Mayday! Mayhem in the making?

Friday, 26 May 2017

By the time you read this, you would have perused many pieces,
no doubt, on the precarious state of the nation of late. The painful
memories of April-May Meethotamulla pitfall and the proposed
appointment of a military panjandrum to curb, inter alia, a rising
spate of civil unrest in our country, among other imbroglios have
been overshadowed by more recent events of alarming
proportions.
With that said, the calibre and ethos of the egregious Cabinet
shuffle cannot pass without comment even from the ranks of
Tuscany. Size matters, as the actress said to the bishop, but Im
not going to mention that its obvious that these jumbo cabinets
are here to stay for good or for bad, or for ugly, and for worse
no matter what taxpayers say or critics carp about, quite rightly.

Size might hurt you, as the bishop said to the actress and if
you had watched a certain media channels reportage on it, and
caught its group media directors social media comment on it,
youd agree with him about the need to justify jumbo cabinets
tax-money-spend. Carp and cavil we can or must, citizens!

The channel caught Cabinet ministers arriving at the Presidential

Secretariat earlier this week ahead of the Cabinets most recent
attempt at musical chairs and that senior journalists comments
spoke volumes about the ongoing egregious spend of our monies:
You will be shocked to see how our politicians arrived this
morning at the Presidential Secretariat for the reshuffle. Rising
cost of living? Clearly not for these guys The price tag on the
ministerial vehicles ranged from the lower-end Audi Q7s and
Porsche Cayenne Ss (price-tag: Rs. 22 million apiece), through the
2013 Toyota Landcruiser valued at a mere Rs. 27 million
(someones minding the austerity budget, maybe), to the upper-
echelon Mercedes S-Class and Benz GLS 400 SUV (both Rs. 35
million) right up to several BMW 7 Series super-luxury cars (Rs. 38
million apiece), and even a 2017 Toyota Landcruiser valued at a
cool 40-million smackers.

Not that MRs mandarins were any less austere than MSs
spendthrift Cabinet! But these are the good guys they say!
And what will they do for an encore if floods follow garbage-dump
collapses, as they are bound to do, given the displeasure of the
weather-gods at our rulers? (That IS a laugh it ALWAYS rains like
this in May, silly but dont tell our philosopher-kings that bit of
bad news yet.)

Times also way past for more than sundry denizens of some deep
dark corner of the web, posting poignant cavils about the depths
to which weve sunk again, to wake up and smell the odour of
burning napalm in the morning and the stench of Good
Governances credibility going up in smoke. The previous regime,
which our incumbents ousted with our help (which they seem to
have forgotten), was bad enough with its strongmans alleged
bribing of 17 then opposition MPs to crossover ahead of the
spurious release of his dastardly corruption files It was a
Machiavellian move that forever transmogrified the strongly
bipartisan polity which we had once enjoyed, warts and all, up to
that watershed.

But now we have to hear how the Rajapaksas & Co.

sequestered an irrecoverable Rs. 18 billion (or is it 1.8 b, God only
knows) in Sri Lankan assets while the powers that be seem keen
to prove the maxim that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
And what do we have to show for it except Ravi and Mangala
swopping (no pun intended, I meant portfolios) and sundry
mandarins cursorily shifted around at the Presidents pleasure or
is it the Prime Ministers men were seeing get the plum posts
again?
Of course, in an extended profile of portfolios which embraces a
Minister for State Assets and an entirely separate Minister for
National Assets (to say nothing of sub-ministries for strategic
development, development assignments, and special
development assignments, or some such-like), there is hardly any
pleasure for the people Only pain at how the whole kit and
caboodle of Government continues on its merry caravan-like way,
at the performers pleasure, theirs, until we get to vote next Im
not holding my breath for We The People have demonstrated
an incredible penchant for being gulled again and again, and
incredulously pontificating on how the more things change the
more they remain the same grumble, grouse, par for the
course!
What ails the republic? (That old familiar feeling)
Once upon a time, in the fairy-tale republic of never-was-Ceylon,
newspapers would suffice to clue one in. Today, and yesterday for
a decade or so, the state of the not-quite-Democratic so-nasty-
Socialist neo-pseudo-Republic of Sri Lanka is demonstrably
reflected by denizens posting on social media. (Lets leave the
kos polos out, for the nonce).

True, it is hardly a subaltern view An alternate reality lies out

there as arguably most tangibly felt in the fever-pitch pulse of
the crowds at Galle Face a little over three weeks ago But the
view from above (as it were) will do for the purposes of this
column: Which is to highlight the nasty, naughty, natural,
normalised, necessarily utilitarian nature of realpolitik in its
present avatar. I am not hankering for another dose of
antidemocratic authoritarian tyranny. Dont get me wrong.
However, our pseudo-democratic fat-cats and ex-fascistic
hopefuls are leading the nation astray or allowing the national
industry of chauvinism too free a reign. While they feather their
own nests and stick feathers in each others caps
#1 Dancing the merry devil: Take the recent Cabinet cabaret act.
Said one media-savvy commentator in a post depicting three
emoticons remaining mum: Masters at musical chairs, arent
we? The monkeys did not play stumm, eschewing emulating the
see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil attitude of their peers
from Hambantota to Havelock Town to Horowpotana who are not
on Facebook.

New seats. Old shuffle technique. Jokers in the pack remain the
same quipped one orang-utan. To which another beautiful
baboon responded: Yes, and the genre for the game of musical
chairs is kolam. The end game is to b*gger the nation. Yet
another aped the conventional wisdom by adding: Giving
everyone a fair chance to await their turn to make their fortune.
Well, Ill be a monkeys uncle!

The bottom line: Good Governance has lost the goodwill of the
very people who ached for a change of regime and gubernatorial
ethos. The powers that be have squandered their chance, the
currency they enjoyed, the opportunities they were presented on
a platter, the gift of a lifetime for a coalition administration
hamstrung by the vagaries of realpolitik. If certain Cabinet
portfolios had to be changed to make Government more
accountable, they could and should have swopped portfolios a
long time ago the minute the whiff of anything unsavoury was
smelled in the treasured corridors of power. Doing it now, under
duress and democratically expressed displeasure, smacks of
pragmatism. Still, there is no guarantee that the Augean stables
will be cleansed even after the Treasury, er Trojan, Horse has
bolted. A little gecko (or Gordon Gekko la greed is good)
dropping stinks up a whole closeted Cabinet. Can it also be that
Government has done itself a serious disservice by transferring
out the best Foreign Minister weve had since the late much-
lamented Lakshman Kadirgamar? Mangala had proved his mettle
so mores the pity he had to fall prey to realpolitik because his
colleagues fell foul of good governance and its desire to wear
the mask for public consumption. Should Foreign Affairs suffer for
Finance to pull up its socks? Theres also other devilry afoot:

#2 Unleashing the old demonic hordes: Well, not droves, really;

but a one-man monkish freak show driven by unseen diabolical
forces, perhaps. But succoured by a visible succubus, for sure in
the person and work of a President who invites rabble-rousers to
the Head of States table for talks, promoting parity of status for
the troublesome prelate in the eyes of the more gullible and
excitable hoi polloi. Least said soonest mended, maybe youre
thinking, gentle reader. With a touch of latent chauvinism
yourself: the chink in Sri Lankas national psyche, or a burgeoning
sense of nationalism or pseudo-patriotism, perhaps? (!)

Problem is: no one neither State, nor law enforcement, nor civil
society, not even those justices of the peace has had the
courage of their convictions to supply the coup de grace or
administer a quietus to this meddlesome monk Spewing vitriol
and inciting violent activism should have brought the full
justification of the ICCPR Act, inter alia, no new laws needed,
down upon and against him but he remains disturbingly at large:
Public Enemy and Menace No. 1 in my book Supposedly
supported by the scurrilous Head of State keen to wear the laurels
of executive power, inflamed by his own rhetoric (which,
regrettably is effective and rousing), inveigled by hidden hands
those old iron fists in velvet gloves Who Won the War for us with
not so secret agendas.

Of the Ven. Gnanasara Galaboda Aththes latest shenanigans, a

member of a so-called minority community asked, plaintively:
So what does one do in these circumstances? Whichever
government is in power, its quite clear that minorities are
expendable. Gnanasara, perhaps, is verbalising what many
citizens think, but may not say out loud. I would like to know
what is the place of the minority in this country be it religious,
ethnic, sexual, or economic? Is it put up, shut up, or get out?

One of her interlocutors of another non-majority ethnicity on

the same social media platform answered, pointedly: No
government no matter what they claim would dare change the
status quo. This present Government is on a fragile explosive
base all talk, no action.
What else upsets your columnist? (Some fresh thinking-
points, perhaps)
The old news that former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka
then Lt. Gen. now Field Marshal is to take on the mantle of
military supremo has already evoked mixed reactions in town hall
and marketplace. There are those who feel that in a country still
badly riven by Protests, Trade-union agitation, Strikes,
Demonstrations (a PTSD of sorts), a man of such calibre would
be a panacea militating in favour of productivity, order, efficiency.
Then there are those others who display signs of PTSD (Post-
Traumatic Stress Disorder) confusion, terror, schizotypal-
personality characteristics at the prospect of precisely a man of
such calibre in exactly such office; and then again there are
others for whom it is a Pleasure, Triumph, Satisfaction, Delight.

There is much to be said on both sides, and much has been said
ad infinitum in print and electronic media, as well as ad nauseam
on social media, in the past weeks. The legality, advisability,
timing, ramifications, intentions, necessity, efficacy, of such an
appointment have been discussed and debated until people are
blue at heart and the person under scrutiny probably red in a
part corresponding to the public face of Might Is Right. Then there
are those who prudently remember that might is right under a
military junta of sorts in the past as much as a republican
democracy of late and prudently button their lip to the
dismay of dissenters and the detriment of critical engagement of
Government by civil society.

Then again there are cases, causes, concerns, which will simply
not go away no matter how much even Good Governance
wishes these would go away and not make a nuisance of
themselves on the eve of important events (Mayday gone by) and
movements (constitutional reform to come) in our Democratic
Socialist Republic. There are the pending cases of missing
pressmen in particular, some of which place something of a
Damocles Sword Regardant (i.e. looking back over the lions
shoulder) over the much lionised previous regime. The finger of
suspicion still points to the panthers who feasted on prey now
largely disregarded as cannon-fodder and collateral damage as
considered customary or par for the course in a debilitating civil
war such as ours.

The tough-minded still ask questions suggesting strongly that

justice be done adding that our hard-won Peace would be
significant if and only if and when Justice is seen to be done
for the fruits of Peace with Justice to taste not only ready, but
ripe, and be richly nourishing to all citizens without exception
for whom the war was fought and won; zero civilian casualties,
war heroes, expendable civilians, scribes, gadfly editors and
cartoonists, and all.

Be that as it may, when it comes to the military supremos iron

fist in a velvet glove (and spare the glove element) there are
larger considerations than these the LATRINE issues (Legality,
Advisability, Timing, Ramifications, Intentions, Necessity,
Efficacy). While commentators speculate on those, yours truly
would like to briefly place on record a tattoo or trio of moral,
ethical, and spiritual concerns:
Q: Is it moral that Might Is Right in a peacetime republic?

A: Not if the coalition administration wishes posterity to hallow its

contribution as Good Governance rather than a strangely familiar
incarnation of Mahindas Regime. Not if it is serious about the
mandate for a sea-change that WTP gave it!

Q: Is it ethical to employ the military in a movement

meant to deploy State resources to effect the
transformation of a post-war culture into a post-conflict
society?

A: Not if Sri Lanka is to avoid going down the road of Myanmar or

Turkey. Not if the champions of a just peace truly believe the hype
and hoopla theyve cheerfully spun in parliament and sundry
podiums, spreading sunshine stories and garnering a sense of
peace with justice.

Q: Is it significant that in a spiritually savvy society such

as ours, a new troika of elected politico, appointed
military supremo, and self-appointed firebrand ethno-
chauvinist is coalescing as the three new wings of
Government?

A: Not unless the emergence of such an unholy trinity is not mere

happenstance or weird coincidence, but enemy action a
managed spectacle in which a puissant Head of State, a proud
and cruel jackboot of military, and a passionate but violent arm of
a peaceful philosophical order are complicit. Not if the coalition
expects their day in the sun to last. Not if civil society led by a
critically-engaged media has its say, as it can and must
Im just asking the three questions above with no intent to malign
or slander rather, hoping against diminishing hope that Im
wrong in my suspicion that Sri Lankas ethno-military-political
malaise is not a managed spectacle of powerful parties with an
axe to grind and vested interests. Trust like others of my ilk
before I wont end up battered and bruised and dumped by the
roadside wounded and bleeding; or worse, beaten brutally and
dumped as dead by the Diyawanna for my pains. Shame be on
him who thinks evil of it: that in times of peace were still seeking
to beat our ploughshares into swords; and not the other way
around, as any Dharmishta Samaajaya and/or Chinthanaya
touting society worth its salt would do.

In the meantime, someone civil society asks: Who? (but does

not tarry in favour of a reply) has cried: Havoc! and let slip the
dogs of war again. Mahindas restless regime rattles sabre in
House and at Galle Face, seeking a painful resurrection of the old
order. Military supremacy stares us in the face as it tries to stare
down civilian unrest with its jackboot at the ready. Mad-dog-like
monks run amok with not only impunity but seemingly bearing a
certain stately imprimatur. May has been a not so merry month of
mayhem in the market square, and casts a cloud over the
shadowy shape of things to come...
What responses can We The People (WTP) essay?
Remain critically engaged, as some senior journalists
(vide Namini Wijesdasa in sister print channels and
social media) have taken it upon themselves. Where
art thou, civil society/business
chambers/professionals and academics, today?
Respect dissent, difference, debate, dialogue.
Extremists must not be allowed to dominate the
headlines time and again, so shamefully as they do!
Stop reporting them as if they were some
 superheroes wearing their underwear like their
underhand ideas and methods on the outside.
Relegate war heroes with a Damocles sword of
suspicion over their own heads to the backburner.
Stop lionising suspect politicos!
Posted by Thavam