Yesterday (28) marked 50 long days since the people of Sri Lanka launched a peaceful struggle to assert and regain their constitutionally-prescribed rights, pre-eminent among them the right to life itself. Having endured burden after burden on the economic front – to the point that existence itself had become a challenge due to the ‘mistakes’ of their Government – while its Head stood aloof to it all thanks to a piece of legislation known as the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, the citizenry saw no other redemption than to struggle for its removal.
People gathered in their thousands right opposite the Presidential Secretariat, the iconic former Parliament building that now serves as the President’s office, on 9 April, demanding that the President step down and pave the way for a new leadership that was agreeable to the status quo ante prior to the 20th Amendment. It is this organically-driven struggle, based on that core demand, that is continuing to this day, attracting people from all walks of life – be they rich or poor, irrespective of religious or ethnic boundaries – that has resulted in the birth of not only a new village called ‘GotaGoGama,’ but also an iconic and globally-known struggle, ‘#Gotagohome’.
When this struggle first began on 9 April, just four days prior to the traditional New Year holiday period, odds were heavily in favour of it being a one-off and many in fact didn’t expect it to make it through the night, let alone the next 50 days. When dawn broke on the 10th, contrary to expectations, no one had left and those present seemed even more determined than the day before to achieve their objective. It is this watershed event that essentially closed the door on one generation and opened the door to the next – a brave new generation, determined to hold their leaders to account for their actions. Over the next 50 days this new generation of youth has done Sri Lanka proud, earning the respect of citizens here and abroad for their principled stance.
There is hardly a soul in Colombo who at some point or another has not visited Galle Face and lent their voice to the struggle, underlining the mood of the people. Not only did they visit, but did so carrying with them bags full of food and drinks despite their own financial difficulties, to extend solidarity with the cause and appreciate the efforts of those giving voice to their frustration. As a result, it has created a totally unexpected byproduct – an enduring, organic, homegrown platform for ethnic and religious reconciliation, a metamorphosis that the political establishment failed to deliver even 13 long years after the end of the war. This newfound unity has been organic to the extent that it dismisses every notion of the toxic politics of division, which unfortunately has been the tool of choice for politicians of all hues, but decidedly more so for the present lot that has a dark record of exploiting it to the maximum. However, all that is now history. Thanks to this pioneering movement, politicians have become outcasts and shunned by a public who not so long ago fawned at their feet.
Besides healing wounds and restoring age-old relations among communities, the Galle Face struggle has brought out the best in humanity among the nation’s diverse communities and rebuilt a long-lost trust and sense of unity not seen since the ’50s. All credit for this national awakening must go to the youth of this country, who not only stepped up to the challenge but were also clever enough to see through the wool collectively placed over their eyes by scheming politicians. But as we said earlier, these are only the byproducts of the struggle so far. In the main it has achieved over and above what many would give it credit for.
The first major victory was the resignation of the former Finance Minister, undoubtedly one of the architects of the current economic mayhem and one who must necessarily be held accountable for his actions during his tenure. Next was the resignation of the politician-turned-Governor of the Central Bank, co-architect of the mayhem and equally culpable as his boss, if not to a greater extent. For instance, it transpired during sittings of the parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) last week that the Central Bank busted almost the entirety of its $ 7.6 billion reserves in defending the rupee at an unsustainable Rs. 203 against the US Dollar and also using it to settle external debt, including International Sovereign Bonds. Adding fuel to the fire, the present Central Bank Governor revealed to COPE that the Treasury had deliberately misled Parliament by submitting wrong estimates. The question is, on whose orders were these things done?
More importantly, it was also the struggle that forced the resignation of the former Prime Minister and the entire Cabinet of Ministers. The movement is now within striking distance of achieving its core objective with the new Cabinet headed by the new Prime Minister fast-tracking the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, essentially reinstating the 19th Amendment and drastically pruning the powers of the Executive. Although there are arguments and counter-arguments as to the efficacy of the proposed Amendment, with the Opposition claiming with some degree of merit that it in fact strengthens the powers of the president as it allows him/her to hold ministerial portfolios contrary to the 19th, it nevertheless is a starting point towards the eventual abolition of the post, to which party leaders already agreed in principle last Friday.
With the ball now in the hands of party leaders to expedite and move the process forward, a blindside move by the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) has cast a cloud over the process. At a press conference last week, the General Secretary of the party had a sobering message for the Prime Minister who has taken the lead in pushing for the 21st Amendment: “First, solve the economic crisis and create an environment which allows a parliamentarian to walk freely on the road and have the mental freedom to think. Then, we can discuss a constitutional amendment.” The statement is keeping with the SLPP’s notoriously divisive style of running with the hare and hunting with the hounds. It exemplifies public perception of the party hierarchy living in a parallel universe, oblivious to the suffering of the people and the ground reality of a nation hanging on for dear life.
The only lifeline before the nation is the enactment of the 21st as envisaged in not-so-direct terms by the multilateral agencies. The SLPP Secretary’s statement at this crucial juncture, which undoubtedly has the blessings of the party leadership, shows the absolute insensitivity to the issues at hand, with the party’s sole concern being the protection of its errant MPs who, for all intents and purposes, have brought this situation upon themselves and the nation. Before asking the Prime Minister of two weeks to ensure the protection of its MPs, the SLPP must first look inward as to how things have come to this.
If the SLPP needs validation of this, it need not look further than the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, who, while speaking in Davos last week, was unusually direct in pinning the blame for Sri Lanka’s economic crisis on “mismanagement”. She did not mince her words in saying that she felt sorry for the people of this once-prosperous country, blaming the political establishment for mismanagement as the primary cause of the economic crisis. It is this very same IMF that Sri Lanka is banking on to bail it out and therefore, if the sentiments of its Managing Director are anything to go by, then the country better have a new, less incompetent administration in place before it seeks its help. However, such political subtleties are not the strong point of the SLPP, which seems more intent on getting back on the streets than finding solutions to the economic mess.
While on the subject, it would be worthwhile to note as to when a ruling politician actually last walked with the people. Ever since the people’s struggle began, public places have been taboo for ruling party politicians. In fact, no ruling party politician has participated in a public event for the past 50 days, which in itself is a record for a country where politicians are known to hog the limelight day in and day out. It is yet another victory to the people’s struggle that politicians have been reminded of their dispensability and that they serve at the people’s pleasure.
Even though Sri Lankans have an infamous memory span of two weeks – and no one knows this better than the former Prime Minister who disappeared amidst a ruckus on Black Monday and appeared exactly two weeks later in Parliament, which had no recall of it – it would be a grave miscalculation if the relative calm these days is taken as collective memory loss of what ignited the struggle 50 days ago and all the contributing issues along the way that have added to its potency. In fact this interregnum could well be the calm before the storm – one of much greater intensity than Black Monday – if urgent solutions are not found to the problems confronting the people.
What must be kept in mind is that even though a new prime minister and a new cabinet have been appointed, they have not been able to resolve any of the issues that existed as of 9 May when all hell broke loose. If at all the very same problems have doubled and multiplied since then, with more increases in the price of essentials and greater scarcity of these items, including food, medicine, and fuel. The cost of living since Black Monday has continued to rise sharply, with no relief in sight even for the most distressed sections of society, contributing to the palpable sense of anger simmering beneath the veneer of an uneasy calm. Therefore, the provocative actions of the SLPP to stifle the progression of the 21st Amendment could lead to a bigger crisis than what we are already faced with. Rather than playing football with a ticking time bomb, the SLPP hierarchy will do well to throw its weight behind the newly-appointed administration to ensure the passage of the 21st rather than seeking to pull it by the leg for its own selfish needs.
Our politicians in general and the SLPP in particular must understand that this is probably the last opportunity this country will have of seeking a lifeline in a long time. If they fail to see the bigger picture beyond the needs of a couple of individuals at the cost of the rest of the nation, then the fate of this nation is as good as sealed. There could and should be only one objective in this last gambit – the country must win and win it must.
The last gambit
29 May 2022
The last gambit
29 May 2022
Yesterday (28) marked 50 long days since the people of Sri Lanka launched a peaceful struggle to assert and regain their constitutionally-prescribed rights, pre-eminent among them the right to life itself. Having endured burden after burden on the economic front – to the point that existence itself had become a challenge due to the ‘mistakes’ of their Government – while its Head stood aloof to it all thanks to a piece of legislation known as the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, the citizenry saw no other redemption than to struggle for its removal.
People gathered in their thousands right opposite the Presidential Secretariat, the iconic former Parliament building that now serves as the President’s office, on 9 April, demanding that the President step down and pave the way for a new leadership that was agreeable to the status quo ante prior to the 20th Amendment. It is this organically-driven struggle, based on that core demand, that is continuing to this day, attracting people from all walks of life – be they rich or poor, irrespective of religious or ethnic boundaries – that has resulted in the birth of not only a new village called ‘GotaGoGama,’ but also an iconic and globally-known struggle, ‘#Gotagohome’.
When this struggle first began on 9 April, just four days prior to the traditional New Year holiday period, odds were heavily in favour of it being a one-off and many in fact didn’t expect it to make it through the night, let alone the next 50 days. When dawn broke on the 10th, contrary to expectations, no one had left and those present seemed even more determined than the day before to achieve their objective. It is this watershed event that essentially closed the door on one generation and opened the door to the next – a brave new generation, determined to hold their leaders to account for their actions. Over the next 50 days this new generation of youth has done Sri Lanka proud, earning the respect of citizens here and abroad for their principled stance.
There is hardly a soul in Colombo who at some point or another has not visited Galle Face and lent their voice to the struggle, underlining the mood of the people. Not only did they visit, but did so carrying with them bags full of food and drinks despite their own financial difficulties, to extend solidarity with the cause and appreciate the efforts of those giving voice to their frustration. As a result, it has created a totally unexpected byproduct – an enduring, organic, homegrown platform for ethnic and religious reconciliation, a metamorphosis that the political establishment failed to deliver even 13 long years after the end of the war. This newfound unity has been organic to the extent that it dismisses every notion of the toxic politics of division, which unfortunately has been the tool of choice for politicians of all hues, but decidedly more so for the present lot that has a dark record of exploiting it to the maximum. However, all that is now history. Thanks to this pioneering movement, politicians have become outcasts and shunned by a public who not so long ago fawned at their feet.
Besides healing wounds and restoring age-old relations among communities, the Galle Face struggle has brought out the best in humanity among the nation’s diverse communities and rebuilt a long-lost trust and sense of unity not seen since the ’50s. All credit for this national awakening must go to the youth of this country, who not only stepped up to the challenge but were also clever enough to see through the wool collectively placed over their eyes by scheming politicians. But as we said earlier, these are only the byproducts of the struggle so far. In the main it has achieved over and above what many would give it credit for.
The first major victory was the resignation of the former Finance Minister, undoubtedly one of the architects of the current economic mayhem and one who must necessarily be held accountable for his actions during his tenure. Next was the resignation of the politician-turned-Governor of the Central Bank, co-architect of the mayhem and equally culpable as his boss, if not to a greater extent. For instance, it transpired during sittings of the parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) last week that the Central Bank busted almost the entirety of its $ 7.6 billion reserves in defending the rupee at an unsustainable Rs. 203 against the US Dollar and also using it to settle external debt, including International Sovereign Bonds. Adding fuel to the fire, the present Central Bank Governor revealed to COPE that the Treasury had deliberately misled Parliament by submitting wrong estimates. The question is, on whose orders were these things done?
More importantly, it was also the struggle that forced the resignation of the former Prime Minister and the entire Cabinet of Ministers. The movement is now within striking distance of achieving its core objective with the new Cabinet headed by the new Prime Minister fast-tracking the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, essentially reinstating the 19th Amendment and drastically pruning the powers of the Executive. Although there are arguments and counter-arguments as to the efficacy of the proposed Amendment, with the Opposition claiming with some degree of merit that it in fact strengthens the powers of the president as it allows him/her to hold ministerial portfolios contrary to the 19th, it nevertheless is a starting point towards the eventual abolition of the post, to which party leaders already agreed in principle last Friday.
With the ball now in the hands of party leaders to expedite and move the process forward, a blindside move by the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) has cast a cloud over the process. At a press conference last week, the General Secretary of the party had a sobering message for the Prime Minister who has taken the lead in pushing for the 21st Amendment: “First, solve the economic crisis and create an environment which allows a parliamentarian to walk freely on the road and have the mental freedom to think. Then, we can discuss a constitutional amendment.” The statement is keeping with the SLPP’s notoriously divisive style of running with the hare and hunting with the hounds. It exemplifies public perception of the party hierarchy living in a parallel universe, oblivious to the suffering of the people and the ground reality of a nation hanging on for dear life.
The only lifeline before the nation is the enactment of the 21st as envisaged in not-so-direct terms by the multilateral agencies. The SLPP Secretary’s statement at this crucial juncture, which undoubtedly has the blessings of the party leadership, shows the absolute insensitivity to the issues at hand, with the party’s sole concern being the protection of its errant MPs who, for all intents and purposes, have brought this situation upon themselves and the nation. Before asking the Prime Minister of two weeks to ensure the protection of its MPs, the SLPP must first look inward as to how things have come to this.
If the SLPP needs validation of this, it need not look further than the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, who, while speaking in Davos last week, was unusually direct in pinning the blame for Sri Lanka’s economic crisis on “mismanagement”. She did not mince her words in saying that she felt sorry for the people of this once-prosperous country, blaming the political establishment for mismanagement as the primary cause of the economic crisis. It is this very same IMF that Sri Lanka is banking on to bail it out and therefore, if the sentiments of its Managing Director are anything to go by, then the country better have a new, less incompetent administration in place before it seeks its help. However, such political subtleties are not the strong point of the SLPP, which seems more intent on getting back on the streets than finding solutions to the economic mess.
While on the subject, it would be worthwhile to note as to when a ruling politician actually last walked with the people. Ever since the people’s struggle began, public places have been taboo for ruling party politicians. In fact, no ruling party politician has participated in a public event for the past 50 days, which in itself is a record for a country where politicians are known to hog the limelight day in and day out. It is yet another victory to the people’s struggle that politicians have been reminded of their dispensability and that they serve at the people’s pleasure.
Even though Sri Lankans have an infamous memory span of two weeks – and no one knows this better than the former Prime Minister who disappeared amidst a ruckus on Black Monday and appeared exactly two weeks later in Parliament, which had no recall of it – it would be a grave miscalculation if the relative calm these days is taken as collective memory loss of what ignited the struggle 50 days ago and all the contributing issues along the way that have added to its potency. In fact this interregnum could well be the calm before the storm – one of much greater intensity than Black Monday – if urgent solutions are not found to the problems confronting the people.
What must be kept in mind is that even though a new prime minister and a new cabinet have been appointed, they have not been able to resolve any of the issues that existed as of 9 May when all hell broke loose. If at all the very same problems have doubled and multiplied since then, with more increases in the price of essentials and greater scarcity of these items, including food, medicine, and fuel. The cost of living since Black Monday has continued to rise sharply, with no relief in sight even for the most distressed sections of society, contributing to the palpable sense of anger simmering beneath the veneer of an uneasy calm. Therefore, the provocative actions of the SLPP to stifle the progression of the 21st Amendment could lead to a bigger crisis than what we are already faced with. Rather than playing football with a ticking time bomb, the SLPP hierarchy will do well to throw its weight behind the newly-appointed administration to ensure the passage of the 21st rather than seeking to pull it by the leg for its own selfish needs.
Our politicians in general and the SLPP in particular must understand that this is probably the last opportunity this country will have of seeking a lifeline in a long time. If they fail to see the bigger picture beyond the needs of a couple of individuals at the cost of the rest of the nation, then the fate of this nation is as good as sealed. There could and should be only one objective in this last gambit – the country must win and win it must.
Kapruka
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Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Automobile, Mother and Baby Products, Clothing, and Fashion. Additionally, Kapruka offers unique online services like Money Remittance, Astrology, Medicine Delivery, and access to over 700 Top Brands. Also If you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.Send love straight to their heart this Valentine's with our thoughtful gifts!