This time around, it is apparently trying to use a dangerous virus for that purpose.

The ban on May Day events must be strictly enforced.