Editorial

The second wave

Published

6 years ago

2020/10/11

The Covid-19 situation has dealt Sri Lanka and all its people a deadly blow on their collective solar plexus. But none of us can place our hands on our chest and swear “not guilty” to the charge of not doing everything we should have in the situation we were placed in. For the past several weeks we have been warned by those who know best that we have been allowing our guard to slip. It has been repeated almost ad nauseam that far too many of us have been acting as though things had normalized; and this was absolutely dangerous. Many people sign off their emails with a ‘stay safe’ exhortation. But how many of them practice what they preach? Human nature is such that the easy way is what the vast majority chooses, however tight the circumstances. Now the deadly virus has caught the feared second wind and the country is faced with many hard options.

The safest thing to do would be to lock down, the way we did or was forced to do, the first time round. But at what cost? Tens of thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of our people are daily wage earners eking out what is barely sufficient for the day. While a lock down can slow, though not entirely arrest, a community spread, it is not an ironclad guarantee that everything would be tickety boo very quickly. In the meantime an economy that is already in very bad shape sinks deeper in the mire. Added to that is the human misery that it heaps on the poorest of the poor. There was a pre-election handout (if we may call it that) of Rs. 5,000 per needy family. A second similar installment was promised but many people complained that they didn’t get it. A third installment was also supposed to be on the way but that did not materialize.

How badly the Samurdhi poor relief scheme is targeted is common knowledge; large numbers in dire distress do not get it while many of those not qualifying do. There was a newspaper report in the early days of the scheme that an MPs parents were Samurdhi recipients. We do not know whether the son did not look after his elderly parents or whether he facilitated the Samurdhi benefit paid to them. However that be, there is no escaping the reality that even a basic poor relief scheme has been massively politicized in this country of ours. There were reports that the lock down relief granted, with an election down the road, was seized by politicians to gather votes for themselves. It was alleged that application forms for the assistance were sometimes distributed in the homes of Pradeshiya Sabha members. The intervention of the Elections Commission was demanded. Nobody would have been surprised at what happened; the cause for surprise would have been if it did not happen!

President Gotabaya Rajapksa is on public record saying he gets thousands of text messages urging him to bring back Lankans working overseas. Doing that in an unregulated manner will be asking for trouble and the president, with the best will in the world, cannot do that. While all of us can well understand the anguish of our countrymen, who have long supported national coffers with their remittances, stranded in sometimes high risk places undergoing great hardship, there is little that can be done to help them at present. There have been some repatriation flights but not nearly enough. There was talk of reopening the Katunayake International Airport, even in a limited manner, when the Brandix cluster hit us. Obviously tourism on which this country is greatly dependent cannot regain a semblance of normality with Katunayake closed. Even if it was open, given the global reach of the pandemic, there would have been few takers for holidays in this “land like no other.”

Claims and counterclaims are flying around aplenty. Organizations like the GMOA that strongly supported the election of the incumbents say that we had not even utilized the existing 3,000 tests per day capability and were doing only a thousand when the latest blow struck. Then 5,000 tests a day was claimed and the obvious question arises of how it is possible to exceed available testing capacity. Dr. Anil Jasinghe, who held the position of Director General of Health Services when the Covid blow struck, and was one of the most visible front line fighters of the pandemic, was moved out of that job and made Secretary to the Ministry of Environment. It was cynically asked whether this doctor, who held high WHO office in his previous avatar, was expected to fight Covid in the environment. Jasinghe was replaced by a Major General of the Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps.

Now we are told of some strange shenanigans at the Medical Research Institute (MRI) whose acting director has been made deputy director and the deputy director made director, whether acting or not we don’t know. What we do know is that the long-established MRI built by a philanthropist to commemorate Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee, has for over a century been engaged in doing highly reputed research work in fields like virology, bacteriology, parasitology and much more. It would obviously a fortress for the army of front liners battling the pandemic. A bhikku who was one of the strongest supporters of the ruling SLPP made some scathing remarks about the changing of the guard at the MRI a couple of days back. Health Minister Pavitra Wanniarachchi offered an explanation of sorts in parliament the other day but it is yet unclear whether she has satisfied Ven. Muruttetuwe Ananda whose temple at Narahenpita was a virtual headquarters of the SLPP not so long ago.

What is crystal clear is that the country is confronted with a frightening challenge while its leaders are obsessed with enacting a 20th Amendment to our periodical-like constitution that was not part of the promised “Vistas of Splendor and Prosperity.”

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Editorial

Govt. drops fig leaf

Published

9 hours ago

2026/04/11

Thilina Walpola

Saturday 11th April, 2026

The JVP-NPP government has dropped the fig leaf of good governance and defended Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody allegedly involved in a coal procurement scam, which has cost the state coffers billions of rupees and caused a huge drop in the national power supply. It went so far as to defeat a no-faith motion against him in Parliament yesterday. In 2023, the JVP/NPP vehemently condemned the then SLPP-UNP government for defending Minister Keheliya Rambukwella allegedly involved in a pharmaceutical procurement scandal. It has just done what it vilified its predecessor for.

The SLPP-UNP government at least allowed legal action to be taken against Rambukwella, who was arrested, remanded and prosecuted, but the incumbent administration has ensured that Jayakody remains above the law.

The no-faith motion was a smart move by the Opposition. It caused the government to make a mockery of its commitment to upholding the rule of law and accountability. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake himself defended his friend, Jayakody, in Parliament on Tuesday, sending a clear signal to the NPP parliamentary group; they had to vote en bloc against the no-faith motion on Friday. It is now clear that the JVP-NPP government has no qualms about defending tainted politicians.

The coal scam will not go away simply because the no-faith motion against Jayakody has been defeated. Governments abuse their parliamentary majorities to defend their members and protect their interests. Now, the Opposition will take the coal issue to the streets and flog it hard to gain political mileage. It held a demonstration near Parliament yesterday. It has got hold of something to beat the government with.

There is no way the government can prove its claim that there has been no wrongdoing on its part where the low-grade coal imports are concerned. The National Audit Office itself has pointed out serious procurement irregularities related to coal imports. Power tariffs will have to be increased again to meet the additional cost of operating oil-fired power plants to make up for the generation shortfall at Norochcholai. It has been reported that Sri Lanka’s household electricity tariffs are among the highest in South Asia, and further power tariff hikes will make the situation far worse, and Sri Lanka will have its work cut out to attract foreign investors who factor in power prices before parking their money in any investment destination. Ordinary Sri Lankans are struggling to make ends meet, and their patience is wearing thin, and this will make the task of mobilising popular support easier for the Opposition. It was people’s economic hardships and public protests that made the JVP’s meteoric rise to power possible in 2024.

Governments with supermajorities succumb to the arrogance of power and ruin things for themselves. The best way out of the current coal imbroglio would have been for the JVP-NPP government to ask Minister Jayakody to step down and let the national anti-graft commission and the police institute legal action against him. Such a course of action would have helped the government convince the public that it was serious about fulfilling its pledge to eliminate bribery and corruption and send a clear message to the corrupt elements in its ranks that they would not be protected.

The JVP/NPP is now without any moral right to be critical of former Presidents who defended their cronies involved in corrupt deals. A fish is said to rot from the head down.

Editorial

Corrupt vs Corrupt

Published

1 day ago

2026/04/10

Thilina Walpola

Friday 10th April, 2026

A motion of no confidence against Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody is scheduled to be taken up in Parliament, today. The JVP-NPP government, which came to power promising to eliminate bribery and corruption and cleanse Parliament, finds itself in an unenviable position. It assured the public that its members would be above suspicion, but it is now in the dock over a corrupt deal. It has chosen to defend Minister Jayakody indicted of corruption and allegedly involved in a corrupt coal procurement deal. The only way the JVP/NPP can extricate itself from the current imbroglio is to ask Minister Jayakody to step down.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake badly dented his good governance credentials on Tuesday by claiming in Parliament that the low-quality of coal imports had caused a drop in electricity generation at the Norochcholai power plant, but there had been no irregularities in the coal procurement process. He sought to fix the blame squarely on the coal supplier. He was obviously defending his friend, Jayakody, caught in a cleft stick. Interestingly, no sooner had he made that claim than the National Audit Office released its report on the coal procurement process revealing very serious irregularities therein. This official document has helped knock the bottom out of the government’s argument in defence of Minister Jayakody.

Keheliya Rambukwella and several Health Ministry panjandrums who served under him were arrested, remanded and prosecuted for their involvement in the procurement of substandard medicines which caused huge losses to the state coffers. So, why Minister Jayakody and his officials have not been dealt with in a similar manner over the coal scam defies comprehension. There is a prima facie case against them. The JVP-NPP government has made a mockery of its commitment to upholding the rule of law and accountability. The SLPP-UNP government ruined its chances of winning elections by defending Rambukwella and defeating a no-faith motion against him in 2023. The JVP-NPP administration is doing something similar.

The worst is yet to come where the adverse impact of the coal scam is concerned. Electricity tariffs will have to be increased again to recover the additional cost of burning diesel to produce more than 150 MW of electricity a day to make up for the Norochcholai generation shortfall caused by low-grade coal imports, independent experts have pointed out, warning of power cuts in a few months. The Opposition has stated that unofficial load shedding is already on. It has produced documentary proof in support of its claim.

More information about the Health Ministry procurement rackets came to light after the defeat of the no-faith motion against Rambukwella. Similarly, the magnitude of the coal procurement scam is yet to be determined. JVP/NPP politicians are known for their glib tongue, but they will not be able to pull the wool over the eyes of the resentful public battered by the soaring cost of living.

Two-thirds parliamentary majorities are apparently accursed in this country. Governments with such steamroller majorities indulge in corruption, succumb to the arrogance of power, which blinds them to reality, and dig their own political graves. They remind us of Lord Acton’s words of wisdom about the corruptive nature of power. One may recall that the SLFP-led United Front government, which abused its two-thirds majority, had a Humpty-Dumpty-style fall in 1977.

The Mahinda Rajapaksa government, which had a razor-thin majority, defeated the LTTE, developed the economy, implemented many development projects and lived up to the people’s expectation, but it failed pathetically after securing a second term and mustering a two-thirds majority in 2010. It became a metaphor for corruption, and suffered a catastrophic fall. The Gotabaya Rajapaksa government also became a victim of its two-thirds majority, so to speak. The JVP-NPP government is moving in the same direction, defending corrupt politicians and covering up crooked deals.

Ironically, many key Opposition figures who are flaying the JVP-NPP government for corruption and trying to engineer its ouster are themselves facing allegations of corruption. The people seem to have little option but to set thieves to catch thieves.

Editorial

Interval in hell

Published

2 days ago

2026/04/9

Sahan Weerasooriya

Thursday 9th April, 2026

The whole world must have heaved a huge sigh of relief yesterday when the US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire, with Israel consenting to follow suit. Pakistan deserves praise for a timely intervention to de-escalate the West Asian conflict and prepare the ground for negotiations aimed at working out a lasting solution.

However, the situation is far from right as rain. What we are witnessing in the trouble-torn West Asia, which is red in tooth and claw, is an interval in hell, so to speak. Over the past several days, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to unleash hell on Iran unless the Hormuz Strait is reopened for international navigation. Hell hath no fury like a US President piqued, one may say with apologies to the Bard. There are some contentious issues to be resolved for a durable solution to be negotiated.

Iran has put forth 10 conditions and the US 15 for ending the conflict peacefully. It is now up to the other world powers and the UN to step in and ratchet up pressure on the US, Israel and Iran to reach a middle ground, without resuming hostilities, and give peace a chance. They ought to do so for their own sake. Occasions were not rare when the world experienced the so-called butterfly effect, or the phenomenon whereby a minute localised change in a complex system has large effects elsewhere. But what it has recently witnessed in West Asia may be described as the Pterosaur effect, as it were, the impact of the conflict on the rest of the world being so huge. Oil prices soared, making economies around the world scream. Some leading economists even warned of possible global stagflation risks in case of prolonged energy shocks from the Iran war. Oil prices came down significantly following the announcement of the ceasefire, but it is highly unlikely that they will return to the pre-conflict level of USD 70 a barrel any time soon due to irreparable damage suffered by critical energy infrastructure in the region. This has been the cost of US-Israeli military aggression.

Long dead as Mahatma Gandhi is, a core tenet of his teachings, nonviolent resistance, lives on today. What the Iranians adopted yesterday to protect their power plants, bridges, etc., vis-à-vis US President Trump’s threat to destroy them in a matter of a few hours was the Gandhian method of countering violence with nonviolence. According to media reports, a large number of Iranians gathered around potential US/Israeli targets, appealing to the conscience of the Americans. Whether their conscience-stirring method was the reason why Trump decided against carrying out his threat to annihilate the Iranian civilization in one fell swoop is a moot point, but blowing up infrastructural facilities together with thousands of unarmed civilians is something that no leader, other than someone like Hitler, can bring himself to do. Trump is already facing protests in the US against his war and has incurred international opprobrium for US aggression. Most of all, an attempt to wipe out a whole civilization would have triggered a spate of retaliatory attacks by Iran on multi-billion dollar US assets in the region.

It is ironic that the Iranian authorities who mercilessly ordered crackdowns on civilian protests before the eruption of the conflict had to urge the people to come out in their thousands and form human chains around infrastructural facilities to protect them.

One thing we gather from the West Asian conflict is that some elderly leaders’ dreams can become nightmares for others, especially the youth. Driven by his MAGA dream, Trump is trying to build an empire and grab the precious oil resources of other nations. He has graduated from abductions (in Venezuela) to assassinations (in Iran) in a bid to realise his goal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that a 40-year-old dream came true for him when he and Trump started attacking Iran. The Iranian leaders have also been dreaming of obliterating Israel. These dangerous dreams of ageing leaders remind us of Wilfred Owen’s Anthem for Doomed Youth: “What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? — Only the monstrous anger of the guns …” Perhaps, the best elderly leaders with a penchant for belligerence can do for the world, particularly the youth, who bear the brunt of any war, is to stop dreaming.

It is hoped that the peacemakers who have undertaken the onerous task of reconciling the warring parties in West Asia will not lose sight of the need to address the root cause of the conflict. While welcoming the Pakistan-brokered ceasefire, many seasoned analysts have pointed out that without a resolution of the Palestine question, particularly working towards a two-state solution supported by the UN, broader peace initiatives in West Asia are unlikely to reach fruition.