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The malaise of vindictive governance

02 Oct 2022

Truth be told, Sri Lanka is being left to its own devices to sort out the mess it has got itself into, with those whom the country was banking on to lend a helping hand displaying a distinct preference to ‘wait and see’ how things pan out, while the country goes about the task at hand on its own.  For starters, even though the Government has been publicly hinting at the possibility of the first tranche of the IMF bailout materialising in December, that prospect is slowly but surely diminishing, with the Washington-based entity insistent that debt restructuring negotiations must first arrive at an acceptable level of conclusiveness – most notably with at least the top three bilateral lenders – in order for it to move on the matter at its Executive Board, notwithstanding the already-sealed Staff-Level Agreement for the $ 2.9 billion bailout over a month ago. Even though a visibly-upbeat President called on Sri Lanka’s long-standing friend Japan to mediate in the debt restructuring process during his recent visit there, the Japanese response fell short of being positive, with China and India being asked to join the process as their participation was key to arriving at any consensus on the matter. Even though India has already signalled its willingness to embark on the process, China has studiously avoided the subject thus far. According to a Central Bank presentation last week, China is Sri Lanka’s top bilateral creditor, accounting for a whopping 52% of the nation’s current debt, followed by Japan at 19% and India at 12. Therefore, in order for the process to move forward, this trinity must at the very least agree to not disagree on the basic requirement of restructuring Sri Lanka’s debt, with the spotlight firmly focused on China, which has so far resisted the call to do so. While the debt debate remains central to overcoming the nation’s existential issues, it is nevertheless being overshadowed by what appears to be desperate attempts on the part of the regime to preempt an imminent second wave of protests as the cost of living begins to bite hard.  Even though predictions were that soaring inflation would begin to plateau by end September, indications are to the contrary, and the regime appears to be bracing for the anticipated turbulence through a two-pronged approach of extra-constitutional means and strong-arm tactics utilising the security apparatus – both of which are not going down well with either the citizens or the international partners in the economic emancipation effort. It is also becoming clear that the same repressive measures that are being employed to contain protests are in fact adding fuel to the fire and becoming the very basis for more protests. Having already resorted to liberal use of the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act, most notably to rein in the growing student protest movement – even taking out its leadership through a 90-day detention order issued under the hand of the Defence Minister that resulted in a storm of protest both here and abroad – it appears that the regime is now attempting a new method to achieve the same outcome, through a less cumbersome mechanism.  The method employed towards this end seems to be the proposed setting up of a ‘Rehabilitation Bureau’ targeting any person who, in the opinion of the enforcement authority, requires ‘treatment and rehabilitation’. In the absence of a proper legal definition to describe any of the categories of persons named as coming under the purview of this Act, it is more or less open sesame to cherry pick candidates for ‘rehabilitation’. What has raised a hornet’s nest is that the move follows a recent remark by a political entity who was recently at the receiving end of the protest movement that ‘protesters (participants of the Aragalaya) need to be rehabilitated’. The reference by this once-powerful politico and the sudden attempt to establish an authority for the specific purpose has more or less confirmed suspicions of a vindictive campaign targeting those involved in the recent protests. The matter has now snowballed into a political storm, with at least two Opposition members of Parliament heading to the Supreme Court over the issue. Of late, the administration has shown a penchant for shooting itself in the foot with increasing regularity – most notably through the resort to extra-constitutional means to stifle dissent, resulting in new laws having to be gazetted quite often. What is unfathomable is that if the same time and effort is put into actually solving the issues that are causing so much public anger instead of attempting to muzzle the people at every turn, the results would surely douse the need for more protests.  Already under fire for declaring ‘High Security Zones’ covering a vast swathe of the commercial capital, once again presumably to deter protests, it is likely that the declaration will be rescinded, or, in the alternative, watered down in the face of growing public opposition. This matter too is now before the apex court for its determination. Obviously desperate to prevent the recurrence of a more virile protest movement in a backdrop of economic stagnation and there being little to cheer about other than the rationing of fuel, the regime has gone to the extent of throwing away any pretensions of respect for the fundamental constitutional right to the freedom of expression by issuing an official diktat preventing State officials from making statements on social media. This too is now being challenged in court. While expectations were high for an expeditious resolution of the crisis on the current President’s ascension to high office, those expectations have all but fizzled out, with the regime seemingly overcome with petty vindictiveness as opposed to focusing on the more critical issue of economic emancipation. This unimaginative approach to what is arguably the most critical issue ever faced by this nation – even more profound than the three-decade-long war – has not impressed anyone and in fact has forced the international intermediaries to adopt a more cautious approach, given the growing unpopularity of the regime owing to its own arbitrary and abusive actions. Therefore, no amount of spin doctoring will be able to save the day if the regime continues to rub salt into the wounds of a badly-hurt people.  


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