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Testing the limits of political (in)tolerance 

11 May 2022

  • Public calls for boycotting of those involved in corruption, as opposed to violence
BY Sumudu Chamara  The turn of events triggered by the clash between anti-Government and pro-Government groups on Monday (9) following Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Government supporters attacking peaceful protestors and protest sites at the “MynaGoGama” in Kollupitiya opposite the Prime Minister’s official residence, the Temple Trees, and “GotaGoGama” in Galle Face, has given the anti-Government and anti-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa movement a new face, and violence has unfortunately become a part of the protests.  The destruction of the properties of members of the Government has become normal, although unacceptable, and the looting of properties during such attacks was also seen during the past two days. Amidst this chaos, Sri Lanka saw the properties of several known parties and activists also being destroyed, and there are concerns about many who supported the Government to come to power. Supporting corruption and the corrupt  Sajith Janka Samaratunga, a businessman who took part in the protests at “GotaGoGama”, noted that even though most Sri Lankans are under the impression that politicians are to blame for the economic crisis and political instability, businessmen, artistes, professionals, and social activists that support and benefit from corrupt politicians are equally to blame. Due to that reason, he said, it is important to show the public’s anger to such parties too.  “Being a politician and embezzling and wasting public funds cannot be done by one person. It takes more than one, and most of the time, it is pro-Government businessmen that support corruption. Sometimes, corrupt acts, such as reducing the import tax imposed on sugar in 2020, are intended to support these businessmen. Therefore, it is important to understand that these parties, although not directly engaged in politics, are very much a part of corruption at higher levels of the Government, and they too should be held accountable for what they have done.” He was of the opinion that even though violence in general is bad, being violent towards the people who destroyed the futures of over 20 million people is a fair reaction. He questioned: “If they do not see public anger, how can we send a warning to others that support and benefit from corrupt politicians?” Showing people’s anger Meanwhile, Namal Rathnayake (name changed on request), a 32-year-old who had taken part in anti-Government protests and attacks, said that two influential figures whose houses were attacked had been actively backing the incumbent Government despite being aware of the destruction that the Government had caused, and that therefore, they deserved what the people did to their properties.  “They should know the repercussions of supporting a dictator by deceiving and instilling fear in the hearts of innocent people. Their weapons were racism, nationalism, and religion, which should not be played with,” he opined. He added: “We are talking about only two people who faced the people’s justifiable wrath. But there are many more, such as singers, actors and actresses, social media page owners and administrators, television presenters, and various types of influencers who continue to tell the people that this Government is not responsible for the instability and bloodshed in the country.” Stressing that he is not saying that anti-Government groups should continue to target and attack such persons, Rathnayake said that however, the people should not forget what those parties did to the country, and that the people should cease providing any kind of support for them in the future.  “Attacking will merely destroy their properties, which can be rebuilt. Instead, the people should stop respecting them and giving them any kind of support. They should know that without the people, they are nothing, and that it is a better form of punishment. The people’s power is what should be emphasised at this moment.  “Even I have been a part of violent acts. However, I do not recommend that, and I see the bigger picture now. Attacking properties will only make the victims of attacks more popular. They have money to regain the destroyed or stolen properties. They should lose respect, which cannot be bought or regained regardless of how much money they have.”  When inquired about his opinion about certain artistes who backed the SLPP Government back in 2019 but recently publicly apologised to the people for supporting the Government, Rathnayake said: “That is a joke. None of them were children, or lacking in intelligence to understand the true situation. They knew as much about the reprehensible pasts of the President and the other bigwigs in the Government as everyone else in the country did, but still chose to ignore and conceal those truths, and asked the people to vote for the current Government.  “Given the influence that they had, it would be correct to say that a significant portion of the 6.9 million people who voted for the present Government did so because such influential figures created a picture that the only persons that could protect the country from national security-related threats were President Rajapaksa, former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, and other former military personnel that were behind the duo.” In this context, he said, downplaying the destruction that these influential figures caused by encouraging the people to vote for the present Government is foolish, and their apologies to the people are not sufficient, given the magnitude of the destruction that they have helped create.  “They apologised to the people because they knew they messed up, and made the biggest mistake of their lives by somehow being a part of the biggest economic and political crisis in Sri Lanka’s history,” he opined. Violence to deal with violence However, Susila Chandani (name changed on request), a 40-year-old housewife who also took part in anti-Government protests, raised concerns about the people attacking every person who has been behind the Government’s totalitarian and insensitive acts against the people, as such behaviour was not meant to be a part of the protests. She questioned: “How many influential figures that supported the Government are out there? Are we going to attack every one of them? Where and when does this end?”  “I am not saying that some of them did not have hidden and destructive agendas. However, I think that most of these influential people and the 6.9 million people who voted for the Government are alike. They were scared after the Easter Sunday attacks of April 2019, and they needed protection. The only solution they saw was giving the two Rajapaksa brothers the top seats of the Government. They did not have any promising options, nor much time to think, and in the heat of the moment, they decided that the Rajapaksa brothers could help them.” The only difference between the influential figures and the general public, according to Chandani, was that the influential figures had more influence over the outcomes of the election than the general public did. “Who are we going to attack once we have finished attacking the houses of all the musicians, actors and actresses, and other famous figures that supported the Government? The 6.9 million voters?” she queried, adding that even though the attacks that happened immediately after the clash between anti-Government and pro-Government groups on Monday are understandable, mainstreaming and supporting such attacks as a normal element of the ongoing protests could attract extremely adverse results, such as the militarisation of the general society, which she said has already begun.  “The people should not forget as to why they started the ‘Go Home Gota’ movement. They should understand that violence only leads to more violence, and that the Government is secretly plotting to intensify ongoing violent acts. Why do we not understand that violence on the part of protesters is a victory to the person that the people want out of office?” Jennifer, a 29-year-old protester, also expressed similar ideas about the damage that the ongoing violent acts can do to the main objectives of the anti-Government protests, while observing that those who supported the formation of the incumbent Government, however, should be condemned for what they did. “I saw that a large number of actors and musicians have posted on social media platforms that they do not condone the present Government's behaviour and that they regret the fact that they supported the Government. In addition, some of them also said that although they supported the Government at first, they stopped doing that later.  “I understand that they might not have realised the gravity of, or lacked the mental capacity to grasp, the damage the heads of the Rajapaksa regime could do. However, that is not an acceptable excuse. Therefore, the people should reject them regardless of their role in the society, and stop giving them business or any other form of opportunity.  “We should know that they are not welcome in Sri Lanka. Frankly, I do not know for how long our people will do that, or remember the damage such known figures did. However, I think that it is the best way, and at least a few will stick to it.” She emphasised that violence, in this case the destruction of property, is not the answer, and can give rise to unwanted issues.  “The Government and the law enforcement agencies are waiting for the people to be violent, so that they can use excessive powers on innocent civilians who are against the Government. Attacking a few known persons who supported the Government is not worth the consequences which can affect the entire anti-Government movement.”  Moreover, she said that the people should act prudently, and not do anything based on rumours that certain businesses are owned by certain politicians.  “You may be under the impression that you are doing something against a corrupt politician, but you might be attacking the business of a person who has no connection whatsoever with a corrupt politician or embezzled money,” she added. Although many parties have come forward to denounce violence, especially the destruction of properties of members and supporters of the Government, there are many who advocate in favour of such acts. In this context, a constructive discourse on violence should also begin among the people, in order to get the anti-Government protests back on track.


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