{"id":102132,"date":"2020-05-10T22:40:03","date_gmt":"2020-05-11T04:40:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=102132"},"modified":"2020-05-10T15:23:12","modified_gmt":"2020-05-10T22:23:12","slug":"friday-forum-virus-is-worse-than-covid19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/05\/10\/friday-forum-virus-is-worse-than-covid19\/","title":{"rendered":"Friday Forum virus is worse than Covid19"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY H.L.D. MAHINDAPALA<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Prof. Savitri Goonesekere, Dr. Usvatte-Aratchi and Prof. Arjuna Aluwihare of the Friday Forum have come out with another one of their usual sermons composed purportedly to guide the people trapped in Covid19 pandemic. Prof. Savitri Goonesekera and her two ideological clones front up claiming that they are not alone but have the backing of their fellow-travellers — just to impress that there are some heavyweights behind them. That apart, in these critical times we should welcome this sermon of public intellectuals as a beacon of light thrown into the surrounding darkness. But, unfortunately, they seem to be more confused than the populace looking for a way out, putting in doubt their capacity to even find the difference between the Corona virus and Toyota Corona.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

These intellectuals begin by commending all those engaged in\nfighting the invisible enemy \u2013 from the President down to the public health\nsystem at all levels. They even venture to say that in this crisis the state\u2019s\ndedication and commitment has placed us in a much better (position) than in\nsome developed countries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then they abandon the Covid19 pandemic which has gripped the\nwhole world and \u2013 hey presto! — switch to local politics which has nothing to\ndo with the critical issues related to viruses and the people, their central\ntheme. Of the sixteen paragraphs on their sermon on VIRUSES AND THE PEOPLE only\nthe opening para deals with the pandemic. The rest is focused on fear-mongering\nto promote their usual anti-national political agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These intellectuals of the Friday Forum know that in this crisis\nthousands are dying daily without a cure. And the figure is likely to rise to\nmillions if a cure is not found soon. Scientists say that a more contagious\nmutant of coronavirus strain has been sweeping Europe and the US. (Sky News).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But they say that what is of special importance to all\ncitizens\u201d is, (1) threats to democracy, (2) tendency to authoritarianism, (3)\nviolating rule of law, (4) failure to complete the rewriting of the\nConstitution to redefine democracy as a government not of the majority and (5)\ngenerally to keep the Sinhala-Buddhist majority tied to the cart that gives the\nminority a free ride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the three leading persons and their fellow members\nthe issue facing the nation is not Covid19. It has been taken care of\neffectively by the committed and dedicated State run by the Rajapaksas, they\nsay. According to them the issue is the politics of the Rajapaksas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They don\u2019t say so openly but the subtext refers to the politics\nof the Rajapaksas who won a mandate, against all odds, with the backing of the\nmajority who happens to be the Sinhala-Buddhists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now their worry is that the Rajapaksas might win a huge\nmajority (a 2\/3)\u201d in the coming parliamentary election, whenever it is held. So\nthey shift the focus of their sermon away from the critical Covid19 and direct\nit to target their anti-Rajapaksa, anti-majority political agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They say that what is of importance to all citizens\u201d, inter\nalia, is a government elected with a huge majority (a 2\/3) (which) can soon\ntransform itself into an authoritarian regime, in the name of the People\u201d!\nRinging their alarm bells, they cry out loud: This is not a time to reject\ndemocracy and replace it with authoritarianism in the name of strong\nleadership.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine the three leading personalities walking into a hospital\nward full of Covid 19 victims and announcing that the crisis facing them is not\nfinding a vaccine asap but rewriting the Constitution to cut down the legal\/\nconstitutional status of the majority until it is brought down to the level of\na minority \u2013 i.e., to make the minority the majority — and also to prevent the\ncreation of a government elected with a huge majority (a 2\/3).\u201d They are\njoined by another fear-monger from the Peradeniya University. Quite\nappropriately, he calls himself ANI Eka-nayake \u2013 a name which translated\nloosely can mean one-man ruler. Obviously, these people stuck in enforced\nboredom have nothing better to do than to stoke fears of Gotabaya becoming an\nEka-nayake\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As against this group in academia and NGOs the compassionate\nworld is rallying behind the collective endeavours to save the world from a\nvirus that is threatening to rain chaos on civilisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is indeed a crisis that must be viewed from a global\ncontext and just not within the local parameters. Bill Gates who was the first\nto warn in 2015 the coming of the next virus (to that of Ebola) is pouring\nbillions into finding a cure. Nearly a hundred laboratories the world over are\nlabouring round the clock to combat the invisible enemy overcrowding\ncemeteries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Donald Trump the Commander-in-Chief of the world\u2019s mightiest\nmilitary power, is helpless in preventing a miniscule microbe entering his\ndomain. Some of the scientists are doubtful whether they can find an answer\nwithin the next 18 months, though there are heart-warming snippets of news\nsaying that they are on the verge of breaking through. Some analysts predict\nthat millions would die, perhaps with the coming of a second wave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And what is the response of this group to this pandemic which is\nthreatening to explode into Biblical proportions? They are using this deadly\nvirus to push their anti-national political agenda as if that is the most\nurgent need to save our part of the world. Prof. Savithri Goonesekere should be\nashamed to lend her name to such a partisan and heartless propaganda campaign\nthat has no relevance to the pandemic. She has a reputation to protect,\nparticularly that of her respected husband.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When she goes down this track of exploiting the agony and the\nsuffering of our people to make them believe that the most important thing at\nthis moment is to fall in line with the failed agenda of this group of\nintellectuals, she declares openly that she is in the bandwagon of divisive and\ncorrosive politics that will reignite destructive minoritarianism \u2013 a force\nthat has been the bane of the nation in the post-independent period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With time hanging on their hands in these boring days the other\ntwo have also exposed their utter indifference to the most critical threat to\nour lives. One does not have to be in the professoriate to know that when a man\nis shot with an arrow the others around him do not have to rewrite\nconstitutions to find solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elementary intelligence would have informed them that the first\nthing to do is to pull the arrow out and apply the first available remedy. UN\u2019s\nWorld Food Program (WFP) is predicting the escalation of food starvation from\n135 million to double that (245) as a consequence of the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of now we do not know how the food supply chain will hold out\nif the mechanism breaks down globally and more importantly in our neck of the\nwoods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And all what these people can think of is rewriting the\nConstitution and other issues totally irrelevant to the crisis facing humanity.\nTheir political cynicism reveals only their inability to rise from the depths\nof their moral depravity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the three the future lies in reversing the mandate\ngiven to Gotabaya. This means also preventing Mahinda Rajapaksa getting a\nmajority in the coming parliamentary elections. Their perennial political\nambition has been to whittle down the powers of the majority and their\nrepresentatives until the minority is enthroned as the majority. Right now they\nare frustrated because decades of anti-Sinhala-Buddhist propaganda have been\nrejected by the electorate giving a mandate to the Rajapaksas to redress the\nimbalances of history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So they pick up any stick that comes to hand to beat the\nRajapaksas and the majority. Now they have picked up the Covid19 to shift the\nfocus of their sermon to the politics of the majority and the Rajapaksas\nwithout naming names.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hinting at the grand sweep of Gotabaya Rajapaksa\u2019s ride to power\n\u2013 and also the possible chance of winning a Parliamentary majority \u2013 they say:\nWorld history as well as the post independence history of Sri Lanka shows how\na government elected with a huge majority (a 2\/3) can soon transform itself\ninto an authoritarian regime, in the name of the People\u201d.\u201d They also\nsermonise, with another Jeremiah: Critical issues of democratic and\naccountable governance must be discussed in public and private fora, and\ncontinue to engage our attention.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What has all this got to do with their theme titled, VIRUSES AND\nTHE PEOPLE? None of the issues listed by them has any relevance to the\nimmediate existential needs of the people. Coronavirus is challenging on an\nunprecedented scale the values on which the global society is based. The most\nurgent question is, when will normalcy return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And when it returns what will the new normalcy look like? If the\nvirus drags on will social distancing change future human relationships? Can\ntechnology take the place of absent human beings? Can a new supply chain be\ndeveloped and maintained to bring food to the table? Can an all-purpose antidote\nbe developed in laboratories to prevent the spread of future viruses which may\nbe deadlier than Covid19?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will a second wave sweep the globe like a tsunami killing more\npeople? Can the interconnected global market survive the overwhelming backlash\nfrom the pandemic? What shape and form will the future schools and universities\ntake? What new instrumentalities and strategies must the global community and\nstates organise to combat future viruses which could turn more virulent? What\npreparations must be put in place to meet the challenges of the inevitable\nviral crises that are bound to break out in the future?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This pandemic has thrown mankind off balance. The new challenges\nare humongous and numerous. Instead of going after the big issues our lumpen\nintellectuals pick on their two bete noirs \u2013 the majority consisting mainly of\nthe Sinhala-Buddhists and the Rajapaksas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their obsession with the majority and the Rajapaksas who\nrepresent them is incurable. They will turn each new crisis and twist it, as\nthey have done in the past, to project the majority as the evil force that is\ncausing all the problems to the minorities. It is, of course, common knowledge\nthat the coronavirus is a leveller: it does not differentiate between the\nminority and majority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But our local egg heads \u2013 or is it bone heads? \u2013 have run to the\nconclusion that it is not coronavirus that must be dealt with urgently before\nit gets out of hand but the Sinhala-Buddhist majority and the Rajapaksas who\nare on the verge of transforming itself into an authoritarian regime.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are politicising the virus to raise fears about (1) the\nmajority (Sinhala-Buddhists) and (2) authoritarianism (Rajapaksas) \u2013 both of\nwhich, according to them, are waiting to take over the nation at the opportune\nmoment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let me reemphasize their hidden agenda circulating in their\nwarped political imagination. They say: This is not a time to reject democracy\nand replace it with authoritarianism in the name of strong leadership.\u201d Here\nthey project the fear of some hidden force\/s waiting to reject democracy and\nreplace it with a dictatorship. There is no evidence for this statement. This\nis their imagined fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are totally irresponsible \u2013 nay, idiotic! \u2013 when they make\nsweeping statements without having evidence to substantiate it. Which serious \u2013\nI repeat, serious, not stray — political platform has come out saying that\nthey want to reject democracy and replace it with authoritarianism? When in the\nfirst flush of victory at Nandikadal the fringe freaks floated the idea of making\nMahinda Rajapaksa a king\u201d, the notion was cut down instantly by the late S. L.\nGunasekera and the nation as a whole, including the Rajapaksas who pooh-poohed\nit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subsequent attempts to extend the life of the presidency too\nfailed. An irreversible and concretised sense of democracy has prevailed since\nindependence. This reality is known to the Three who state:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The response to the Covid19 pandemic has shown us very clearly\nthat effective political leadership can be given, especially in a time of\nnational crisis, when it is combined with space for the contribution of\nrelevant stakeholders in making decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If, as they say, an effective political leadership can be given\nin times of crisis \u201d in collaboration with relevant stakeholders in making\ndecisions\u201d why must the Rajapaksa leadership reject democracy and replace it\nwith a dictatorship\u201d? Do they know what they are talking about? They can\u2019t make\none statement in one place without contradicting another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are sophomoronic academics who can\u2019t write a credible\npaper to get an ordinary pass in the kindergarten. On second thoughts, after\ncogitating over the priorities listed by them I think there is a possibility of\nmy agreeing to change the Constitution provided the first clause is written to\nguarantee the prevention of the professoriate being inundated with idiots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take, for instance, the example of the Rajapaksas fighting,\nalmost single-handed, the most bitter war that raged for 33 years (from May\n1976 when the Tamil declared war against the Sinhala state\u201d to Nandikadal in\nMay 2009) within a democratic framework , however defective it may have been.\nIf there was one excuse for the Rajapaksas to take over dictatorial powers it\nwas the Vadukoddai War declared by the Tamil leadership against the\ndemocratically elected state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The issues pressing the Rajapaksa brothers were far more\ndaunting than the current threats to the nation. They had to fight not only a\nTamil Pol Pot at home but also an international front backed by some of the Big\nBrothers who descended with the sole intent of twisting the arm of the two\nbrothers. But they didn\u2019t. That knocks off ten points of Ekanayake whose\nperverse political imagination can only concoct images of Gotabaya riding in\nHitler\u2019s boots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The majority, to their everlasting credit, fought the most\nbrutal war waged by a minority within parliamentary parameters, giving\nprotection even to the TNA (Terrorist Nominated Agents).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides, who has heard anyone of them, including Ekanayake in\nacademia, demanding that the Vadukoddai War fought from the Tamil end should\nconform, at least in a minimalist way, to democratic norms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the contrary, they were all rallying round the Tamil Pol Pot\nand urging the international community and the GOSL to strengthen his powers. I\ncan\u2019t remember any one of them demanding the dismantling of Tamil tyranny as\nthe first step to restore peace, security and stability and reconciliation.\nAdvancing bogus theories they were arguing the need to consolidate Tamil\ntyranny in order fight their bogeyman, the Sinhalese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their actions have made it to mean prostituting democratic\nvalues to consolidate and legitimise minoritarian brutalities and fascism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY H.L.D. MAHINDAPALA Prof. Savitri Goonesekere, Dr. Usvatte-Aratchi and Prof. Arjuna Aluwihare of the Friday Forum have come out with another one of their usual sermons composed purportedly to guide the people trapped in Covid19 pandemic. Prof. Savitri Goonesekera and her two ideological clones front up claiming that they are not alone but have the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-h-l-d-mahindapala"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102132"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102132\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}