Government’s crisis calendar overflowing – Rajitha

By Saman Indrajith

Former Health Minister and senior SJB politician Dr Rajitha Senaratne says that the government’s crisis calendar is overflowing. Teachers and principals are on strike. Corpses are heaping up in morgues and doctors are calling for an immediate lockdown to contain the spread of pandemic.

The country’s political landscape is fast changing with unrelenting stress leaving people emotionally numb or tired, leading to crisis fatigue.

“In a way this government seems to see this pandemic as a blessing to cover itself in the face of growing public displeasure. If not for the pandemic people would have taken to the streets in their lakhs against the government…The sad truth is we are in a situation beyond recovery.

“The COVID-19 situation in this country is similar to a cancer patient in the third stage where there is no hope of recovery,” Dr Senaratne said during an interview with The Sunday Island.

“This crisis is a result of lack of organization. The government kept committing mistake after mistake. The first mistake was not listening to our calls to shut down or manage the airport – the main entry point of the virus when it was spreading across nations. Instead, they invited more tourists to visit this country.

“After months of detecting the first infected, they closed the airport but it was too late. Second, we with doctors urged the government to go for a lockdown to contain the virus. The government took our call for a joke. They said lockdown was not needed as there were only 23 patients. Later when the situation turned worse, they imposed a curfew.

“Lockdown is a health measure while a curfew is a military measure. We called for a lock down where shops, pharmacies and hospitals are open and people can go to market to purchase goods. In a lockdown civil movements are there but no loitering and hanging around in places are allowed.

“Other countries did the same. The government imposed a curfew. After realizing the mistake it had committed the curfew was lifted. People in their thousands rushed to the market for rations and goods paving the way for massive spread of the virus. Third blunder it had committed in buying vaccines.

“In May last year we advocated that the government place orders to buy vaccines. By that time the US, the UK and Canada and other countries were placing orders. The government waited till this year to place orders and that delayed inoculation process. Many other countries have completed administering vaccines on more than 50 percent of their people.

“All decisions are made by the presidential task force comprising the president, the army commander and several Viyath Maga doctors who neither have experience nor qualifications to tackle an epidemic situation. Asking them about epidemics is something like asking an electrical engineer to construct a building.

“The government did not follow WHO guidelines or study this country managed to control diseases and epidemics in the past. They need not go many decades back to learn. They could have learnt from its predecessor government that eliminated six diseases from this country – malaria, filaria, measles and rubella, mother to child tetanus and mother to child HIV.

“All decisions are made by the presidential task force where the experts’ voice is not heard. Those on the presidential task force do not listen to anyone. We have WHO recognized experts such as Dr Palitha Abeykoon, Dr Lakkumar Fernando and Dr Ananda Wijewickrama for controlling epidemics. This government does not recognize him but only their political henchmen doctors.

“About one and half months back I predicted that the Delta variant of the virus would be in Sri Lanka in August-September and around 200 persons would be dying daily. Prof Suneth Agampodi too made the same prediction. The government is not facing the problem professionally but challenging the virus. The next thing we can do is to prepare cemeteries for mass burials or cremations.”

Q: This pandemic is creating social, economic and political crises. What would be possible political consequences?

A:

Economic mismanagement started prior to the advent of COVID-19. There had been a 1.6 percent negative economic growth rate in the first quarter of 2020. Later it turned worse to record a minus 3.5. That is the worst record in our history. It is at a time when other countries including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Maldives were showing better rates making use of the advantages of pandemic statistically as fuel prices and consumption went down because of the crisis.

The decision to ban chemical fertilizers was a fallout of the economic problem. As a result not only the paddy cultivation but also tea plantations are affected. Tea, which is one of the biggest exports, is worst affected.

Sri Lanka was the best country in the world in implementing immunization projects until this government bungled the COVID-19 vaccination programme.

Q: In this situation what the Opposition is doing? Are you happy with the SJB’s performance?

A:

We are not happy and we are not doing enough. What more can we do with this COVID situation? We cannot bring people for protests or to hold rallies exposing them to the virus. This situation is a blessing to the government. Otherwise people would have come out to the streets in their lakhs against the government.

The SJB is a new party. At the last presidential and general elections we had only a name board and a figurehead. We did not have a working committee, a politburo, an executive committee or party branches. It was only after election that we started our working committee, management committee and party branches. As we got started, the second wave of the pandemic came and we had to suspend our work.

Q: Mangala Samaraweera is speaking about forming a new alliance of parties to engineer a regime change. He is said to be one of the candidates at the next presidential election. Will he stand a chance?

A:

If they come forward to unite all anti-government forces to form such an alliance, then that is good for the country and people. Otherwise it would not be an useful exercise.

Why didn’t Mangala Samaraweera contest last time? After consulting surveys and opinion polls he was certain that he would lose so he stepped out. Sagala Ratnayake too opted out for the same reason. How can such people run for presiden? A presidential election should be contested by candidates who have people’s support.

Q: Kumar Welgama too is talking about forming a grand alliance. It is rumoured that former President Chandrika Kumaratunga agreed to bring in her son Vimukthi Kumaratunga to politics if such an alliance is formed. Would you like to comment?

A:

People who had voted for the incumbent government in 2019 and 2020 will vote for us in the next election to send this government home. To chase out a party, they vote for the next most powerful party, not for a third party. Whether we like it or not that is how people always vote in this country. They vote for one of the two main forces. As a person who has tried my level best several times to bring about third forces alternative to the two main political forces I know by experience that would not work. Every time that failed.

We no longer have leaders like Vijaya Kumaratunga, Lalith Atulathmudali and Gamini Dissanayake to amass people’s votes using their charisma. We do not have leaders of that calibre today to form a formidable third force. There are those speaking of such things but what is their past experiences? Have they at least tried once? So their talks will remain words.

Q: What do you think of the future of the UNP in politics?

A:

UNP is a spent force. It cannot be resurrected. There is no future for the UNP. It is a dead force. It has come down to a mere two lakhs of votes. Even an independent candidate in a presidential election can get two lakhs of votes. Its party leader had been in parliament since 1977 but lost this time. Lot of UNP supporters are joining with the SJB.

However, I am happy about Ranil Wickremesinghe’s presence in parliament. Compared to the people we have in parliament, he with his vast experience and knowledge is an asset to the House. But the problem is he or his party men have no future unless they join with us to form a grand alliance.

Q: So you too have hopes of a grand alliance?

A:

Yes, we must form a grand alliance under the leadership of the SJB led by Sajith Premadasa. People have elected him as the Leader of Opposition. He is a person who can lead the entire opposition.

Q: Will Sajith Premadasa ever be able to win a presidential election?

A:

He can. Last time there was a wave against us. It crested for the SLPP. Next time the SLPP will not have the same support. If we prepare a sound program that would settle the problems of people, then that wave favour us next time. We have a very good chance.

Q: Is there anything else you want to add to this?

A:

Currently there are shortages and there will be more. There are shortages of gas, fertiliser, milk powder, medicine etc. These shortages are due to suspension of imports. This country is being led back to the pre-1977 era where there were such shortages and import bans. That policy had been defeated by the entire country in 1977 giving a five sixths majority in parliament to the party that promised to do away with bans.

The bans of government are nonsense. Take the example of fertilisers. The government is campaigning against chemical fertilisers. A plant will absorb the nutrient elements in chemical form, whether from organics or inorganics. Plants need potassium, calcium, phosphorus and minerals. They cannot absorb fertilisers, they absorb chemical elements. It is like taking vitamins. One can eat ten papaws to get his vitamin A requirement or take a single pill.

There is no quick way out of the present crisis. The first priority should be to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. It is now like a cancer patient in the third stage of disease. If the illness had been diagnosed in the first stage, then the patient could have been recovered with proper treatment. That stage has now passed. The cancer has now spread to other parts of the body. It is not curable.