Features
IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI
by Chandra Arulpragasm
As a disclaimer, I need to state that I am not a Catholic, although a Christian. Nor do I claim to have walked in the spiritual footsteps of this man of God. I seek only to narrate my own experiences when I tried to trace the physical footsteps of St. Francis during his peregrinations in Italy. I must also state that whereas St. Francis walked all the way up and down the Umbrian and Tuscan Apennines in the summer sun and the rainy cold of winter, I had the relative luxury of doing the same journeys by car. I had this opportunity only because I happened to live in Italy for many years. For readers who know little of St. Francis of Assisi, I provide a brief biography, but only as background to my personal story of following the physical footsteps of this remarkable saint.
St. Francis was born in 1811 to the family of a wealthy cloth merchant in Assisi in the province of Umbria, near the Tuscan border. He was named ‘Francesco’ (little Frenchman) because of his French mother. He grew up among the idle rich, spending his youth in carousing and rowdy partying. Although his father wanted him to follow in the footsteps of his successful cloth trade, Francis only wanted glory at that time, in pursuance of which, he set out for the Crusades. But he already seemed to be undergoing a spiritual transformation. For he had hardly gone a few miles from his home, when seeing a poorly clad beggar in Spoleto, he stripped off his expensive clothes to wrap them around the beggar. (There is a graphic painting of this scene in Assisi). He was thus compelled to return to his family in shame and dishonour, for which his father never forgave him.
Meanwhile, his spiritual proclivities increased and he spent more time in prayer and penance. One day, while praying before an old Byzantine crucifix in the abandoned church of San Damiano in the woods, he believed that he heard the voice of Christ speaking to him from the cross asking him ‘to repair my church’. (I still have a small copy of this crucifix in my room).Taking the words literally, St. Francis soon went to work to repair the decrepit old Church of San Damiano with his own hands, brick by brick. It was only later that he realized that the call was to repair the mission and fabric of the Catholic Church, which was fast losing its way through wealth and corruption.
Taking to heart Christ’s teaching, he embraced the vow of poverty, assuming the model of poverty and service to Christ by tending to the spiritual and physical needs of the poor. He was a happy man doing God’s work, singing all the while, even when derided in the early days as being ‘God’s Fool’. Despite untold hardships, he and his twelve early followers were able to attract 5,000 friars to their calling within a period of 10 years. Being a born leader, Francis even went to the Church in Rome where, through his sincerity and holiness, he was able to convince Pope Innocent III to initiate a Franciscan Order, pledged to the ideals of poverty and service to God. Francis was not a rebel against his own Church: he was only trying to restore it to its original values of Christ’s teaching. It is heartening to see that the new Pope, Francis I has not only taken the name of Francis, but is also trying to do the same for the ideals and direction of the church. St. Francis stressed God’s brotherhood with man, with all people, rich or poor. In fact, he widened this spiritual embrace to all creation, including the birds of the air, the beasts of the field and to the entire universe. It is for this wider vision that he is now acclaimed as the patron saint of animals, the environment and indeed of all nature itself.
I now try to paint a picture of his life, as revealed to me by following in his physical footsteps. I start with St. Francis in his little church of the Porziuncola, which is associated with the start of his ministry. The Porziuncola was the shell of a little old church dedicated to St. Mary of the Angels, which Francis restored with his own hands. It is here that he later gathered his followers to start his small Order of Friars Minor. It is also the place where he received Clare (later Santa Chiara) into the service of God. The Porziuncola itself is very small, measuring barely 11 x 7 metres. Although gracefully adorned with paintings and frescoes, it is its stunning spiritual vibration that takes one’s breath away. It has made an indelible impression on me, compelling me to return to its spiritual space (the Proziuncola) repeatedly. It was also the place closest to St. Francis’ heart. On his deathbed, he was brought here and actually died within yards of it. Today this unassuming little church is covered by the massive Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli (St. Mary of the Angels), which not only dwarfs but almost devours it. Nowadays one has to navigate this great and graceless Basilica to get to its vibrant spiritual heart, the Porziuncola. But it is still a visit worth making.
From there we go again to San Damiano, a church restored with Francis’ own hands. It was during these visits to the woods that he started communing with the birds and composed his famous canticle to the birds. He asked them to praise the Lord for their freedom to fly, for not having to sow or weave in order to feed and clothe themselves. Completely blind in his dying days, he composed his famous Canticle to the Sun in which he praises all God’s Creation, including Brothers Sun, Moon and Stars, Brothers Wind, Fire and Water, praising them all as part of God’s Creation. It is this universality of humankind and its bond with the rest of the universe that has made him the patron saint of nature and the environment.
Adjoining the Church of San Damiano is the nunnery where Santa Chiara (St. Clare) lived in a single-room dormitory with her sister-nuns for more than 30 years. In her last years, afflicted with tuberculosis, she moved to an adjoining room with a balcony. It is from this balcony that she is reputed to have stopped the invading armies of Frederick II and later of Muslim invaders by holding up the monstrance (the host) while praying for God’s intervention. (This scene is captured in a famous painting in Assisi). Most touching of all is the refectory table where the mark of St. Clare’s plate for 40 years has left a deep indent in the 700 hundred year old table! A bowl of fresh flowers marks the spot, as a poignant reminder of her dedicated life. The nuns’ quarters also possessed a picturesque cloister, around which the sisters walked in meditation. Their cloistered courtyard still holds the 13thcentury well from which they drew their water.
Much of St. Francis’ life is brought to life by the frescoes and paintings which adorn the walls of the Basilica in Assisi. No attempt is made here to describe this treasure trove of religious art, since the reader can access it in any travel book. Hence reference will only be made to a few which illustrate particular aspects of his saintly life. The Basilica of St. Francis is actually comprised of three parts: the Upper Basilica, the Lower Basilica and the Crypt, where the remains of the saint lie buried. The Lower Basilica contains a number of frescoes and paintings, including one by the 13th century master Cimabue, who lived closest to Francis’ time. Unfortunately these frescoes are fading away; but we do have a contemporary 13th century portrait of St. Francis by Cimabue (a copy of which I still retain in my room). The Lower Basilica also contains the painting by Pietro Lorenzetti known as the Madonna of the Sunset because a wayward ray of light from the setting sun finds its way into the dark interior to light up this picture in brilliant gold. (My wife and I retained a framed copy of this painting in our bedroom for over 30 years). The Upper Basilica has the famous frescoes of St. Francis, attributed to Giotto, including especially his communion with the birds. The frescoes go on to illustrate further events in St. Francis’ life, including his receipt of the stigmata, the wounds of Christ in his own body.
There is also a painting of St. Francis’ encounter with the fierce wolf of Gubbio. The latter is a picturesque medieval town near the border of Umbria with Abruzzo, quite far from St. Francis’ usual haunts. It is a completely walled-off town, with steep cobbled streets which it strives to keep alive in its medieval splendour. It is said that in St. Francis’ time, a savage wolf used to attack the villagers, even carrying off little children to feed itself. When St. Francis visited this village, the people beseeched him to save them from this ravenous wolf. Addressing the animal as ‘Brother Wolf’, Francis was able to pacify it. He is even said to have made a pact between the wolf and the village, whereby the wolf undertook not to harm the villagers, while they undertook to feed and look after it. The wolf ultimately died of old age, as the village pet! There is even a painting of St. Francis accosting the wolf at the entrance to the town. Today the town of Gubbio is touted to tourists as a medieval town that is frozen in time. Archery contests are held here in imitation of old times, with the men dressed in medieval costumes unfurling their different cantonal flags, while the women parade the streets in their medieval finery. Heralds with banners and trumpets issue the challenge of Gubbio to an archery contest (on parchment written in 15th century style) to other medieval towns such as Sienna and San Marino. Then the rival archers, armed with old-style crossbows (but jazzed up with high-tech telescopic sights) vie with each other in the highly decorated central piazza. It is a lot of fun – and attracts much tourism.
My main interest centered, however, around St. Francis’ activities in La Verna. The latter was hardly habited in St. Francis’ time, being set in woodland forests littered with mountains and caves. It is a long 123 km climb from Assisi, climbing high into the Apennines of Tuscany through many miles and mountains of slippery slopes in winter rains. St. Francis used to spend some months each year meditating and praying in these caves. There are many stories about those times, one of which is about a hawk that used to fly into his cave to wake him up at 3 o’clock every morning. Instead of upbraiding the hawk, St. Francis sang an ode thanking ‘Brother Hawk’ for waking him up in time to praise the Lord! There was also a rough robber named Rufino (Rufus) who came to rob Francis while he was praying. Francis spoke to Rufus in words to this effect: ‘Brother, I have no money to give you; but come pray with me, so that you will find even greater riches in the Lord’. So Rufino knelt and prayed with Francis, and thereafter became his staunchest follower. So much so that Brother Rufus is now buried opposite the Saint in the crypt of the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi.
The whole area of La Verna is heavily wooded, adding to its sylvan beauty. Nearby is a Franciscan Sanctuary with its white-pillared arcade set into the side of a hill, while fluttering white turtle-doves provide a further peaceful picture. On the adjoining hill lies La Verna with its Basilica of the Sanctuary of La Verna. My wife and I have been visiting La Verna for 20 years (till we left Italy) when the place was unheard of and largely deserted. Now it has been built up with so many additional buildings, including tourist accommodation.
When we were reconnoitering around, we chanced upon a small cell in which St. Anthony, also of the Franciscan Order, used to meditate and pray during his stay at La Verna. It was a very small cell, hardly 8 ft x 8 ft, but with a wonderful view of the valley below. On walking farther on the hilltop, we stumbled upon an embedded rock whose writing proclaimed it to be the spot where St. Francis received the stigmata or wounds of the crucified Christ. The stigmata are wounds of nail-pierced hands and feet like those of Christ, with an added wound on the side. St. Francis was the first person to receive such a manifestation of his faith, but suffered greatly from these wounds.
Walking farther on the hill, we came across a quaint little chapel, seemingly frozen in time. Not knowing what it was, we nosed our way into its dim interior. It is now known as the Chapel of the Stigmata. We just had time to note the ornate choir stalls when we heard the sound of sonorous chanting in the distance, but coming ever closer to us. Soon a little old friar bustled in, fissy-fussing to tidy up before the oncoming procession. He almost died of shock to see us there: for no one was supposed to be there, least of all a woman (my wife). Although outraged, he could not chase us out into the path of the oncoming chanting procession. Not knowing what to do, he shoved us behind a narrow curtain and hushed us with fierce warning signs. Soon the procession entered. Not being a church man, I had never seen the likes of this before, and stood transfixed! The monks had apparently taken the vow of silence, coming out of their cells once a day to this chapel to sing praises to their Lord. They filed in two by two, heavily cowled so that one could not see their faces, looking rather sinister to me in the dimly lit church. There was pin-drop silence, except for their deep Gregorian chants. Entering the chapel, the monks peeled off to the left and to the right in well-known order, with each side taking its stand in the ornate choir stalls facing each other. Their faces could not be seen, nor was any word spoken: their leader only called out a line and the friars chanted their response. After about 20 minutes, they suddenly stopped without any word or sign, and peeled off in formation with cowled heads bowed, one following the heel of the other, with no word spoken! It left me breathless! It was not long, however, before the officious little friar descended upon us, berating us for our intrusion on this sacred ritual. It was an experience, however, that I will never forget.
And so we come to the death of this immortal saint. He was ailing for a long time, blind and suffering from his stigmatized wounds. In death, he wanted to be brought to his beloved Porziuncola, his spiritual home, where he was attended by his spiritual partner St. Clare (Santa Chiara). In his dying days he composed his wonderful Canticle to the Sun, which is a song of praise for God’s whole creation. He died in the year 1226 at the age of 44 and was canonized two years later. The government of Assisi had to send soldiers to guard his remains, for in the medieval superstition of those days, everyone wanted a piece of the saint! Thus ended the earthly life of this saintly man, whose physical footsteps I was privileged to follow. I can only conclude with the prayer attributed to St. Francis: a prayer relevant to all religions and one which I continue to keep by my bedside:
Lord, make me the instrument of your peace; Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is error, the truth; Where there is doubt, the faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; And where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek To be comforted as to comfort; To be understood, as to understand; To be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; It is in pardoning that we are pardoned; And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
(The writer, a member of the former Ceylon Civil Service, lived in Italy working for the FAO in Rome for many years)
by Premananda Atapattu
nandaata@gmail.com
A retired Senior Police Officer has reported and cautioned that there might be an attempt to disrupt the conduct of the presidential elections. It is a statutory obligation of the Executive to facilitate the smooth conduct of the polls and subsequent statutory events. However, to my knowledge even today the Sri Lankan government does not have a contingency plan to meet with such a situation.
The law enforcement authorities in Sri Lanka were not prepared to meet the contingencies which arose in the country begining from the 1971 insurrection. It has always been a recovery attempt made, in each case, except for the 1962 coup to overthrow the government, which came to light at the last minute, accidentally.
State outfits tasked with collecting and analysing the likely threats to national security have failed in their role during the last five decades. There was no central intelligence agency at the highest executive level of the State to collect, collate and analyse every piece of information relating to the national security and disseminate appropriately, timely, under acknowledgement; and create a preventive programme and have feedback obtained. This position should be regularised by stipulating as statutory obligations of each individual authority and appropriate records be maintained.
In a policing environment, it is an executive function that operates above the umbrella organisation in managing natural disasters and environmental hazards. Peace and safety of life and property of citizens is a priority. A policy framework needs to be identified as to how the State should manage its functions and policies in the context of the changing regional and global situation affecting National Security. Roles of the Executive; Armed forces and the Police should be stipulated as statutory obligations. It includes a coup to overthrow the government; jail breaks; hijacking of a VIP or an Aircraft and many other similar possibilities. In order for a police organization to draft a contingency plan, it must recognise a deficiency in the organis ation’s ability to operate efficiently and effectively in a crisis situation and there exists a need for a plan to put into action within the shortest possible time frame.
Therefore, it has to be in conformity with the National Security policy framework already in place and should receive the approval of the Executive. An action plan specifying how the policing function should be undertaken in a contingency situation has to be developed with the participation of the security forces and the police and all other state agencies executing and providing logistical support. Final product should identify a programme of action, which shall be a statutory obligation.
Man-made emergencies: While Law Enforcement agencies are responsible for dealing with the man-made emergencies, crisis situations and disasters, such incidents can be prevented or loss of life and property and the damage caused could be prevented or minimised, if carefully monitored in an intelligence gathering mechanism and included in a well-prepared prevention programme
Developing a Contingency plan.
The Objective of a Disaster Management Plan: Identifying threats to national security; public peace and the well-being of the citizens and implementing suitable plans to achieve and safeguard these objectives. Reducing the vulnerability and the effects of human induced hazards to a manageable level by identifying risk factors. Developing programmes to reduce the risks that can be envisaged and develop the capacity of the disaster management systems; response and recovery management systems at all levels to restore normalcy.
A contingency plan of the State:
A contingency plan of the State is a programme of actions prepared by the government aiming to respond to hazards and crisis situations that may occur in the country. The plan will provide the basis for rapid appropriate action. It has to identify all possibilities or vulnerabilities and how to respond to each of them effectively and take preventive and risk reduction measures. It has to identify clear policies, procedures and guidelines for action in response to early warnings. Each Ministry, responsible for providing essential services is required to take necessary measures to keep the country alive and function smoothly. It also has to prepare its own plans for meeting any contingency or a crisis situation that may occur. This includes supply of essentials like food and water; medicine; energy and power; public transport and many other essential services like health care utilization required to keep the citizens alive and secure civic conveniences as the nature and scale of the crisis may seriously affect people’s access to them. These include environmental hazards, flood; droughts; cyclones; epidemics and other likely hazards. “…To be effective, disaster management should be implemented as a comprehensive and continuous activity, and not as a periodic reaction to individual disaster circumstances…” (William, Vice President ADB, 1992.)
National Development and Disaster Management Policy:
First, most major departments within Government have a tangible and practical connection with disaster management. They have clearly defined roles and responsibilities throughout the total process of prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery (especially in these last three segments). These roles and responsibilities are formally laid down in the relevant counter disaster plans…” (. Disaster management: A Disaster manager’s handbook. Carter, W. Nick., Asian Development Bank, 2008.)
Under Sec: 10. (1) of the Disaster Management Act, “It shall be the duty of every Ministry; Government Department to prepare its own plan to meet an impending disaster”. However, even after two decades of passing the above noted Act, the Ministry in charge of Defence or the Department of Police and other agencies providing essential services to the nation, do not have such a plan of action which makes the destiny of citizens uncertain. Therefore, it is essential that the government should prepare a statutory framework to normalise a crisis situation and an action plan to restore the peaceful living of the citizens.
Maritime safety:
Sri Lanka also does not have a contingency plan for the safety of Maritime zones. This Plan should have the operational ability to operate throughout the Maritime Zones of Sri Lanka. It should identify all vulnerabilities like smuggling of arms and weapons of destruction and prohibited goods; robbery and all other illegal activities in territorial waters; acts causing environmental damage and pollution; oil spills or chemical spills etc. The role of each agency in normal situations and in a contingency should be identified. It includes the specific role of the Ministry of Foreign affairs; Ports authority; SL Navy; SL Air Force, and the agencies responsible for Policing including prosecution and all other agencies providing logistical support in a crisis situation.
Public alert system: In all contingency situations, it is the duty of the State to make the public aware that there is an impending disaster or a crisis situation or a crisis already occurred. Issue of public warnings and alert systems will be required, depending on the likely situation, may be amber or red alert system and the public will be ready to meet the crisis. The losses incurred could be reduced and the public will co-operate with the authorities and co-ordination of activities among authorities will also be achieved gainfully. This cause of action will ensure the public will not be panicky and daily routines and essential services will be carried out. In order to prevent each mass media broadcasting misinformation or different stories; versions, authorities should take full control of any situation.
Disaster mitigation and prevention: Disaster prevention and mitigation principles should be incorporated into all contingency plans.
A contingency Plan for the Police Department: Police department did not have a contingency plan in the year 1983 to prevent ethnic riots in the country or to execute at the time of attack on catholic churches in April 2019 or attack on peaceful demonstrators in Galle Face ground and Island wide attacks on the houses of ruling party politicians in May 2022 and the incidents that made the Head of the state to resign.
Attacks by Islamic terrorists in 2019:
Police department suffered the worst black mark on 21 April 2019,
by its failure to prevent attacks by Muslim terrorists in five locations in the country. Police department failed in their role to take action to prevent these incidents, although the Executive Head of the country, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and the Head of the Police department and those at the periphery level had sufficient and clear information about a planned attack which was conveyed to the appropriate authorities well in advance.
Defining the role of police and their powers: Drawbacks with the existing statutory provisions.
Existing statutory provisions in Sri Lanka do not address the statutory obligations and the role of the Police, Secretary and the Executive Head of the country adequately in the context of socio – economic and infrastructure and constitutional developments that had taken place since independence and in varied contingencies that may arise in different situations. The need for a such a plan was felt since the 1971 insurrection with the incidents disturbing the peace and in restoration of the public confidence and stability of the country.
Vulnerability assessment and profiling the risk factors: national security.
Absence of a sound Economic development strategy and a Policy framework to uplift living standards: With the change of every government, development policies had been changed since 1952 to date. Policy decisions have not been identified to preserve and develop the domestic industries, including manufacturing industries. Natural resources were not gainfully utilised. Developing global economic trends were not carefully followed in order to structure the economy to meet the actual challenges.
‘…A recent World Bank Group (WBG)study of road safety investment in South Asia revealed a crisis that has been exacerbated by the rapid growth in vehicle ownership and diversity of motorized and non-motorized traffic of varying sizes and speeds, without adequate protection for the most vulnerable. Vehicle ownership in Sri Lanka is already high by regional standards and grew by 67 percent between 2011 and 2018. If this trend continues, as expected, crash fatalities and injuries will steadily climb unless urgently required measures are implemented…”.
Absence of a permanent Foreign policy: In the absence of a permanent balanced foreign policy, the county suffers the risk of facing pressure to become a victim of global superpowers.
Demand for a power sharing mechanism:
It is essential that the Sri Lankan NATION should reach a settlement acceptable to both parties in order to ensure that the population in the Northern province and as well as their kinsmen in other provinces should not be denied their legitimate rights and to ensure that entire country will achieve benefits of a long lasting peace which will enable the saving of costs incurred in maintaining of national security.
Development of Jihadist movement and other extremist Muslim organizations:
Development of terrorist cells within the Muslim community also creates a major threat to national security. Adequate protection to prevent the spread of such cells within the country should be taken. Law enforcement agencies should be trained to collect and analyse all such forms of threats. Immigration department should be adequately trained to prevent unlawful force entry into the county which is not being done at present. “…Since Sri Lanka’s Easter Sunday massacre, the world’s worst terrorist attack in 2019, every Sri Lankan should understand that the next attack is in the making. To prevent a possible next attack, the recommendations of the Parliamentary Select Committee should be implemented…”. (Prof. Gunaratne.2022) In his book titled Sri Lanka’s Easter Sunday Massacre. Lessons for the international community he makes suggestions in detail, under the title “shaping the domain” 2023, as to how the Islamic space could be regulated, it should essentially draw the attention of Administrators dealing with the subject of Defence.
Interference of the NGOO in internal affairs of the country. Non-governmental Organizations (NGOO) operating here continues to accelerate their interference in the internal matters of the country, in the absence of an effective immigration control system and a statutory framework to control their sabotage activities.
The global superpowers are continuing with their undue interference in the internal affairs of the country as rivalry in the region continues to grow.
Overcrowding of Prisons and possible break away of a Jail. Overcrowding of prisons is a major threat and should find solutions to detain remand prisoners and convicts in separate prisons to prevent the formation of any heretical, subversive gangs and train the staff to counter a riot and jailbreak.
Identifying likely threats, creating buffers; developing strategies to prevent and meet them: The possibility of occurrence of actions such as the following and other possible situations should be considered and plans should be developed to prevent and meet these vulnerable situations by regular training of the Armed Forces and the respective authorities. Coup to overthrow the government; Abduction of a VIP; Hijacking of a VIP boarded Aircraft, etc.
Meeting a contingency: development of a national contingency plan.
Ultimate objective of a contingency plan: The ultimate objective of the measures identified should be to ensure that the citizens will feel that they are safe in any part of the country during all hours of the day and they are able to get on with their normal day to day affairs in a peaceful environment.
Response to a contingency: Establishing a Level of Response and identifying duties of all stakeholders: “…. Modern disaster management goes beyond post-disaster assistance. It now includes pre-disaster planning and preparedness activities, organizational planning, training, information management, public relations and many other fields. “…There are several options for dividing a plan into components or parts, such as: The main plan* usually contains the primary parts of the plan, such as the statement of mission, definition of the threat, legislative authority, policy matters, relationship to other emergency plans, organizational and operational implementation, warning mechanism, resources, request for assistance etc…”(Nick 2008)
Main components that should be accommodated in a DM plan. Plans prepared should identify the following roles of the police and the umbrella Ministry.
All types of risks and vulnerabilities to national security envisaged, likely threats to peace and stability, including man-made disasters.”…While it is recognized that no single emergency plan can reflect the full scope of the jurisdictional and emergency response complexities of a modern society, society can be served well by the sum total of several well-designed and focused agent-specific contingency plans, if these plans take care to focus on the jurisdiction and expertise of the agency assigned the specific task, and take advantage of the authority and expertise available in other quarters and through other contingency plans without unnecessary duplication of effort…” Guidelines for the Development of a National Environmental Contingency Plan” Peter G. Belling,. United Nations Environment Programme,2017.
The plan should also be made flexible enough to accommodate moderate political and structural changes to government departments without the need to make structural changes to the plan or significant revisions to the plan’s main elements. Such changes are usually subject to complex and time-consuming approvals processes…”. (Nick 2008)
Contingency plan for the Divisional Commands: It should be made the obligation of the Range DIGG and OICC Divisions to develop a separate contingency plan for each police Administrative Division, based on the vulnerabilities in each Division. Special attention should be given to safeguarding the State properties. Sacred places; Reservoirs; Electrical installations and water supply etc. A plan of action that should be taken to prevent / reduce and mitigate them.
Strategy to meet with a contingency after an incident; Recovery procedure; short and long term; Plan of action to mitigate them and the judicial procedure should be stipulated.
(The Writer is the author of the book, Crime Prevention Efforts in National Planning in Sri Lanka (2015). Second edition of this book contains a chapter on the above subject.)
The frenzy of the Sri Lankan presidential election is gradually decelerating itself. The outward frenzy fizzled out as Wednesday ended with the cessation of electioneering. We hope the frenzy will not simmer in the more violent of party members. What we earnestly hope for is a peaceful polling day, quiet when results come streaming in and peace to be absolute when the winner is announced.
Hence Cass decided to cast her jaundiced eye out across the oceans to comment on the week’s happenings. She is also weary of all the election meetings shown on television and strongly desires a change. She was faced with devastating floods in Poland; fires in Portugal, worse death causing retaliation by Israel in Lebanon. She chooses however to first dwell on the latest far out narrative concerning Trump.
Sniper attempt
On Monday 16 September, BBC News had the story breaking that Trump had been targeted the previous day by a lone gun-toting interloper in his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, near his 126-room palatial resort, Mar-a Lago. Trump was on the course golfing and a secret service agent spotted the barrel of a gun and shot at the bush it emerged from. The man escaped but was apprehended – name announced and fact he was an activist for Ukraine. No need to go into him and his explanation as those facts will be fully unraveled by the time you read this.
When the news broke on BBC News, Cassandra’s first thought in her doubting mind was that it was staged; considered in Trump’s or his advisors’ strategy as an effective weapon to discredit Harris and the Democrats and show Trump off as targeted but bravely continuing his run for presidency and campaigning, not giving up even his routines of golf. Any gimmick, however cheap or rotten, is possible with this man.
Trump spoke with Fox News Digital on Monday, the day after the attempted shooting, indirectly accusing the Democrats. He said the would-be assassin believed all that was said by his political rivals. “He believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it” was what 78-year-old Trump said. “Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at, when I am the one who is going to save the country and they are the ones that are destroying the country – both from inside and out. They say I am anti-democratic; they have brought cases against me. And, I am the one who will save you.”
Opposed to all these exaggerations and bluster, both Biden and Harris expressed their shock and great relief that he was not harmed. They definitely sounded sincere. Not for them turmoil in the country with the election so close at hand and also so close in competitiveness. No one else but Trump will suspect it was a Party or, to be exact, Harris’ manoeuver to eliminate him and thus assure a Democratic presidency. Her success is sure even now, to admirers of Harris like Cassandra. Trump’s diatribe is so juvenile; like the ranting of a child who has been punched by a co-primary student: puerile like the man himself.
Sleaze
Sir W S Gilbert, English poet, dramatist and journalist said that “It’s Love that makes the world go round.” It is true since among very many other reasons, most literatures – English undoubtedly – revolves around the theme of love, whether it be poetry, prose or drama. History from before the time of Adam and Eve is dotted with love stories. Love did cause writing, painting, songs and drama. Now the world seems to be revolving around money and looming large among the revolving impetuses is sex and sleaze.
BBC News broadcast much on one of its longest serving, highest paid news anchors, Huw Edwards; who pleaded guilty in July this year that he was involved in receiving from December 2020 onwards pornography of the illicit kind with children featured in them–something definitely criminal. His supplier of indecent images was Alex William, a 25-year-old convicted paedophile who pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing prohibited images of children. He was sentenced to a suspended one year’s conviction.
What Edwards was charged with was “making indecent images of children”. Cass further read what ‘indecent’ means in this context. It is archaic legalese for depictions of abuse. The trial was conducted in a London Court and he was given a suspended six-month sentence. So, he need not go to jail but he will be on the Sex Offender Register for seven years; has to follow a 40-day Sex Offender Treatment Programme and 25 related sessions. His light sentence was because he admitted to being severely mentally troubled for a long time.
There were calls between the supplier of the horrible sleaze and Huw but a fee as such was not paid. Rather was £ 200 gifted by Edwards to Williams for a pair of Nike trainers and again around one thousand five hundred which paid for Williams’ entry to university.
This case is not written about by Cass merely because it is of a BBC high status employee who now is sent out of the Corporation and has to give back salaries paid to him while the case was going on. It is relevant to us in Sri Lanka since corruption is rampant in this fair isle and sleaze and sex crimes cannot be out of the picture.
That US rapper, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, is in trouble for his being mired in sex dirt. I quote: “Combs was arrested by federal agents in New York on 16 Sept, charged with alleged sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. He was caught off guard by federal authorities at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Manhattan.” Personally, Cass has never ever listened to this man’s singing, if you can call what he does for money, singing.
Most shocking and notorious was the Jeffrey Epstein case with his famous friends like Prince Edward, who was relieved of all royal duties which means his position in the inner Brit Royal Family is kaput now. Epstein offered underage girls to his customers known as friends. Listening to a video interview with Melinda Gates, Cass was shocked to hear that one reason she was forced to divorce Bill after 27 years of so successful a life together of immense social work for humanity, so to say, was his friendship with Epstein. It emerged she had been patient on many issues, even allowed with grace his demand to meet an ex-girlfriend once every month. But maybe the inevitable men’s seven-year itch or more likely mid-life crisis hit Bill Gates.
Epstein reportedly committed suicide by hanging himself while in prison and before his case was called. Many disbelieved the verdict of suicide. It was rumoured he was killed due to the names he could divulge. At a poll conducted soon after, 16% respondents believed he committed suicide, 45% believed he was murdered and 39% were unsure. Natural justice prevailed; his bad karma manifested itself in this life itself.
What about our country and our men? Lily white? Particularly those clad in pristine white kapati suits. Tell Cass another; don’t anger her beyond measure.
Why this second part of her Cry this Friday just prior to a pivotal point in the history of our land? One because she is tired of election talk. Two because of what she hears about political high-ups. Many should be in prison or rehabilitation camps or offender treatment programmes! Particularly relevant to know punishments are meted out in other countries with no impunity and subverting the rule of law. In Cass’ opinion SL is well in the sickness of sleaze and sleazy behaviour. Can a woman walk a crowded street or travel in a crowded bus without being harassed? With system change promised by most of the presidential candidates and sworn to by the Big Three, shivers may be running along spines of offenders. We may see a better, cleaner, less rotten bunch of bigwigs being chosen to govern us by the new President. He is just days away!
September 15th marked International Day of Democracy and the aptness of reflecting on the future of democracy could not be stressed more at this juncture. The urgency of addressing this question is underscored by no less an incident of grave import than the recent second attempt, within just a few months, on the life of US presidential hopeful Donald Trump, besides other developments.
The apparent repeat attempt on the life of Trump by a lone gunman should ideally have the effect of alerting supporters of democracy the world over to the need to continually strengthen the values, processes and institutions that would ensure the continuance of this unique governance system. To begin with, globe-wide forces of democracy need to come together to unitedly voice a strong ‘No’ to the use of political violence within and outside democracies.
This is a matter that should not be treated as merely pertaining to the domestic politics of the US. If an attempt is being made to stymie democratic processes within the world’s ‘mightiest democracy’ through the use of murderous violence, the observer could not be faulted for taking the position that no state professing to be democratic could rest assured that it is free of the scourge of lurking, anti-systemic violence.
Since Sri Lanka will be conducting yet another presidential poll come September 21, it would need to take notable cognizance of the multiple dangers confronting democracy. As this is being written, reports have surfaced of a political killing and other forms of lawlessness in the country’s provinces, although the latter are of a sporadic nature currently. This ought to be a reminder that, although Sri Lanka is seen in some quarters as a successful democracy, it is a very fragile one. Democratic processes within it are in constant need of strengthening and consolidation.
Needless to say, Sri Lanka has been time and again witness to ‘nation-breaking’ violence. The 30-year, humanly highly costly ‘anti-LTTE’ war was one of these manifestations of runaway violence that could have torn the country apart. Yet, the totality of causes that led to the war remains apparently unrecognized by governments and sections of the public, rendering Sri Lanka’s democracy several-fold more fragile.
If Lankan governments are seeking a durable answer to ‘nation-breaking’ violence, there are specific democratic measures that could be taken by them to effectively manage such disruptions. One of these is substantive power devolution to the country’s North-East. Despite Sri Lanka arriving at what is considered a landmark presidential poll, this need is yet to be addressed notably.
The security forces’ military victory over the LTTE in 2009 has bred a sense of complacency among Sri Lanka’s power and social elites, which fosters the belief that the country is free of separatist violence forever, but this could prove a dangerous illusion in the absence of a durable political solution to the ethnic conflict. This state of mind is fraught with risks, considering that the roots of the conflict are remaining unaddressed.
In the case of the second attempt on Trump’s life, the world is confronted with a disquieting irony. This is on account of the fact that no less a political actor than Trump himself encouraged anarchic tendencies within the US by initially turning a blind eye on them and by even inciting his supporters to seize control of the Capitol Building on January 6, 2021, subsequent to his defeat at the hands of Joe Biden at the last presidential election. For example, he is on record as telling the US public that the ‘election had been stolen from him.’
This amounts to a gross subversion of the democratic process and to date Trump evinces no signs of his deeply regretting his supporters’ anarchic violence, although he went back on some of his initial pronouncements. Thus has democracy been undermined by a US President himself.
Besides making the democratic system of governance a laughing stock of authoritarian states, such as Russia and China, Trump has given anti-democratic forces the world over a huge fillip by failing to unreservedly accept the result of the last US presidential poll, which was seen by the relevant authorities as free of blemish.
However, the damage to democracy stemming from Trump’s incitement of anarchic violence, could be considered as already having been done in the case of the weaker democracies of the South. The admirers of Trump are far and wide and there is no doubt that they would be already seeing the violent overthrow of a democratically-constituted state as legitimate.
The appeal of populist and authoritarian political personalities, such as Donald Trump, within Southern polities should be considered quite extensive in view of the fact that the majority of the latter states are prone to personalism; that is, the irrational glorification of political leaders by the masses.
This could be seen as a Fatal Cleopatra of democratically-deficient Southern states. To the extent to which they uncritically acclaim populist political leaders in particular, to the same extent do they weaken their democratic institutions and associated value systems. The answer to this is the growth of a vibrant democratic culture which is a long-gestation project that needs to be nourished over decades.
The induction of technocratic elites into governance is not necessarily the solution to this deep-seated problem in the South. These elites could help in the economic growth process to a degree, but the fostering of democratic cultures could be made possible by only those visionary leaders who place at the heart of their development schemes social and economic equity in the truest sense. Thus far, with the exception of Mahatma Gandhi of India, it is difficult to identify any Southern leader in post-independence times who could be considered as having been a catalyst in substantive democratic development; which is essentially all about combining growth with equity.
Hopefully, these Southern polities would think deeply on these matters, going forward. A broad-based, deeply humanistic and secular education could be considered as essential to the building of Gandhi-type visionary leaders with broad sympathies. This undertaking could no longer be postponed by Southern states desirous of fostering democratic governance.
The issue is; could Sri Lanka be considered as equal to this challenge? Unfortunately, the answer at the moment is ‘No’. None of its ‘leaders’ vying for the presidency, for instance, has conceived of development for their country in strictly the above terms. We need to begin with humanity or ‘Reverence for Life’ and there don’t seem to be takers for this among Sri Lanka’s ‘leaders’.
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