Enemies of people

Wednesday 17th November, 2021

Nobody will buy into the government’s claim that it was to prevent the spread of Covid-19 that the police yesterday turned back many buses carrying SJB supporters from different parts of the country for a protest in Colombo. The police swing into action only when Opposition supporters violate the quarantine laws. They just look on when the culprits happen to be government politicians or their supporters. It was only the other day that the SLPP celebrated its fifth anniversary on a grand scale. Government politicians are also often seen taking part in various public events, where health regulations are blatantly flouted.

One cannot but agree with the SJB that the government is using pandemic control as an excuse to disrupt Opposition rallies. Mass protests are a worrisome proposition for any government in power. There have been many anti-government demonstrations during the last two years or so, and it is only natural that the SLPP is trying to suppress the Opposition on the pretext of controlling the pandemic. But it is not the government that the SJB should listen to, where the health crisis is concerned; it must respect and act according to health experts’ advice. After all, the SJB has urged the government to leave pandemic control to the health authorities, hasn’t it?

Medical professionals and the Public Health Inspectors have demanded that all mass gatherings including religious events be suspended to prevent the formation of infection clusters. Covid-19 cases are on the rise, and the day may not be far off when the death toll from the pandemic increases exponentially, causing the country to be closed again.

An explosive spread of the pandemic will lead to the closure of schools, which have just reopened, and deliver a crippling blow to the ailing economy again. Another lockdown will mean more job losses, a further drop in foreign reserves, scarcities of all sorts, and, in short, more suffering for the public. Is this what the SJB seeks in a bid to gain some political traction? It must act responsibly and prove that it cares for the people unlike the government. That is the way to make up lost ground.

On the other hand, there is absolutely no need for anyone in the Opposition to make an effort to bring down the government, which is digging its own political grave apace. Why should anyone distract it? No one in the Opposition seems to have read Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, the oldest military treatise in the world. Otherwise, the SJB would not have taken to the streets yesterday. Sun Tzu has said, “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” The Opposition is only providing a fresh rallying point for the warring factions of the SLPP.

By ignoring health experts’ advice and warnings, the SJB has shown that it does not scruple to further its political interests at the expense of the public.

At present, the best place where the Opposition can corner and expose the government is Parliament, where Budget 2022 is being debated. The SJB can tear the Budget, which is full of holes, into shreds if its leaders have the capacity to study the document and critically analyse its content.

Sadly, the Opposition top guns are wasting their time and energy in the House by kicking up rows and raising irrelevant questions. There is ample time for the SJB or the UNP to present alternatives to the current Budget proposals, etc., and thereby convince the public that they are more competent than the SLPP to manage the economy despite the huge blunders they made while in power from 2015 to 2019. Instead, they are busy fighting political battles in the House to the neglect of their legislative duties.

In commenting on the Budget, most Opposition worthies have been scoring quite a few Maggie’s drawers, and proved that they are no better than their SLPP counterparts they are trying to oust.

How could the SJB leaders who cannot even make a significant contribution to a budget debate, much less offer an alternative to the appropriation Bill, expect the people to believe that they will be able to salvage the economy if they are voted into office? Street protests are no substitute for a programme of action.