Gotabaya Rajapaksa is the worst President we’ve had. He’s the worst
leader, counting all presidents, prime ministers, ministers,
chairpersons of local government authorities and maranaadhara samithi.
He’s the worst Sri Lankan ever. Let’s assume.
Let’s assume that
as the all-powerful Executive President, all ills are attributable to
him. Let’s assume that although this implies that he can lay claim to
all positives, he had nothing to do with effectively handling the
Covid-19 situation, the vaccination drive and enforcement of safety
protocols which (by the way) eventually enabled and empowered those who
hate him the most (and whose hatred is rooted in political preferences
and other things that predates the current economic crises) to rub
shoulders with fellow political travelers in demonstrations, protest
marches, arson, theft and thuggery. Let’s assume that he did nothing at
all.
No, let’s go further. Let’s assume that Covid-19 was an
insidious creation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa himself, a virus which he
unleashed on the world with the express intent of wrecking the tourism
sector, effecting a serious dent in remittances by expatriate workers,
restricting movement etc., etc. Let’s assume that all this in aggregate
made himself eminently eligible to the tag ‘party-pooper.’
Today,
we are in the midst of an unprecedented economic crisis. Today, more
than ever before, we have been forced to think about things like energy
security, food security, food and nutritional sovereignty, the need for
development banks and the folly of embracing uncritically and indeed
nurturing to near perfection an import mafia. Let’s assume, though, that
Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s rhetoric and action with regard to at least two of
the above, namely renewable energy and environment-friendly
agriculture, had nothing to do with such ‘needs.’
Let us not
assume but acknowledge that regardless of intent, overall understanding
and objectives pertaining to sovereignty that Gotabaya Rajapaksa was
largely unsuccessful. Let’s assume that this had nothing to do with the
resilience of entrenched interests of corporate thugs and public
racketeers, but let’s not assume but rather acknowledge that party and
family played a massive role in scuttling good intention, not just about
energy and agriculture but basic management of the economy, upholding
procedures established to ensure fiscal discipline, robust and
meaningful tax regimes etc. Let’s not assume but acknowledge that
Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s greatest failure was that he could not (or would
not) unfetter himself from party and family.
Forget all that.
Let’s return to the first assumption. Let us repeat. Gotabaya Rajapaksa
is the worst President we’ve had. He’s the worst leader, counting all
presidents, prime ministers, ministers, chairpersons of local government
authorities and maranaadhara samithi. He’s the worst Sri Lankan ever. Let’s assume.
We
should mention, at least parenthetically, that he is but (and at worst)
a symptom of systemic flaw. At least that’s what those who can see
beyond personality and party could (but probably for reasons of
political convenience do not) conclude. Never mind. Let’s assume ‘Gota
is the System’ and kid ourselves that getting rid of him gives us
system-change. Well, let’s say it paves the way for system-change. Yes,
let’s not talk about utter naïveté in these matters. Let’s assume. Let’s
conclude.
Now, treating all assumptions as established fact,
let us wave the flag of the logical response: ‘Gota should go!’ How do
we move from there, i.e. beyond a slogan whose utterers aren’t political
innocents and among whom are those who have benefited for decades (as a
class and as individuals) or else are ill-educated about constitutions,
constitutional reform and the whole brouhaha over amendments (the draft
21st was shot down by the Supreme Court, whose observations amount to
law-makers being given a resounding F on the subject of
‘Constitutionality’)?
Of course Gotabaya Rajapaksa can resign.
Can happen, but hasn’t. He can be removed, constitutionally. Can happen,
but hasn’t. And so we have pundits saying ‘the people, the
international community and the Opposition’ have to come together to
remove him. In essence, to secure the numbers necessary to remove him
constitutionally. He can be ousted in other ways, but no one is
seriously talking about ‘revolution’ here. Revolution would include
system-change and ‘system’ would include the economic theories (sic)
that went a long way to bring us to where we are, dealings with the IMF
and other Bretton Woods Institutions etc., but no one is seriously
considering such options right now. It’s just ‘Gota must go,’ or ‘The
international community, the Opposition and the people must get together
and send Gota away.’ Thereafter, parliament (or rather ‘The
Opposition’) can figure out who should be the next president. Lovely.
Let’s
get back to the movers and shakers. The international Community, one.
Yeah right! Do they mean, the US, UK, EU and other members of The Quad?
Now if those are the addresses to which grievance are addressed and
succour sought, good luck!
The Opposition, two. Yeah right! And
yeah, those who want Gota sent away utter not a word about capabilities
of the current Opposition (never mind legitimacy which is ultimately
measurable only through the ballot). The Opposition, if we just take the
SJB and the JVP, essentially back-stabbed the ‘Aragalaya’ and
‘Aragalists,’ not to mention the fact that they deliberately planned to
pursue their party interests by preying on general anxiety, fear and
anger. Sajith Premadasa and Anura Kumara Dissanayake hilariously claimed
that they would take up the prime minister’s post if Gotabaya Rajapaksa
resigned. Each ought to have been more honest and said ‘I become PM if
Gota resigns, and then I have the inside track to the Presidency.’
Anyone who places bets on such dishonest people and parties (whose track
records are as bad or worse than those of the SLPP) are ridiculously
naive or at least politically suspect. The SLFP, then? Really?
