{"id":116208,"date":"2021-07-16T16:56:04","date_gmt":"2021-07-16T23:56:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=116208"},"modified":"2021-07-16T16:56:04","modified_gmt":"2021-07-16T23:56:04","slug":"betray-gotabaya-betray-the-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2021\/07\/16\/betray-gotabaya-betray-the-country\/","title":{"rendered":"Betray Gotabaya, Betray the Country!"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Rohana R. Wasala<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Few\nin the present government seem to understand that they are holding in their\nhands the hopelessly misshapen product – a generally weakened Sri Lankan state,\nthat is, a country hamstrung in terms of its national security, economy, its\ninternal cohesion, and external relations – left by the yahapalanaya\nmolestation of the nation (2015-19), a critical situation compounded by the\nhavoc caused by the extraneous hydra headed monster of the deadly Covid-19\npandemic with its protean forms. The deformed baby is still awaiting emergency\ncorrective surgery. But unfortunately, the handful of surgeons led by their\ndetermined head are being surrounded and choked by a swarm of quack surgeons\nfrom whose concerns nothing seems to be further than what should actually be done\nto reassure the people including particularly the sensible 6.9 million+ voters\nwho reposed their trust in that head surgeon. The administration must also\nsimilarly reassure the nation\u2019s foremost spiritual leaders: the Maha Nayakes,\nthe  Cardinal, the Kurukkals, and the Maulavis, who, together directly or\nindirectly encouraged the voters to elect him. The people never thought that\nthe government would so soon come to be dominated by a set of politicians who\nbelieve that their survival depends on pleasing the minority of anti-majority\nextremists in different forms and agents of Western hegemonic powers, in\nalliance with them, each directed by the narrowly  nationalistic policies\nof their respective countries willfully oblivious of or crassly indifferent to the\nreal  issues that Sri Lankans are struggling with, about which, in any\ncase, they are least concerned in the best as well as the worst of times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nOpposition SJB and the JVP elements have begun crawling, nay cruising, out of\nthe woodwork on the pretext of protesting against the temporary hardships\ncaused by the well meant ban on the import of chemical fertilizers and the\nproposed quite sensible Kotalawala Defence University Bill (which, if\nnecessary, could be improved through meaningful parliamentary discussion) .\nWhat use are these purblind protestors\u2019 demonstrations? Their conduct is\natrocious, insensitive, shocking, particularly in view of the generally\ndestabilized state of the country suggested above, and the devastating\ndisruptions to the general economy caused by the pandemic, and the deleterious\nenvironmental consequences and financial losses resulting from two Singapore\nregistered ships mysteriously catching fire in the vicinity of both the eastern\nand western seaboards of the island (one of them, the one that completely burnt\ndown in the eastern sea, was laden with a dangerous cargo). Besides, by\nbehaving like perfect imbeciles, trade union activists are merely adding to the\nburdens of the health sector and security forces personnel who are making such\ngreat sacrifices in the name of the country uncomplainingly in battling the\nCovid-19 pandemic. Their sacrifices and difficulties are invariably shared by\ntheir families, especially children. And what about the general populace who\nare undergoing such privations in their day-to-day life, finding it so hard to\nmake both ends meet, but hardly ever complain as they understand the problems\nthat the country is facing as a whole. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some\nfarmers  complain that they have a problem because of the lack of chemical\nfertilizers and pesticides, to which they have been accustomed over the past\nhalf a century. The claims of those farmers who are saying that their\ncultivations have been severely affected by the single cause of the alleged\nnon-availability of chemical fertilizers are hard to believe.  Previously\ncultivated land on which fertilizers had been used cannot be expected to lose\nits fertility completely after one season. It should not be a problem to forgo\nthe usual application of fertilizers temporarily, allowing the switch over to\norganic fertilizers next term. The farmers are probably not making truthful\nclaims at the behest of union activists. Anyway, according to  agriculture\nminister Mahindananda Aluthgamage, there cannot be such a serious shortage, as\nall the chemical fertilizers required for the current season have been issued\nto the authorised outlets. Then, the farmers must be making false complaints,\negged on by ant-igovernment trade unionists and politicians. Or if there\u2019s a\nreal scarcity of fertilizers, it must be due to hoarding. Why can\u2019t the\ngovernment go after the miscreants, if that is the case, and confiscate the\nhoarded fertilizers and distribute them among the farmers at a suitable price\nor just free of charge? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To\nmy pleasant surprise,when I reached this point in my opinion piece, the answer\nto that question came from minister Aluthgamage. As Hiru TV News reported (9:55\nPM\/ July 14, 2021) he and his deputy state minister Sashindra Rajapaksa made\nsurprise visits to the depots of two private fertilizer companies at Peliyagoda\nand Kelaniya, and found large stocks of fertilizers hoarded. Though these\ncompanies had the capacity to issue 700-750 metric tonnes of fertilizers a day,\nthey issued hardly a half of that amount, helping create an artificial\nscarcity. The minister immediately requested them to issue the fertilizers\nforthwith. He ordered his officials to get the state fertilizer companies to\nbuy those stocks at a suitable price and distribute them among the \ncultivators, in the event of the companies failing to meet his request.\nAddressing a meeting\/a news briefing at the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian\nResearch and Training Institute (Wijerama Mawatha, Colombo), Aluthgamage\nrevealed that the the private companies were secretly holding 102,000 metric\ntonnes of fertilizers; the purpose of deliberately withholding fertilizer\nsupplies and inciting farmers to agitate against artificial shortages was to\nsabotage the success of the organic fertilizer substitution project of the\ngovernment, which will be launched in earnest from the next season. (Anyone can\nsee a link between politicians and private fertilizer companies behind these\nagitations.- rrw) There is money and business behind the protests, the minister\nsaid. The particular piece of news ended with a usually vociferous prominent\nJVP activist demanding that the government give the farmers their fertilizers\nand pesticides, and pay compensation for the damage already done by the alleged\nshortages! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Incidentally,\nsomething akin to this context is where it is said that the rice prices are\ncontrolled by a couple of big rice mill owners, some of them politicians\nconnected with the present government. People would like the government to\nresort to some stern action like taking over these mills and their hidden rice\nstocks, and hand over, to a state body like the Paddy Marketing Board, the job\nof husking the paddy and distributing the rice on a wholesale basis. It is up\nto the government to implement a proposal like this after appropriately\nconsidering its feasibility. That this is not happening shows the power that\nthe private sector is wielding, not only over paddy cultivation and rice\ndistribution, but on the policy makers. The 6.9 million voters and the spiritual\nleaders are waiting for the rulers to bring these mafiosi under control. They\nare still hopeful that the President will succeed even in other spheres of\ngovernance where dealing often replaces leading.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile,\nsome teacher unions are also reported to be on strike, which means that their\nmembers have stopped online teaching. Online instruction is expected to provide\nsome help for the unexpectedly housebound children of the country. They are in\nthat predicament as a result of the long interruption caused to the functioning\nof normal face-to-face teaching in schools by the Covid associated restrictions\non movement. It is by no means an adequate stopgap solution for them, because,\namong other snags, internet accessibility is problematic in most areas. But\nteachers are still being paid their salaries. It may be true that there are\nlong standing pay scale anomalies, and other job related issues that need to be\naddressed. But teachers should understand that this is not the time for urging\nthe government to provide relief. Isn\u2019t it their duty to help the authorities\nto put an end to the Covid crisis first? However, according to media reports,\ntheir main complaint is against the Kotelawala Defence University Bill. They\nwant it withdrawn, arguing that its passage will pave the way for privatising\neducation, putting an effective end to free education. (The JVP has been\nflogging this dead horse for decades; it looks like they are not intelligent or\ncreative enough to think of a better cause c\u00e9l\u00e8bre to ensure their political survival! I am sorry to see that\nindustries minister Wimal Weerawansa also opposes the KDU bill. Probably, he\nexpects only to incorporate certain amendments in it before before its passage.\nWeerawansa is one of the architects of the electoral victory of both Gotabaya\nRajapaksa and the SLPP, and one of the very few best performing cabinet\nministers. A Gotabaya government without him and energy minister Udaya\nGammanpila is inconceivable.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\nstupid demand of teacher union protestors (i.e., to withdraw the KDU bill)\nalone invalidates their struggle. Don\u2019t they know that even in rural areas paid\ntuition supplements school instruction at every level? Don\u2019t many of these\nteacher union members have a stake in that as an extra source of income? Are\ninternational schools providers of free education? How many of them are there?\nWhat are their tuition fees and examination fees in terms of foreign exchange\n(international school students follow foreign syllabuses)? Don\u2019t large numbers\nof students go abroad every year to study not only medicine and engineering\nwhich local universities don\u2019t have enough capacity to make available to all\nthe students who qualify to study in them, but also subjects such as\naccountancy that can be learnt at the highest level within the country? Not all\nthe parents who send their children to study abroad belong to the \u2018rich\u2019\ncategory. Private education side by side with free state education has come to\nstay and has become a current necessity. Private medical colleges are essential.\nThere should not be any argument about that. Most ordinary people now know\nthis. They don\u2019t approve of the politically motivated disruptive activities of\ntrade unionists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These\npurblind politicking farmer and teacher union leaders have already earned a\ngreat deal of pent up public anger. It is bound to explode sooner or later. But\nthe government has come to their aid! so that their irresponsible, mischievous\nconduct has got a semblance of decency. How? By forcibly, most likely\nunlawfully, quarantining some of them at the expense of the tax money paid by\nthe already suffering general public, whom these wrong doers are holding\nhostage. That is not a good way of deterring their irresponsible behaviour or\njust punishing them for it.  Public security minister Sarath Weerasekera,\nwhom I admire as much as I admire Weerawansa and Gammanpila, is a loyal\nsupporter of the President, and he means business. I trust both of them (GR and\nSW) equally. But I am sure that the President will never resort to or approve\nof \u2018bull in a china shop\u2019 strategies, which he can\u2019t later defend! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Rohana R. Wasala Few in the present government seem to understand that they are holding in their hands the hopelessly misshapen product – a generally weakened Sri Lankan state, that is, a country hamstrung in terms of its national security, economy, its internal cohesion, and external relations – left by the yahapalanaya molestation of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[91],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-116208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-rohana-r-wasala"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116208","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=116208"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116208\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}