Government skating on thin ICE

There has been a mixed reaction to what is known as the government’s war on ICE, which is the street name for highly addictive crystal methamphetamine. The much-publicized anti-narcotic operations that continue apace have won acclaim, but they are also viewed as a ploy in some quarters. How come public opinion is divided on such an important issue?

Trust is something sacred that bonds a society together; it is also a key element of good governance, and nothing rives societies asunder more than trust deficits. Unfortunately, relations between the elected and electors, in this country, have been plagued by a chronic trust deficit, and the situation has manifestly taken a turn for the worse of late so much so that the public tends to believe the opposite of what the government says about any issue. Cynics insist that the people do not believe anything until it is officially denied!

The prevailing trust deficit, which has resulted in growing cynicism and skepticism among the people, has taken its toll on the country’s economic recovery process as well; it has become evident from the reaction of the public to the government’s war on drugs more than anything else.

The drug Mafia is preying on young Sri Lankans, and irrefutable evidence of an increase in ICE addiction among schoolchildren has emerged. The drug trade thrives during crises due to psychological problems such as depression, socio-economic issues and the deterioration of the rule of law. Real as the scourge of narcotics affecting schools is in this country, a look at social media posts reveals that the ongoing anti-narcotic operations, especially the checking of school bags for drugs, have come to be viewed in some quarters as a ruse to divert public attention away from the government’s many failures, and to boost what remains of its image. This kind of suspicion as well as skepticism is fraught with the danger of gnawing away at public cooperation, without which campaigns against social evils fall short of their goals.

The government’s approval ratings have plummeted despite its efforts to revive the economy and grant relief to the public. The members of the SLPP-UNP administration have apparently been lulled into a false sense of security owing to a let-up in public protests; they have reverted to their old ways, and exude arrogance and antagonize the public. Elections are a worrisome proposition for any unpopular government, and it is only natural that the current administration is wary of facing an electoral contest.

Some political commentators are of the view that the government has blown the drug menace out of proportion to suit its political agenda. Their narrative goes as follows. The Local Government (LG) elections that the Election Commission is required to hold soon are the last thing the SLPP-UNP combine wants, at this juncture. It is aware of the fate that befell the Yahapalana government due to the LG polls in 2018; the UNP and the SLFP chose to contest them separately and suffered humiliating defeats, and the SLPP scored a stunning win, enabling the Rajapaksa family’s comeback. Today, it is the other way around; the LG polls are expected to be the undoing of the Rajapaksas’ hold on power. The UNP has not been able to shore up its vote bank significantly, and is therefore not in a position to contest an election. Hence the coming together of the SLPP and the UNP as an electoral alliance to contest future elections. But this move can go either way. The government needs a popular cause to champion and populist issues to flog. It is therefore striving to make the narcotics problem look far worse than the economic crisis and be seen to be tackling it successfully so that there will be some achievement for it to flaunt. Political parties create such bogies to regain popularity. The government is believed to have taken a leaf out of Maithripala Sirisena’s book.

When Sirisena was the President (2015-2019), he effectively used a wave of anti-narcotic operations to gain political mileage. He also managed to overcome the so-called wimp factor to some extent and went so far as to try to have judicial executions resumed to deal with the powerful drug lords behind bars. He went to the Philippines and met his counterpart Rodrigo Duterte there in a bid to be bracketed with the latter, who adopted ruthless methods to neutralize drug cartels and achieved a tremendous success, which was however marred by alleged human rights violations. Sirisena succeeded in endearing himself to the public, especially parents worrying about the safety of their children in a society infested with many evils including the drug menace. His approval ratings picked up and would have increased to the point of making him confident enough to seek a second term, but the Easter Sunday terror attacks happened in April 2019, derailing his drug war, and his image suffered irreversible damage due to serious security lapses that led to the terrorist bombings. He was also the Minister of Defense, and therefore, stood accused of having ignored several warnings a foreign intelligence outfit had issued about the impending attacks, and the wimp factor began to trouble him again although the police and the military handled the aftermath of the terror strikes commendably well. He is now facing legal action over his failure to prevent the bombings and save lives.

The drug problem is real, as is public knowledge, and the government has to go all out to tackle it. The ongoing anti-narcotic operations have yielded huge amounts of dangerous drugs and helped net many suspects. So, the country will gain if the public co-operates with the law enforcement authorities and the military engaged in a war of sorts against drug dealers, who are a danger to society. But it is doubtful whether the government will be able to recover lost ground on the political front and endear itself to the people by simply taking on the drug Mafia. Everybody knows that the drug barons have links to some ruling party politicians, and pangs of hunger and the prospect of a bleak future worry the public more than the narcotic problem does.

During the Yahapalana government, the Rajapaksas succeeded in catapulting national security, which was their long suit, to the center stage of politics, after the Easter Sunday tragedy, and projecting themselves as saviors. They succeeded in winning elections. But the situation is different today. The people will no doubt appreciate the anti-drug operations aimed at protecting children and the youth against the drug Mafia, which has the potential to destroy the nation, but they are resentful that the government has ruined the economy and caused unbearable suffering to them, and therefore expect it to clean up the economic mess it has created and make their lives liveable. They are not likely to settle for less, given the severity of their economic woes. If the ruling party politicians’ callous disregard for the people’s suffering is indication, the government is skating on thin ice.