The collective opposition needs to think ‘out of the box’. The bare minimum they can do is to work together and try to formulate a cohesive strategy against the common enemy- the Rajapaksa regime- instead of bickering about who should take the lead role in a subsequent government.
There is so much public outrage against anyone and anything tainted with the Rajapaksa name but Sri Lanka’s tragedy, it appears, is that it is still waiting for a leader who can rally all the forces against the regime and channel all that public anger into ousting the ruling clan. Hasn’t the country and its long-suffering masses waited long enough now?
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his government have been at the butt end of criticism as the Rajapaksa regime struggles to survive the tidal wave of public disaffection against them and the nation teeters on the verge of collapse socially, economically and politically.
However, that public discontent is now spilling over to other sectors: the Police and the armed forces, the Buddhist clergy and even opposition political parties.
The Police and the armed forces, once venerated for their role in ending terrorism in the country are now earning the wrath of the public for their belligerent and often inhumane behaviour while supervising the numerous protests throughout the country and overseeing crowd control at filling stations.
We are not for a moment suggesting that the Police or the armed forces should side with anti-government protestors. That wouldn’t be in keeping with the professionalism and discipline expected of them. However, they should deal with protestors in a humane and legal manner instead of behaving with primitive, tribal instincts with a level of conduct more in keeping with inebriated idiots.
Several videos depicting such thuggish and violent behaviour have been recorded and have gone viral on social media. Among these, the behaviour of an army officer kicking a hapless unarmed civilian who is being held by two other soldiers has evoked the greatest response. The Army initially engaged in a pathetic attempt to gloss over the incident, but as public anger mounted, the officer has been stood down.
Such behaviours have stoked fears that the country is heading towards military rule as there is no end in sight to the economic abyss Sri Lanka is plunging headlong into. If public anger explodes in riots and civil commotion, it is to the military that the Rajapaksa regime will no doubt turn to, more so because that is what Gotabaya Rajapaksa is familiar with.
The other group of influential citizens who must take responsibility for the present plight of the nation is the Buddhist clergy. Previously, they have been vocal to the point of being garrulous about a multitude of issues and have never been afraid to speak their mind.
Now, the country is on the brink of grinding to a halt and we have heard sweet nothing from the Buddhist clergy. Some months ago, they did suggest an all-party government to the President and the request was promptly ignored by him. Since then, their silence has been deafening.
In contrast the Head of the Catholic Church, Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith has come out unequivocally calling on the President and the government to resign to make way for an alternative. If the leader of a religion that is in effect a minority in the country has the courage to do so, why are the Mahanayake theros remaining silent? We can only hope that they would exercise their vocal cords at least now, before the ongoing public outrage turns into a bloodbath because by then, it will be too late.
The conduct of the collective opposition too, deserves some criticism. We do not find fault with the opposition for not joining the so-called ‘all-party’ government headed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. We now know, from events that occurred since the invitation to form such a government, that it is a front for Rajapaksa to remain at the helm and call the shots.
Failing in the attempt to form a proper all-party government, Rajapaksa has now resorted to a sham ‘all party’ government, plucking the likes of Ranil Wickremesinghe, Harin Fernando and Susil Premajayantha from various political parties. As the election of the Deputy Speaker (which Wickremesinghe was unable to influence), the 22nd Amendment (which Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe has shamelessly manipulated to Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s advantage) and the appointment of Dhammika Perera as a minister show, Gotabaya Rajapaksa is still making all the key decisions.
Nevertheless, what the opposition has to be called out for, is their inability to work together. The likes of the Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB), the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), dissident factions of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) as well the Champika Ranawaka group have not shown any inclination to work together.
It appears as if each of these groups believe that the government and the President should be given more time to drive the country into complete ruination and that thereafter they would be an automatic choice to form the next government.
The reality though is different. Regardless of the state the country is in, there is no compulsion to hold general or presidential elections until at least 2024- and much can happen between now and then. Besides, allowing the country to disintegrate till that time will leave a Sri Lanka that would be difficult to salvage.
Is it too much to then ask these various groups which are opposed to the Rajapaksas to come together, sit at the same table and work out a strategy to oust the regime? Such a discussion should not be about who becomes caretaker Prime Minister or Acting President and who holds which portfolio. It should be about doing the best for the country regardless of what it is in it for that particular individual or political party.
We haven’t seen that so far. What we have seen instead is each opposition party beating their own trumpet and doing their own thing, be it a protest, media briefing or rally. That strategy simply won’t work because the opposition is fighting a President who, incompetent as he is, is endowed with humungous powers through the Constitution and a Parliament where his party still commands at least a simple majority.
Therefore, the collective opposition needs to think ‘out of the box’. The bare minimum they can do is to work together and try to formulate a cohesive strategy against the common enemy- the Rajapaksa regime- instead of bickering about who should take the lead role in a subsequent government.
There is so much public outrage against anyone and anything tainted with the Rajapaksa name but Sri Lanka’s tragedy, it appears, is that it is still waiting for a leader who can rally all the forces against the regime and channel all that public anger into ousting the ruling clan. Hasn’t the country and its long-suffering masses waited long enough now?
