Daily News Editorial

Workers’ role in pandemic fight

Today, the workers’ organisations of the world usually parade and demonstrate their unity as various classes of wage-earners in their struggles to protect their livelihoods. From the plantations of the hills to urban industry and services workers and, to rural craft and agri-workers in the provinces, women and men of the working class usually spend May Day celebrating their vital role as the cogs in today’s vast global economic machine.

Today, however, the streets will not echo to the tread of colourful trade union parades, chanted slogans and the exhortations of May Day rally speakers.

The giant global economic machine has partially ground to a halt as humanity takes cover and fights off the deadly, livelihood-crippling COVID-19 pandemic. The UN’s International Labour Organisation (ILO) is warning that nearly half the world’s population of daily wage earners have lost their livelihood due to the economic shutdown and suspension of most public human activity.

International Workers’ Day, which falls today, is more popularly known as ‘May Day’. The term ‘May Day’ originally described the ancient European spring season festival. In 1904, the first internationally networked workers’ organisations of Europe adopted May 1 as the day to celebrate the social role and importance of wage-labour. This workers’ network, called the ‘Second International’, chose May 1 in order to commemorate the massacre by police firing of trade union leaders who had been agitating on labour issues in Chicago, USA, in early May, 1886.

Subsequently, the ILO, which was formed in 1919 in Geneva in the aftermath of the First World War, adopted this date as the International Labour Day and it is observed as such today by most United Nations Member States. It is a holiday in many countries, though the US, where May Day had its origins, now celebrates Labour Day in September. The ILO performs a key role in bringing together the three pillars of the world economy: labour (organised working class), capital (employers and business leadership) and Government.

The deadliness of the COVID-19 is deceptively not immediately tangible. Although the fatalities are swift and many, they are still relatively less in proportion to the numbers of infected people. But to maintain even a semblance of control over the rapid spread of the contagion, human society has had to halt public activity as much as possible. In a globalised capitalist economy where speed of production and delivery is fundamental to market success, this has meant a crippling of economic life across the world.

The ILO, which has been monitoring worker conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic warns in its latest global assessment that: “The continued sharp decline in working hours globally due to the COVID-19 outbreak means that 1.6 billion workers in the informal economy – that is nearly half of the global workforce – stand in immediate danger of having their livelihoods destroyed.”

Some economic theorists may debate the merits of economic shutdowns as opposed to market profitability and sustainability, pointing out that the actual death toll seems to be low in proportion to the numbers infected. But Governments and societies the world over have been largely unanimous in quick action to ‘lockdown’ as the first step in a series of measures meant to restrict the contagion and reduce the long term impact on economic life.

The point is that the contagion is incredibly swift in spread, thereby burdening health systems with a massive human attrition that is occurring suddenly and immediately rather than being spread out over time. The worst affected countries are experiencing infection spreads in the thousands almost daily and fatalities in the hundreds daily. In the space of four months since its outbreak, almost all of the world’s 190+ countries have been hit by the pandemic with Antarctica being the only unaffected continent.

Therefore, we have the economic shutdown. Already, merchandise exports in the first part of this year have shown a serious decline. As we mark May Day this year, the struggles of the working class have a new frontline, one that must bring together all socio-economic classes, labour and capital, against the common enemy that is the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fortunately, some of the big corporates have already begun action to reorganise their labour cohorts to ensure employee continuity to some degree. But many small and medium scale enterprises will inevitably shed much of their labour if they have to survive in the post-COVID market.

The Government, national political leaderships and labour leaderships now face the challenge of catering to the needs of the working classes - i.e. wage-earners – whose livelihoods are being drastically emasculated. Trade unions will need to strategize to ensure safety nets for retrenched labour on the one hand while devising innovative parallel income-earning avenues for the newly unemployed and under-employed. Above all, given the need for smooth and rapid economic recovery, there is the over-riding need to ensure industrial peace. The social sensitivity of the business leadership, too, must come in to play.

The Island Editorial

Virus and labour

This year’s International Workers’ Day has dawned amidst doom and gloom across the globe. It is being celebrated without mass gatherings on account of the Covid-19 pandemic. Workers will neither miss nor lose anything owing to the cancellation of May Day processions, which are only a shameful display of the servility of the working class to political leaders who use trade unions to further their own interests.

Chaos that the spread of coronavirus and the resultant lockdowns have wreaked on the world economy has caused widespread unemployment. The current international health emergency has also thrown up new problems and challenges for workers as well as their employers. All these years, May Day has been characterised by workers’ demand for a better deal and their rants against the capitalist class represented by their employers. But, today, coronavirus has caused the employer-employee relations to be redefined; both parties have had to sink their differences and join forces to safeguard their shared future.

The virus may hopefully run its course within the next few months, but the damage it has already inflicted on economies around the world will be there for years to come, and give rise to unforseen issues. Job losses and the attendant economic woes can lead to numerous social problems with the potential to trigger violent upheavals, threatening law and order and social cohesion.

The latest findings of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) are scary. They reveal that there has been a continuous sharp decrease in working hours globally due to the pandemic, and about 1.6 billion workers in the informal economy are in the immediate danger of losing their livelihoods.

In the US, the world’s largest economy, more than millions of people have lost jobs, so far, and more are expected to file for unemployment benefits, according to the US Labor Department. The New York Times reported, yesterday, that unemployment claims had topped 30 million, in the US. The plight of workers in the developing countries is far worse. The current level of unemployment, in the US, has been described by the media as the worst since the Great Depression, in the 1930s. It is reported that during the first two months of the Covid-19 outbreak, about five million people found themselves out of work, in China.

Trade unions, around the world, will have to strategise and plan for finding solutions to the present-day problems and facing future challenges. There will have to be a radical rethink of the policies the Sri Lankan trade unions, most of which are mere appendages of political parties. They will have to make constructive interventions in the formulation of the post-Covid-19 state policies as regards economic recovery if workers’ lot is to improve. This is not something they will be able to achieve by adopting a confrontational approach though there may arise certain situations where they have to fight for protecting workers’ rights.

The ILO has urged states to ensure that the measures aimed at economic reactivation ‘follow a job-rich approach, backed by stronger employment policies and institutions, better-resourced and comprehensive social protection systems’. It has also called for international co-ordination on stimulus packages and debt relief to make recovery effective and sustainable, and pointed out that international labour standards, which enjoy tripartite consensus can provide a framework. In this scheme of things, trade unions are of crucial import; they have a pivotal role to play in enabling the post-pandemic economic recovery and safeguarding workers’ interests.

Daily Mirror Editorial

Unchanging nature of our political system

This is a country that’s obsessed with elections. Now most of the citizens of the country are getting ready for the upcoming Parliamentary Elections. What we are not obsessed with is to send lawmakers with a clean sheet to parliament. 

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa wishes to have the elections and to install a new cabinet in parliament. One of his pledges during the last presidential elections was to create a secure nation where people belonging to Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim races can live in harmony.

But as we know there is tension between these communities; especially after the Easter bombings which sees fingers being pointed at the minority Muslims. It was a group of misguided Muslims who went about exploding bombs at these Christian places of worship, but the entire Muslim race had to take the brunt of these horrendous attacks. 

The catchline which is to have a secure nation where all three major races can live peacefully and in harmony was also used by former Prime Minister SWRD Bandaranaike in 1956. Sadly the status quo has not changed for the past 64 years despite there being several changes in governments and the end to a bloody three-decade-old civil war; which left scores of civilians dead and almost wiped out a vibrant Tamil culture. 

Lawmakers surface from time to time and go about making hilarious promises. The widow of SWRD Bandaranaike, Sirimavo, made an election pledge during the 1970 General Elections by promising to provide rice concessions. She promised to give two measures of rice per rice ration book. In 1988 she promised to bring in peace to the country.

Then we had the Ranasinghe Premadasa era. The lawmaker from a less affluent background rose in the ranks of the United National Party (UNP) and became the President of the country with the blessings of both the rich and the poor. Critics will vouch that the late Premadasa achieved some of his targets; chief among which was to eliminate poverty and provide housing for everybody by the year 2000. He was bumped off by tiger rebels on May 1, 1993; sending to the grave not only his remains, but also some of his ambitious plans to strengthen the country’s economy.

President Premadasa’s son Sajith is a key player in the present political stage. He also takes a similar line that his dad took and focuses on the less affluent in order to give them a better life. Sajith also promised to provide shelter to all by the year 2025. 

At present Sajith, heading his own party, sees as his biggest opponent former military man Gotabaya Rajapaksa. What can be observed through the eyes of sharp political analyst is that the Sri Lankan political fraternity is not divided, but united. The manner in which Phottuwa party’s Mahinda Rajapaksa and UNP’s Ranil Wickremesinghe have got on as rivals for years in the political scene provides enough matter to chew on this subject of there being unity among lawmakers. The same old faces appearing to take over portfolios despite there being government changes shows that political rivalries exist only for a short time.

One person who wanted to change this system was president Premadasa who didn’t have room for passengers in his team. We didn’t run for long and made so many enemies. Another lawmaker who is taking on this line is president incumbent Gotabaya Rajapaksa who prefers to work with people with a military background and a few individuals with a proven track record in their chosen professions. Sadly for this country the political set-up doesn’t allow for the settling down of such individuals like Ranasinghe Premadasa and Gotabaya Rajapaksa. 

Film director and playwright Dharmasiri Bandaranayake is one person who depicted this corrupt political set-up in his stage creations which carried the underlying message that whoever who tries to change this political system pays with death or destruction.

Daily News Editorial

Caring for the Carers

‘PPE’ is a new acronym that has entered into our vocabulary. Personal Protective Equipment is meant to protect our bodies against harm while we are carrying out some task that could be physically hazardous. We are used to welders’ face shields and anti-flammable gloves, the hard-hats, boots and gloves of construction workers, and of course, the heavy duty helmets, body armour and multi-terrain boots needed for military combat. Even the protective gowns, gloves, masks and head coverings of medical personnel is something that we see when they enter surgery theatres which are designated ‘sterile’ zones.

Today, on our television screens and, for some of us, in our very neighbourhood, we have become used to seeing such medical protective clothing and tools. Ambulance and hospital personnel fully covered from head to toe in such special protective clothing are now the most prominent images daily as we either watch the news on the COVID-19 pandemic or watch disease control teams enter our neighbourhood.

What is most remarkable and ‘urgent’ about PPE today is that it has become a critical item and there is a shortage of it. Even more than its fatality rate, it is the speed and subtlety of the viral transmission that is the most powerful feature of the current pandemic. The speed of the contagion is as fast as humans can travel and as far as they move around. A single carrier of the virus could travel some 4,000 kilometres (from Wuhan) and, after entering Sri Lanka, travel inland, while passing it on unknowingly to dozens of unsuspecting people in a matter of days. And until all those people the initial carrier met with were identified and placed in isolation, those people were also transmitters. It was the same for all those Sri Lankan migrants who came rushing back from the COVID-19 maelstrom that Italy was becoming at the time.

At the frontlines to meet the (still unsuspecting) incoming virus carriers were medical staff at the airport, in the emergency teams testing and treating those suspect and confirmed cases, and in the teams tracing the people with whom the infected persons had made contact. There are further hundreds of personnel who have to tend to those in the quarantine centres. Hundreds of personnel are involved in disinfecting all the places visited or stayed in by the infected and suspect cases. This includes hundreds of vehicle drivers taking the teams right into these infected sites and taking infected people to hospital or quarantine centres.

In all, there are literally thousands of people active alongside COVID-19 infected people and, also working inside COVID-19 affected premises and in COVID-19 virus processing medical facilities. They all need PPE. At a world level, thanks to the elaborate professionalism of the WHO, there are now meticulously defined quality standards for medical PPE. Not only must the materials of the various pieces of equipment be of a fixed durability, but the design of the equipment must meet operational efficiency standards. The PPE standards were refined by WHO in collaboration with manufacturing companies a few years ago to meet the needs of Ebola campaign in Africa.

The ‘Interim Guidance’ on PPE issued by WHO on 6th April, 2020 states that: “PPE includes gloves, medical/surgical face masks, goggles, face shield, and gowns, as well as items for specific procedures such as filtering facepiece respirators (i.e. N95 or FFP2 or FFP3 standard or equivalent) - hereafter referred to as “respirators" – and, aprons.”

Additionally, internationally respected health research centres as well as WHO also specify the required human protection standards in those scientific facilities analysing COVID-19 test samples as well as research laboratories designing vaccines and curative medicines. It is the sheer volume of anti-pandemic activity that needs to be done at speed and constantly that has burdened rich and poor countries alike with the urgent need for PPE.

Health authorities around the world, beginning with China, the first to be struck by the pandemic – at which time its highly contagious nature was unknown – have had to ask their health personnel to courageously work on the disease frontlines from the start. It has been no surprise that medical personnel abroad have been suffering from and dying of COVID-19 ever since its outbreak.

Despite the routine lack of resources due to our economic ‘developing’ status, our medical personnel have shown the world that they are second to none in their professional bravery and resourcefulness in fighting the epidemic. Even as medical personnel in the rich countries – which should have been far better equipped – were actually protesting and even striking work over PPE shortages, our personnel have battled on despite shortcomings here.

The GMOA has been actively alerting the authorities about the need for PPE supplies and have contributed ideas for innovation in equipment design. Our own private sector has also chipped in. The Security Forces and the Police too need to be provided with PPE relevant to their roles in the anti-COVID-19 campaign.

The Island Editorial

Labours of Gota

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa (GR) is planning to put an end to the practice of conducting expensive election campaigns, according to his media division. He said so, at a meeting with a group of prelates, on Wednesday, we are told. He has struck a responsive chord with the public, who are fed up with politics and politicians. Colossal amounts of funds are spent on election propaganda, aimed at duping the people and helping even political dregs get returned.

President GR made a difference in electioneering, as the SLPP presidential candidate, last year; his campaign was environment-friendly and without cut-outs, posters and rants against his rivals. But, the fact remains that his propaganda campaign, conducted via the electronic and print media was extremely expensive. Neither he nor any other candidate has disclosed campaign expenditure. No presidential candidate has done so, since 1982. Hence the need for new laws to make it mandatory for candidates to reveal sources of funding and campaign expenditure, and impose a ceiling on election related funds and expenses!

The current wall of secrecy, anent the cost of electioneering, promotes corruption and other such illegal activities. Nabobs, rolling in black money, part with a fraction of their ill-gotten wealth to help their favourites financially; later, they enlist the latter’s backing to put crooked deals through and amass wealth, far in excess of their campaign ‘donations’. This is the name of the game in politics.

The present electoral system has been blamed for huge campaign expenditure, election violence, and the dependency of candidates on corrupt moneybags for funds. It is said that a candidate has to campaign in an entire electoral district, spending a lot of money, to secure enough preferential votes to get elected. But, it is possible for candidates to enter Parliament without spending colossal amounts of funds on campaigns. Education Minister Dallas Alahapperuma polled the highest number of preferential votes (105,406) in the Matara District, at the last general election (2015), without wasting money on election propaganda. His campaign was devoid of posters, cut-out and even leaflets. His example is worthy of emulation.

It is also popularly claimed that the preferential vote is the mother of all election-related clashes. But the JVP has given the lie to this claim. Its candidates put the party before self and refrain from promoting themselves during elections. Never do they fight over preferential votes or manape. If their counterparts, in other parties, do likewise, there will be no manapa pora or battles for preferential votes. Even the worst critics of the JVP cannot but admire the exemplary manner in which its candidates contest elections. Thus, it may be seen that the blame for violent clashes, over preferential votes, should be laid at the feet of the party leaders who cannot make their candidates fall in line.

Strangely, the JVP has joined those who are opposed to the preferential vote in demanding its abolition. The manape must not be done away with, for it enables people to elect the candidates of their choice. If it is abolished, party leaders will be free to appoint their favourites on nomination lists to the slots their parties secure in Parliament, at the expense of the deserving ones who are not in their good books.

President GR’s mission to drain the swamp and bring about a people-friendly political culture reminds us of the labours of Hercules. We can only hope that he will succeed in his endeavour. Stiff resistance, to his efforts, is likely to come from within his own camp.

Now that the President has expressed his desire to have election campaigns scaled down, it is hoped that he will prevail upon his family members to set an example to others. This may be half the battle in achieving his objective.

Daily News Editorial

Stepping out, safely

When people step out following the partial lifting of the curfew in most parts of the country, the question on everyone’s lips should be: ‘Is it safe?’

Sri Lankans from Jaffna to Matara and Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Kurunegala and Kandy, in 21 districts in all, began a semblance of what might seem ‘normal’ life yesterday. But the evil spectre of COVID-19 loomed over the nation as the most populated region, which includes the economic and political centre, stayed rigidly isolated and yet reverberating with continuous detections of infections and, lockdowns of neighbourhood after neighbourhood.

The sheer ferocity of the epidemic is such that, in recent weeks, the infection count has been increasing by the hour virtually. After a spate of COVID-19 detections in the past week alone, the total number of infected cases stood at 611 last evening. The most encouraging aspect remains the low death toll. But the recent actual acceleration of the epidemic rather than its slowing down must be a sharp warning to all.

It took literally months since the entry of the disease in late January for the number of positive cases to reach 200 in late March. Scarily, the count then more than doubled in the past three weeks. Given this acceleration of the spread, readers should not be under any illusion that this epidemic is going to disappear soon.

Yesterday’s partial relaxing of the curfew must only be seen as a ‘test’ run: the authorities are watching closely to see how much – not ‘if’ - the disease will spread because of the freed up movement of people. We simply must realise that the relaxing of certain strictures is not due to a lessening of the threat.

Rather, it is a tentative effort by a besieged nation to resuscitate a staggering economy, stunted livelihoods and, family nurturing even in the midst of the contagion. We are being allowed to step out, move around and do many things at the risk of being infected or infecting others because the nation has no choice if we are to continue with life in a constructive way.

The partial lifting of curfew, the segregation of some areas under continued lockdown, and all the intricate rules for people’s movements – the allocation of movement in public to limited groups according to our National Identity Card numbers – are all firm signals to the citizenry that our new ‘freedom’ is a freedom of movement within a COVID-19 world.

Surely, our experience of swift spreading of the infection must impress on us that even the slightest slip up in our precautionary measures, the tiniest breaking of the now familiar anti-COVID rules, will be enough to further worsen the contagion.

As we begin stepping out in order to undertake absolutely essential tasks – from food replenishment to studies to medical treatment to livelihoods – our challenge is to keep the inevitable spread of the disease to the lowest possible levels. If, due to carelessness, we allow the rate of spread of the disease to accelerate, all it means is further lockdowns and further delaying of economic revival.

This warning is being reiterated in these columns and in many public announcements via all the national media because all it takes is for just one among the millions of Sri Lankans to either carelessly or selfishly or ignorantly break the rules and spread the virus. In one case, a single barber caused a viral spread.

An entire naval base with over 4,000 personnel and families in Welisara also had to be locked down. And since it was Navy personnel affected, it meant that the Navy’s contribution to fighting the epidemic was that much weakened. The Security Forces are in the vanguard of the fight against the Coronavirus and they have to take extra steps to ensure their protection. In this context, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has appointed a Presidential Task Force to ensure the health security of all Security Forces camps throughout the country. A panel of experts in the Task Force will visit all Forces camps in the country, assess their health security conditions and give any recommendations for improvement. This is a commendable step.

Those of us in the Western Province and the Puttalam district have yet a week more of lockdown before we can also step out. Because the virus is most active in our areas, we will need to be even more disciplined.

The varied curfew regime is itself to be seen as a new lifestyle for the months to come. The rostered allocation of right of movement in public – based on our NIC numbers – will have be understood and rigidly followed if these measures are to have any effect. There will be no point in being lax and then blaming the inevitable repercussions on the measures themselves. We will be to blame, not the system. And if we individually fail, the society is weakened and our social progress beyond this epidemic slowed down.

The Island Editorial

Underutilised govt. labs

Sri Lanka has earned notoriety for the underutilisation of its public assets. The full potential of its bus and train services has not been tapped, and there are many state-owned buildings which have remained vacant for years. Besides, most state ventures are underperforming due to mismanagement. Those who have governed the country for the last several decades, their lackeys appointed to top positions in the state sector and servile bureaucrats should take the blame for this sorry state of affairs. They don’t seem to change their ways, even during a national crisis.

The Health Ministry has said that as many as 1,400 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests were conducted on suspected Covid-19 cases, on Monday; it is the highest number of tests conducted in a single day, since the start of the coronavirus spread, here. This is certainly welcome news in that the success of the ongoing battle against the highly contagious virus hinges on the country’s ability to do mass testing. Had more tests been conducted, at the early stages of the spread of the virus, many more infections could have been detected and the transmission of Covid-19 curbed more effectively. Lockdowns and curfews have to be coupled with aggressive testing, if the virus is to be beaten decisively. South Korea has done so, brought the situation under control, and even conducted an election.

Health authorities deserve praise for their efforts to prevent the spread of Covid-19, but they must be asked why they could not get more PCR tests done, previously, with the help of government labs. The country has enough state-owned laboratory facilities to conduct many more Covid-19 tests, on a daily basis, we are told.

The Sri Lanka Association of Government Medical Laboratory Technologists (SLAGMLT) told the media, the other day, that the Health Ministry had not cared to have the facilities in the state sector fully utilised to have more tests done. It said there were eight laboratories, capable of conducting PCR tests, at the Medical Research Institute, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, the Colombo North Hospital and the state health institutions in Anuradhapura, Karapitiaya, Ratnapura and Maharagama. All those laboratories could be used 24 hours a day for testing, but only the one in Anuradhapura had received samples for testing, outside the normal working hours, the SLAGMLT said.

It is not possible that the Health Ministry was unaware of the availability of laboratory facilities, at institutions under its purview, for conducting more PCR tests, but, curiously, it sought assistance from some private hospitals to test suspected Covid-19 patients. What did it do so, having refused to grant permission for privately-owned labs to conduct PCR tests?

It is only natural that the Health Ministry’s decision to involve some private hospitals in Covid-19 testing has made its critics smell a rat. The SLAGMLT should be thanked for coming forward to inform the public of the underutilisation of the state medical laboratories and ratchet up pressure on the Health Ministry to get more tests done. Its efforts have apparently yielded the desired results.

Meanwhile, among the carriers of coronavirus are drug addicts, who don’t care two hoots about health guidelines, lockdowns and curfews. Some women were shown on television, a few weeks ago, pleading with the police to save them from their family members addicted to narcotics. The police have told this newspaper that they are keeping tabs on drug addicts’ movements. If so, those elements, who are a curse to their families and the general public, and transmit Covid-19, must be severely dealt with, according to the law. They must also be tested urgently because a drug addict has caused a very high number of infections.

Daily Mirror Editorial

War against Covid 19; Is the Excise Dept. drunk?

Some happy news during this ‘lockdown’ period because of the Covid 19 pandemic is that it has proved to many who are addicted to liquor that drug addiction is a myth.

What is needed is strong discipline and self control. This can be imposed from outside or could come from within the person. Alcoholism and the problems related to it is a major crisis in Sri Lanka. While it is a major health problem leading to deadly non-communicable deceases, it also has created many economical, social and inter-personnel problems specially among the poor and lower-middle class families.

However we saw that when liquor shops were allowed to open on April 20, after a month long curfew, how a large crowd desperately queued up outside liquor shops ignoring the guidelines regarding social distancing and other protective measures. There was so much pressure from the medical experts among others, that the government immediately re-imposed the ban on opening of liquor shops.

All over the world medical practitioners have strongly warned that smoking can lead to Covid 19 infection and also have stressed the link it has with alcohol. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has cautioned that “alcohol has effects, both short-term and long-term, on almost every single organ of one’s body. And alcohol use, especially heavy use, weakens the immune system and thus reduces the ability to cope with infectious diseases”. The WHO has specifically noted that during the COVID-19 pandemic alcohol should be avoided altogether so that people would not undermine their own immune system and health. They also will not be a risk to health of others.

In this context, the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA), leading medical professional body strongly condemned a recent statement made by Excise Department’s Deputy Commissioner Kapila Kumarasinghe. He claimed that due to the closure of liquor shops Sri Lankan Government was losing an estimated Rs.15 billion a month by way of tax revenue. The SLMA’s Expert Committee on Tobacco, Alcohol and Illicit Drugs in a strongly worded response, said that the myth of “revenue generation” from alcohol was propagated by the alcohol industry to obtain profits over the dead bodies of its customers.

“What the people of Sri Lanka need now is good nutrition and protection from disease, not spurious alcohol industry friendly arguments from a government agency. The people of this country do not deserve the injuries, accidents, child abuse, domestic violence, depression, suicides, alcohol related strokes, heart attacks, cancers and cirrhosis now. The health sector also does not need an explosion of patients with alcohol related accidents and medical conditions. The police will be thankful for not having to deal with alcohol related incidents and accidents during the coming days and weeks,” the SLMA stated.

Around the world millions die and fall sick from alcohol use. A study conducted by the Ministry of Health and the WHO has shown that the economic costs of alcohol use in Sri Lanka far outweighs the “revenue” generated. Therefore it will be actually profitable to the government keep alcohol selling points closed than keeping them open. However, the Department now seemed to be more concerned about the alcohol trade profiting, rather than the well-being of people and the country, the SLMA said. The Expert Committee has also criticised the Senior Excise officer’s other argument to support the lifting up the ban on liquor shops. He has claimed that illicit liquor trading was gaining ground with home breweries popping up across the country. The SLMA noted that the Excise Department officer seemed to have conveniently forgotten that one of its main functions was to eliminate illicit alcohol production.

“If it has indeed forgotten, it should read the Excise Act carefully again and understand it. Is it admitting in public that it is not equal to the task? Or is it turning a blind eye to such production, to use it as an excuse to open up liquor stores throughout the country, that will only benefit the alcohol trade?” the SLMA said

At this time of turmoil which some analyst have described as something like the World War III with the international enemy being an invisible germ, health sector personnel including doctors, nurses and minor hospital employees are working day and night to save Covid 19 patients. All over the world the number afflicted has topped the three million mark while the number killed is more than 200,000. Other sectors like the police and military are also working tirelessly for the common good of people. It is the duty of all other government departments and private sectors to assist and support the efforts of those who are on the mission to win the war against the invisible monster. We advise Excise Department officials that they should not act like drunkards or alcoholics. 

Daily News Editorial

Politics amidst a global health crisis

“The two things given to each patient were a bottle of the standard quinine mixture and Marmite rolled into the form of vederala’s pills…” was how one account of the historic ‘Surya Mal Movement’ of the mid-1930s described the labours of those freedom activists during the Malaria epidemic. The forerunners of some of our country’s biggest political parties were among them.

In 1934-35, heavy rains combined with persistent malnutrition among the poor peasantry resulted in almost a quarter of the total population of 3.5 million suffering from Malaria, of which as much as 125,000 people died. Historical writings of the time reported that agricultural production suffered due to so many farmer families being stricken with the debilitating fever. The British colonial administration struggled to maintain order at the time and was weighed down by the costs of financial support for poor peasant families.

But young radical freedom fighters Philip and Robert Gunawardena, N.M. Perera, Dr. S.A. Wickremasinghe, Colvin R. de Silva, Leslie Goonewardene and Vernon Gunasekera had, on their own initiative, diverted their already successful ‘Surya Mal Movement’ into a campaign of voluntary help and care for the Malaria victims. So rooted had the Surya Mal cadres become in the Malaria affected villages that, ultimately, the colonial authorities had to partly rely on these activists to distribute food and medical supplies.

These young political leaders were some of the social-heroic originators of major national political parties of today. And they were already in the forefront of politics at that time.

Today, the country faces as big a health crisis as that which ravaged the island in the 1930s. Even though the death toll is yet nowhere near the fatalities in the 1934-35 Malaria epidemic, the severe economic disruption bodes to be as nationally crippling. Given the manner in which all sectors of the economy are interlinked in this era of globalized capitalism, the impact could be far worse.

In contrast to the Malaria epidemic of yesteryear, today’s political Opposition is not to be seen mobilizing the masses in movements of social response to the COVID-19 epidemic. Unlike Malaria, COVID-19 is a highly contagious disease and, therefore, current political leaders cannot traipse the roads (as they did in the Kelani Valley in 1934-35) to tend to the disease-stricken – at least not in the COVID-19 high intensity areas. In fact, Sri Lanka has now become only the second country in South Asia to eliminate Malaria after a massive anti-Malaria campaign.

But the tools and methods of today’s politics and popular mobilisation are far different in this age of electronic media and digital mass communications. Social movements and, even regime-toppling ‘revolutions’, have been launched via social media and the smartphone. Huge volumes of promotion of political personalities and social causes are now entirely powered through these forms of messaging (just as it is done in commerce).

But our national Opposition has not thought to take any significant and imaginative initiatives to meet the social needs of our current pandemic even as the Government, the health agencies and philanthropic commercial enterprises are doing. The electronic news media and the Internet buzz with such governmental and commercial messaging all the time.

Except for a few Left parties, the major Opposition alliances are only known to focus on Constitutional matters. In this era of digital art and virtual platforms, there is nothing as imaginative as the ‘Surya Mal’ as a political tool of mass activism-cum-social-service.

The recall of Parliament, in effect, the return to Parliamentary power of the politicians, seems to be the sole objective of the latest joint statement put out by the some of the biggest Opposition parties.

The leaders of the Surya Mal Movement were also concerned about the democratic struggle against colonialism at the time. But in the midst of a deadly epidemic, they chose to focus on the immediate societal contingency and the people’s urgent needs. Of course, ultimately, by being true to the people’s priorities, these political personalities did benefit politically, but that was the result of their down-to-earth activism rather than mere constitutional manoeuvres.

The nation is in the clutches of a vicious pandemic that spreads swiftly and unseen. Such is the threat to community life that livelihoods are in suspense for weeks. While formal political deliberations and decision-making ultimately must come, cannot these be done in engagement between all political forces in new processes of on-going consultation rather than by mere constitutionally framed party competition?

The Surya Mal activists were engaged with on the Malaria frontlines by the colonial administration of the time (their political foes). In today’s post-modern frameworks, the Opposition must be already on the COVID-19 frontlines in various ways of virtual conferencing, mass communication and social guidance just as much as the administration and the business sector are active. That will also provide the compulsion for the Government to engage with these other national political forces.

The Island Editorial

‘Death by Corona’?

The rapid spread of Covid-19 has made the health authorities redouble their efforts to prevent it among the people, in congested areas, in cities and suburbs. They deserve praise for their work, which is physically and mentally draining, but it is said that not enough has been done to protect one of the most vulnerable segments of society—the prison population.

The government had better learn from the experience of other countries which boast modern prison systems that conform to international standards, but are faced with the problem of increasing Covid-19 infections among their prisoners.

The US has had to contend with a surge in Covid-19 infections, in some of its prisons. More than 2,000 coronavirus patients have been detected, in a state penitentiary, in Ohio, and they account for 78% of the total number of inmates, in that institution, according to media reports. About 4,000 prisoners, in Ohio, have reportedly tested positive for Covid-19, and 12 of them have died. Given the spread of the disease in the US prisons, where conditions are much better than in Sri Lankan jails, how disastrous the situation would be, here, in case of prisoners being infected is not difficult to imagine.

The British Ministry of Justice has confirmed that about 15 prisoners have died of Covid-19, in the UK. It may be recalled that, early last month, the spread of Covid-19 and the measures adopted to control it set prisons ablaze across Italy. Riots broke out, and at least six inmates died in clashes.

There are said to be rumblings of discontent in some prisons, here, owing to prisoners’ fear of Covid-19. Two inmates of the Anuradhapura Prison were killed, last month, when prisoners staged a protest, fearing a coronavirus outbreak and turned violent, causing their guards to open fire. Thankfully, what was feared has not come to pass, in prisons, but the possibility of a wave of coronavirus infections, in those places, cannot be ruled out, given the appalling conditions, which inmates are living under. Overcrowded prisons without adequate sanitary facilities are an ideal breeding ground for coronavirus.

Some measures have been adopted to prevent the spread of Covid-19, in the state pens, here, we are told. But the fact remains that not even the naval personnel have been safe. More than 60 of them have contracted the diseases and are believed to have transmitted it to others. The need for aggressive testing, in prisons, to prevent a disastrous situation cannot be overemphasised. Even things that are visible such as mobile phones, sachets of hell dust, knives and bottles of liquor find their way into jails undetected, and the question is whether the prison authorities are equal to the task of keeping those places free from dangerous submicroscopic infectious agents like coronavirus?

The government was warned of the possibility of Covid-19 spreading, in jails, when the first few coronavirus infections were detected, in the country. The responsibility for protecting prisoners against the disease was entrusted to some individuals and organisations. But prisons remain as vulnerable as they were, we are told.

More than 26,000 prisoners are said to be kept in jails which can accommodate only 10,000. So releasing a few thousand inmates will not help make prisons less congested. What enabled the US to realise the gravity of the situation in its prisons was mass testing of inmates. Sri Lanka ought to do likewise immediately lest it should be too late. Unless urgent action is taken to ensure the safety of prisoners vis-à-vis the rapid spread of Covid-19, it may be a case of ‘death by Corona’ for most of them.

Daily News Editorial

Economic struggle ahead

Even as the Government and the medical authorities grapple with the multiple logistical problems of managing a national economy amid a pandemic not yet under control, the continued experience of a life-threatening contagion has Sri Lankans torn between their instincts for immediate collective survival and their long-term livelihood needs.

The vast majority of citizens applaud the President and the Government for their management of the health crisis, and the degree of public compliance with the strict social hygiene requirements has risen. Unlike in many of the ‘advanced industrialised’ nations, the Sri Lankan public very quickly adapted to the tight social and economic activity restrictions despite the hardships.

The social pressures have focused on the livelihood difficulties of the low-income groups and business difficulties all-round rather than on loss on social entertainment and sharply curtailed sports and leisure activities.

In the first two months of the epidemic in Sri Lanka, the spread of infections emanated from foreign returnees. But despite stringent measures taken by health authorities and the efficiency of all active institutions in implementing the epidemic counter-measures amid the constraints of a developing economy, the contagion has slowly taken root on the island. The total number of infected persons has quickly increased within the pace of two weeks to 471 as at yesterday evening, although the number of fatalities remains at seven.

The health authorities have candidly acknowledged the lack of resources and all indications are of initiatives under way to speedily acquire sufficient volumes of equipment and other resources to enable a more comprehensive coverage of all aspects of the epidemic, from detection to treatment to prevention.

However, the Government is under huge pressure to address the serious ongoing economic dimensions of the pandemic. What is at stake is the bread and butter (or, rice and curry) issues.

The struggle to slow down the contagion, however successful so far, still cannot alleviate the emerging economic repercussions of the lockdown so wisely implemented at a relatively early stage. As an increasingly expanding part of the world halted economic activities and mass transit of people both locally and internationally, Sri Lanka’s economy began to suffer along with the rest of the world.

The hope is that the contagion will still be brought under control within the next few months as a result of the counter-measures now in force. In the meantime, however, some risks must be taken to begin expanding economic activity from the bare minimum that has so far been allowed to function, mainly in the rural areas.

After a month and more of lockdown of urban industry and services, the national economy needs some element of revival if the damage is not to get worse and recovery time and costs not to balloon.

This is why the Government has authorised a lifting of the curfew in the urban regions from Tuesday and a restricted system of public participation in economic activity. The President’s Office has, once again, issued a detailed programme of ‘Regulations to maintain normalcy in civilian life during curfew period’ to enable a carefully phased opening up of public life, especially in employment and livelihoods.

The public must carefully read and absorb these new requirements in public movement and behaviour and, in engagement in livelihood. The news media is circulating this and other governmental announcements to ensure public awareness and compliance.

After experiencing the epidemic first hand and observing the efforts and failures and their frightening outcomes in other countries, the citizenry should be under no illusion that everything is now ‘OK’ or even beginning to be ‘OK’. Rather, the challenge to the nation is to begin to lead a new life in a high-risk environment with much extra effort required to work under tightly restrictive conditions that will neither bring immediate relief nor a full guarantee of safety.

Fortunately, unlike the comfy affluent societies that today are wallowing in the morass of their complacence, Sri Lankans have the advantage of much experience of poverty, lack of luxuries, and most importantly, the experience of major national crises of war, social violence and immense natural disasters. The nation has toiled toward development goals during decades of war and social conflict. We have survived and recovered from massive tsunami disasters and sudden acts of terrorism.

With the strength of such experience, we will know the degree to which we must yet again bear burdens and toil amid numerous pressures. What we need is the assurance of sound political leadership that can mobilise and deploy our national energies in the right direction while ensuring that the toilers are adequately looked after.

The private sector has already stepped forward in both innovative collaborations and generous philanthropic contributions. The public also seeks the assurance that the political class will respond with diligence and self-sacrifice rather than laxity and corruption. The Presidential leadership demonstrated so far no doubt gives confidence that the politics will also be managed in a manner that is conducive for post-pandemic recovery.

The Island Editorial

Virus and wolf

A steep rise in the number of the Covid-19 infections, here, is proof that the situation is taking a turn for the worse. It looks as if Sri Lanka had considered itself the winner, prematurely, after the first round of the fight against the elusive virus; the government decided to ease lockdowns and curfews in all districts, only to realise its mistake and exclude the red zones immediately afterwards.

What we are witnessing, at present, may be the second wave of infections. It is unfortunate that so many security forces personnel have contracted Covid-19. We cannot batten down the hatches and wait for the crisis to pass; everything possible has to be done to curb the spread of the virus. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that the worst is yet to come. Some of the ongoing preventive measures, however, cannot go on indefinitely, given the economic and social costs they entail.

The sooner the lockdowns and curfews are eased, the better it is for the economy and the public. Even countries such as the US and some EU member states are mulling over reopening their economies. Sri Lanka will have to do likewise, but if the viral infections get out of hand, lockdowns and curfews will have to be extended indefinitely. An early economic recovery will be well-nigh impossible, in such an eventuality, and many people won’t be able to keep the wolf from the door.

Daily wage earners have been crying out for help, unable to eke out a living; the government has given them some relief, but such welfare measures won’t be sustainable in the long run. Worryingly, in some urban areas, it is mostly the low income groups that act irresponsibly, as evident from the increasing number of coronavirus infections among the people, in the poor quarters of the Colombo City. They move about, without heeding health guidelines, according to the police. Somebody must tell them, in no uncertain terms, that the current relief programmes will come to an end soon, and they will have to starve unless the country is reopened.

Middle class people are also among those who do not follow the health guidelines and violate curfew, as can be seen from the arrests being made. They make a contribution to the spread of the virus and are a nuisance to those who are struggling to control infections. They ought to realise that prevention is the only way the virus can be tackled, and unless the national health emergency is overcome and lockdowns and curfews are eased fast, the economy will be further weakened; many businesses are bound to go belly up, causing more job losses.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has said the Covid-19 pandemic will have a catastrophic effect on working hours and earnings, globally. It has warned that the crisis is expected to wipe out 6.7 per cent of working hours, around the world, in the second quarter of 2020 –– equivalent to 195 million full-time workers. Large reductions are foreseen in the Arab States, (8.1 per cent, equivalent to 5 million full-time workers), Europe, (7.8 per cent, or 12 million full-time workers) and Asia and the Pacific (7.2 per cent, 125 million full-time workers).

Further losses to the state coffers, due to the Covid-19, will inevitably lead to the retrenchment of the welfare state to a considerable extent. If what is feared comes to pass, vital sectors such as health, education and social welfare will be adversely affected. Those who are acting irresponsibly, facilitating the spread of the virus, albeit unwittingly, don’t seem to have realised the gravity of the situation. It s time some sense was knocked into them.

Daily Mirror Editorial

Can we avoid a situation of queues and scarcities?

On April 22, cabinet spokesperson, Minister Bandula Gunawardana announced that the government would be taking steps to limit imported goods into the country. He added this action had become necessary to stabilise the local currency.

The reason for the import ban - which took many by surprise - was that the country did not have sufficient reserves of foreign exchange. The falling value of the rupee vis-a-vis the dollar, was also a reason forcing the government to ban the import of particular goods which ‘could be produced locally and those it felt were ‘nonessential.’ Among the banned items were fruits and vegetables which could be produced locally, including pepper and orid.

The Government had also decided to ban the import of vehicles, refrigerators and a variety of unspecified ‘luxury goods’. Cabinet spokesperson was quick to assure all small, medium and large-scale industrialists that import raw material needed to keep their factories operational would be unhidered and there would be no shortage of raw materials required for industrial production.

In an effort to attract foreign remittances, the government is to commence special bank accounts offering interest rates of 2% points higher than regular interest rates for deposits for over six months and in this way stablise the falling value of the rupee bringing back memories of the pre-1977 era, when due to an acute shortage of foreign exchange, general imports were limited or banned.

All imported articles were subject to a ‘quota system’. We witnessed what was called a ‘paan polima’ (bread queue) where people stood from early morning and sometimes came back empty-handed. It was also a time when bakers did not have sufficient stocks of wheat flour to meet the daily requirement of bread. A time bakers had to produce their products out of flour made from manioc flour - which was to put it mildly, quite unpalatable. 

It was also a time of the ‘haal polla’ where police manned road blocks to prevent citizens transporting rice/paddy from one part of the country to another. It was an era when on particular days of the week, restaurants and eateries were prohibited from serving rice to customers.

The then government too, assured industrialists that exchange needed to import raw materials needed for industrial production would be readily available. But there was a catch, the amount of exchange was determined by Ministry officials. Invariably the exchange allocated was totally inadequate as recalled by Elmo de Silva, the then Senior Deputy Controller Imports and Exports (DCIE).

Locally manufactured products turned out by state corporations, produced low quality products. For instance mammoties for farmers were not capable of cutting the soil! Government loyalists were granted permits to set up local industries; for instance, razor blades produced by local industrialists were so bad the blade only cut the skin of the user and not the follicles.

Government also set up an Import Restriction Committee which believed all imported items could be manufactured locally. Unfortunately, these fly-by-night industrialists enjoying monopoly status, produced extremely low quality products. One of the best examples was the ban on the import of margarine. One local firm had a monopoly of manufacturing the product, which was described as tasting like solidified coconut oil!

Essentials like cloth needed for clothing were rationed, and the ‘masses’ were obliged to run from pillar to post filling numerous forms before they could ultimately stand for hours in long queues to purchase requirements. The material sold was of low quality, but people had no choice but to procure it. The shortages resulting from the ban on imports and dependence on bureaucrats to get the tiniest job done, gave rise to rampant bribery and corruption. Palms had to be oiled to get the tiniest job done.

Today’s context is worse, many workers in the private sector have lost their jobs, many others are on less than half-pay. Persons dependent on a daily wage have no way to feed their families except through petty crime. In these days of coronavirus, one cannot even beg on the street for fear of being arrested. For the government, the pandemic could not have come at a worse time. It’s election year, shortages, scarcities, unemployment, shortage of medicament are making life for a majority of people impossible.

At the elections of 1977, the then government was kicked out by the ‘suffering masses’. Unless the present regime can avoid repeating the mistakes of the pre-77 regime, they are likely to face the same fate, come the general election of June 2020. 

Sunday Observer Editorial

Civic Responsibility to the fore

The Government has rightly decided to relax the curfew in all areas from May 4 as continuing the daytime curfew for another month or so could result in an economic catastrophe. The economy has already suffered immensely as a result of the curfew and subsequent suspension of almost all economic and social activities. However, this was deemed essential to control the coronavirus pandemic. We have now seen over 400 infections and seven deaths, which is much better than developed countries such as the US, which just passed the grim 50,000 deaths mark.

But it would be naïve to think that the battle against the coronavirus is over. Far from it. Now is the time to be even more vigilant. This is why civic responsibility is even more and ever more important at this juncture. The Government has done its part, though not 100 percent perfect given the limited resources available, but now it is the turn of the public to heed the Government’s call and behave responsibly at all times, regardless of whether the curfew is in force or not. Parents have a special responsibility to apprise their children, even the young ones, about the dangers of the coronavirus and making sure that they follow health guidelines.

On Friday, DIG Ajith Rohana appealed to the public to do their duty and avoid unnecessary travel and maintain social distancing during the periods the curfew is lifted. In some areas the curfew has already been lifted and other areas the curfew is still in force. However, the SLTB and other private bus owners and drivers and conductors should adhere to the regulations and not carry over 50 percent of passengers. If the passengers are rushing into their buses and they feel it is over half their capacity, they should refuse to board them and make them take the next bus. This is their responsibility to society. Indeed, our sister newspaper the Daily News reported yesterday that drivers and conductors have been warned by Police in several areas against overloading.

These safety measures extend to the workplace too. Employers should only get the employees whose services are vital to attend office while wherever possible employees could work from home. “In every instance that the Police, PHI and health authorities visit your offices or factories, I urge the authorities of these offices to cooperate with them and adhere to their instructions,” he said.

However, the conditions put in place for the farmers and those engaged in agricultural activities remain the same. This was to ensure that the economic lifeblood of the country – agriculture – could be sustained without interruption even during the curfew period. This has by and large succeeded. With the Government actively stepping in to purchase vegetables, rice and fish on behalf of the consumers, the farmers and fishermen as well as the consumers benefited. Granted, there were certain deficiencies in last-mile distribution but no person had gone hungry. The Government and many other organisations looked after the daily wage earners as well.

It is now up to the people to determine if they would follow the proper health advice and overcome the danger of the coronavirus threat or go back to a full blown threat of the coronavirus spreading. Hence, it is vital for the public to act responsibly and assist the authorities to overcome the coronavirus threat.

At this moment, we should again recall with gratitude the immense sacrifice made by Health, Security Forces and Police personnel in the battle against the coronavirus. They always faced the dangerous prospect of contracting the virus. That was a risk they knowingly and bravely took. Unlike in some other countries, they did not demand any special payments, PPE kits and other facilities. They did and are doing their duty. It was reported that some had not gone home in over a month.

It is in this context that we should all pray for the swift recovery of all the Naval personnel at Welisara Navy Camp who had contracted Covid-19. The Welisara Navy Base had detected 60 coronavirus cases so far.

Accordingly, the Navy said that nearly 4,000 naval personnel and their families (194 married quarters are located in the Welisara Naval Complex) have been isolated within the camp.

Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) Chief Vice Admiral Piyal De Silva said PCR testing for Naval personnel in the Welisara Naval Base has been expedited and the base has been completely locked down to prevent the spread of coronavirus further. More than 400 tests are done per day.

The Navy has since requested the public not to be unduly worried about this situation as the SLN has already taken immediate steps to contain the spread of coronavirus to any person or areas outside the camp.

It is indeed pertinent at this moment to provide whatever extra facilities and protective measures are needed by the heroes in the frontlines of the battle against the deadly COVID-19 pathogen considering the immense risks they face. They are our best hope against the more widespread infection scenario. The other hope is that the public will fully comply with the health authorities’ guidelines without disregarding them. This is essential if we are to put this contagion behind us and move ahead as a progressive nation. The President, the Prime Minister, the Government, health and Security Forces/Police personnel as well as essential services personnel can only do so much to protect us. The rest is up to us – the public. We must rise to that challenge.

The Island Editorial

Firing at a moving target

Whether the curfew will be lifted tomorrow as previously announced, in Colombo and the other districts where it has continued for several days, was unclear when this was being written. Decisions to relax the curfew have been announced before and changed subsequently. Nobody could be blamed for this as the responsible authorities are confronted by a moving target with the ground situation changing not by the days but by the hour. There is no escaping the reality that the general public has been severely affected by what is happening around us. It is not a matter of windfall holidays or almost traffic-less roads for those who can venture out of their homes armed with a curfew pass or other identification establishing that they are working for an essential service. All of us are greatly affected, many more so than others.

As is the way of the world, the better off are less hurt than the vast majority. Armed with laptop computers and smart phones, they can shop online from supermarkets that will deliver their groceries to their doorstep. Many banking facilities that modern technology has delivered in recent years offer them the convenience of online banking. Business can done with pharmacies and drug stores without physically presenting themselves ensuring they are not starved of essential medication. Their pockets are not empty like those of the daily wage earners who live by the day and are faced with a fearful predicament. There are millions of such people in the country and despite the best efforts of the concerned authorities, what relief that has been offered is a fraction of actual need.

The evening news bulletins of the different television stations bring vivid pictures of what is happening at various offices paying out the meagre five thousand rupee allowance. The queues are long and the people in them are angry. Hot words are exchanged with officials who can offer very little redress. Given the galloping inflation which has been rampant in this country for the past several years, five thousand rupees will not go far in purchasing essentials to feed even a small family. It will not be long before a cash-strapped government will have to make another round of payments if the lockdown continues. Given the difficulties that those lining-up for the dole must suffer to draw what is really a pittance, the question can be asked why a ten thousand rupee allowance was not paid in the first instance. The answers are many, the first among them being that the exchequer is not a bottomless pit; and paying even the five thousand rupees has strained the Treasury to near breaking point. Also, if ten thousand rupees is paid as a first instalment, there will be expectation of a similar payment the second time round.

With a general election scheduled for June 20, what is most galling is that there are credible allegations that even these payments have been politicized. It has been alleged that the symbol of the front-running political party has been printed on some of the forms on which the applications must be made. There have also been an allegation that these forms have been distributed from the homes of local politicians. How many of these are factual and how many fictitious we do not know. But we live in a country where much of what the state does is blatantly and brazenly politicized. Even letters of appointment to the state services are handed over at expensive tamashas by politicians who act as though the salaries paid to the recruits come out of their own pockets. We all know that meritocracy in obtaining state appointments has long been subordinated to political ‘pull.’ Too often these state sector jobs are simply not there or are most redundant in the context of salary expenditure. They are created by politicians who want ‘jobs for the boys’ – of course in return for their votes. As a result the state sector is bloated beyond belief with tens of thousands of passengers paid at the taxpayers’ expense.

There has been wide acclaim that Sri Lanka has faced a seemingly insurmountable challenge reasonably well. For a country of our size and population the numbers of infected persons have been contained with an efficient system of contact tracing to which military intelligence has contributed much. The number of deaths has been a handful and the number of recoveries satisfactory. The frontline comprising health care personnel, the military and the police together with the often maligned public service have risen magnificently to the occasion. Obviously, we like the rest of the world cannot afford any kind of complacency and put our guard down. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is on record saying that while he would like the stringent restrictions to remain in force for another month, nearly half the country’s national product comes from the Western Province. That implied that the government, perforce, must get the country working as quickly as possible. Our regular columnist, Kumar David, has socked home that need in his contribution this week. The impact of the virus is human, social, political and most importantly economical. There has been vigorous debate on whether the impending election be held as scheduled or postponed indefinitely. Both proponents and opponents on both sides of the fence are sadly making their case from a political and not a national perspective. The president has ruled out invoking the consultative jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to get an independent opinion. Who can be blamed for thinking that this reluctance is rooted in the belief that he may not get the answer he wants. That’s perhaps Sri Lanka’s greatest tragedy – that even at a time such as this, the national interest is not held paramount. 

Sunday Times Editorial

The inherent danger in the Doctrine of Necessity

The legality or the lack thereof of the ongoing curfew was briefly taken to a Court of Law this week during a bail application on behalf of an actor turned politician turned attention- grabber. The Police was not ready to challenge the defence counsel’s argument that the curfew was illegal and while the accused got bail, the question of the legality of the curfew was not what was adjudicated upon.

The curfew has been imposed under the provisions of the 1897 Quarantine and Prevention of Diseases Ordinance and not by the declaration of a state of emergency under the Public Security Ordinance or by any other means like a Gazette notification.

The declaration of a state of emergency would require Parliament to approve it within a month, and every month thereafter but Parliament now stands dissolved. This provision was introduced in the 1978 Constitution after the Sirima Bandaranaike Government brought in emergency rule in 1971 to counter the JVP uprising and kept it active till 1977, long after the insurgency was quashed. With the Government showing no willingness whatsoever to re-summon Parliament, the option of a state of emergency is out of the window even though the tri-forces are out on the streets under the provisions of the Public Security Ordinance.

All the Police headquarters announcements; the curfew violations and confiscation of vehicles, even orders to wear masks are open for legal scrutiny. However, no one is really complaining because the public is aware of how serious the situation is with the rapid spread of COVID-19.

The prevalent danger is whether the Government wishes to continue administering the country in this legal vacuum. It is not limited to the curfew. The Vote on Account that permits the Government to spend money without a budget approved by Parliament expires in the next few days. Not extending it is a textbook case of constitutional validity coming into question.

The Opposition has raised this question and the Speaker has said he does not want to precipitate yet another constitutional crisis by summoning Parliament when the President shows reluctance in doing so. The Prime Minister argues that it is within the Government’s powers to draw from the Consolidated Fund without a budget or a fresh Vote on Account. The legal validity is being argued through statements to the media.

The general public may be less than interested in these constitutional niceties in the face of a deadly virus. That does not remove the fact that the Government is bound to do what is right.

There is already the danger of pro-Government persona trotting out that exceptional circumstances require exceptional remedies. The Doctrine of Necessity is one of these arguments. This is based on an ancient legal maxim; “that which is otherwise unlawful is lawful by necessity” and that the welfare of the people is always supreme.

This Doctrine has very bad precedents. In 1954 Pakistan, the Chief Justice at the time validated the extra constitutional use of emergency powers to dissolve a Constituent Assembly that was drafting a new Constitution on such a principle. It paved the way for martial law. Under military rule the same doctrine was used to justify the judicial murder of Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The people of Pakistan have struggled ever since to restore democracy in their country. In Fiji, the superior court upheld a military coup that overthrew the Prime Minister and his Cabinet in 2006 (Qarase vs. Bainimarama 2009) on the grounds that the Commander of the Fijian Military was stepping into a “vacuum of power” to protect the existing legal order of the Republic. Both Pakistan and Fiji had been expelled from the Commonwealth Group for just such judicial-military adventurism.

This Doctrine has even been argued in the Privy Council (a 1965 case involving Emergency Regulations in Rhodesia) where a Judge held the regulations were necessary for “the ordinary orderly running of the country”. It was a minority dissenting judgment. There are such cases from Grenada, Nigeria and Nepal.

These are, however, unholy precedents to follow and dangerous arguments to advocate in Sri Lanka. And especially so when there are alternate constitutional remedies and mechanisms available to resolve outstanding issues.

The former President was fortunate to have got away lightly for tinkering with the Constitution back in October 2018 — an impeachable act on his part. Those who advise Presidents must see that their ‘client’ does not end up on the wrong side of history.

Covid-hit May Day for cash-strapped workers

Next Friday is May Day when the world celebrates — or is supposed to celebrate the day of the workers. COVID-19 will, however, make it a far cry from the slogan shouting, street marching show of solidarity with the workers of the world. For those countries that spend trillions to showcase their nuclear tipped warheads and intercontinental ballistic missiles on this day, they will be better served to parade a cake of soap and some hand sanitisers to save themselves from extinction.

Usually, this is the time of year that we focus on two categories whose plight needs to be addressed more than others — the thousands of Sri Lankan workers abroad and the thousands of unemployed waiting to join the ranks as workers of the world.

COVID-19 has now thrown a huge number of Sri Lankan workers abroad into an uncertain future, many trapped in foreign lands alone, others who have returned and are unsure if they will have a job to go back to. Here in Sri Lanka, even the employed, especially the self-employed and the daily wage earner is in limbo.

Millions of workers around the world are expected to lose their jobs, and those fortunate to keep theirs are certain to receive smaller pay packets as a global recession looms. The world economy is going to haemorrhage, at least in the short run.

The Sri Lankan economy being what it is — in shambles, and deep in debt — is hardly in a position to offer a substantial relief package to sectors that need to lay off workers nor able to shield workers who will be left with pecuniary burdens.

It seems inevitable that the Government will need to rely on foreign assistance to shore up the local economy and provide workers with a safety net. This week the newly appointed president of the World Bank spoke of the Bank’s intentions to infuse cash directly into the hands of ordinary people who need it in economically developing countries rather than channel it through Governments. How this mechanism works will have to be seen.

Just recently, a US grant of USD 500 million plus was put on hold on the grounds that the programme impacts on this country’s sovereignty. But a Chinese loan for about the same amount was accepted without a hum. There’s hardly any argument on the country’s independence being paramount. To oppose foreign grants on misplaced ideological grounds needs a fresh look when the country’s economy is sliding down a slippery slope.

This May Day is going to be arguably the worst one for the workers of the world in contemporary times.

Daily News Editorial

Our soldiers are also carers

The risks being run by the ‘first responders’ in this country’s battle against the COVID-19 pandemic are all the more apparent after the raft of positive cases detected among Navy troopers of the large Naval base at Welisara after their duty stints on the pandemic frontlines. After one naval officer reported positive, testing among personnel at the base showed a total of 60 people infected.

Now the entire base of 4,000 personnel and their families are under quarantine and are being subjected to tests. This is because those 60 personnel who have tested positive had been interacting with people inside the base. Relatives outside the base who had been visited in the interim by the some of the suspect infected persons have also been placed in self-quarantine.

Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 infections climbed to 415 cases yesterday evening after these and other positive detections. The number of fatalities still remains at seven, thankfully.

The country’s doctors, nurses, medical attendants, technicians and health administrators are in the closest interaction with the pandemic. The personnel of the Police and Armed Forces are the next in line, along with various staff of the public services, in dealing with the health crisis that presently holds this island and much of the rest of the world in its deadly grip.

Our Forces personnel have a long and distinguished record of militarily defending the country in the modern era. Their success, experience and expertise have been internationally recognised and many foreign defence establishments have learnt from them. In times of disasters of different kinds, too, the Tri Forces have a long experience, perhaps the most prominent being the floods that have regularly occurred over the decades. The worst single disaster in which our troops tirelessly served was the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004.

Responding to a massive and yet unknown pandemic is something entirely new and has tested the skills and ingenuity of all our specialised health cadres as well as our police and Security Forces whose role it is to enforce the measures to deal with the pandemic and generally ensure social stability.

A hallmark of this pandemic is the subtlety and speed of its spread among the populace. This required all responding personnel and agencies to work at speed and constantly – no matter the risk and work load – to counter the contagion.

The full resources of skills of our Forces have been deployed for this purpose. The sheer speed with which the Army prepared the first quarantine facilities to receive incoming passengers from China and other countries has been recognised and admired. Today, the Forces run 46 such centres in different parts of the country and more are being built. Incoming expatriate Sri Lankans who have had to undergo quarantine have been full of praise at the quality of the facilities and care at these centres.

Meanwhile the Air Force has readied a light transport plane for deployment as an ‘air ambulance’ to collect positive cases or carry specialised cadres and equipment to COVID sites. The Army is providing transport units to carry much needed fertilizer to farmers in remote areas.

Various music bands and ensembles of the Tri Forces have been busy these past weeks of monotonous lockdown providing much needed entertainment to communities ‘gated’ in self-isolation.

Genuine, holistic caring of others necessarily involves altruism and some element of self-sacrifice. In all our religious traditions there are strong teachings of caring: from the Karuna and Metta of Buddhism to the Christian concepts of Love and Giving.

Our cadres of the Tri Forces are demonstrating well that they can be both soldiers as well as carers in the service of the nation in times of tribulation.

Ramazan in pandemic times

As with the other main faiths of this country, Islam is a powerful inspirer of human endeavour, courage and perseverance. The spiritual struggle so essential for consistent and pure observation of the faith is enabled by the exercise of discipline in life style.

Islam engages us in voluntary practices of such disciplining, the most exacting for the lay person being a whole month’s daily fasting periods. Muslim Sri Lankans will begin the month of Ramazan fasting today in a world of a pandemic.

Already, the Islamic teachers association and mosque leaderships have provided guidance to the community on the practice of Ramazan customs and prayers under the strict social hygiene conditions now in force. Washing of hands, face and feet is, in any case, a regular routine for the devout at prayer times.

In full compliance with the national health requirements, the faithful will avoid gatherings at mosques (which have been closed under lockdown) and even the evening Ifthar is to be served only at home, restricted to the immediate family.

Sri Lankans will no doubt miss the socializing and festive food of the usual Ramazan hospitality by their Muslim friends and neighbours, but having similarly undergone Easter and Avurudu under lockdown, everyone understands the needs of the times.

The Island Editorial

In for a double whammy?

It is raining in some parts of the country, and the probability of precipitation is high, elsewhere, according to media reports. Welcome as this news may be for those troubled by the sweltering weather, rains are likely to worsen their woes.

Pluvial periods are usually followed by dengue outbreaks. Thousands of dengue cases have already been reported from different parts of the country. The situation will take a turn for the worse unless precautions are taken urgently. Covid-19 and dengue can be a deadly combination, and tackling both of them simultaneously will be a gargantuan task that the country may not be equal to. Hence the need to take all precautions to avert a disastrous situation!

The number of Covid-19 infections may not be high, but health workers, the armed forces personnel, the police, the Civil Defence Force members and all others, engaged in battling the virus, are already overworked. They are in this predicament mainly because most people don’t act responsibly. The success of their anti-Covid-19 operations hinges on their ability to stay focussed on detecting infections and curbing the spread of the elusive germ. The outbreak of another deadly disease is the last thing the country needs, at this juncture.

Mosquitoes breed mostly at construction sites, where water collects, as is public knowledge. All these places have remained closed for weeks, and they will become breeding grounds for mosquitoes, come rains. The police have realised this danger, according to a news report we publish, today. There is a pressing need for countrywide cleaning campaigns to prevent a possible dengue outbreak, but it is difficult to conduct them in the most populous parts of the country, especially the urban areas of the Western Province, owing to the ongoing lockdowns and curfew. The highest number of dengue cases is usually reported from Colombo and its suburbs.

Most public and private sector institutions remain closed, and mosquito breeding places have been found in some of them. Who will take the responsibility for eliminating them? It has been found that rainwater collects in places like schools, and those who are in the immediate vicinity thereof are in danger of being afflicted with dengue.

It may be possible to conduct dengue eradication programmes at the household level in spite of lockdowns and curfew. This is something that will help those who are reportedly having lockdown blues to keep themselves occupied; they can look out for mosquito breeding places in and around their houses and destroy them.

The incidence of domestic violence is reportedly on the rise owing to the frustration of some aggressive males confined indoors. They are said to have spent the money, given by the government to buy essentials, on firewater. Let these shameless characters be urged to spare their poor wives and children and take it out on mosquitoes and, thereby, be of some use to society. Other family members can join them while following health guidelines.

The public should come forward to eradicate mosquito breeding places without waiting for the health authorities to do so. This, they can do without violating the health guidelines meant for Covid-19 prevention. Health workers are up to their ears in work, risking as they do their dear lives in the battle against coronavirus, and it is not fair to shift the onus for preventing dengue as well to them.

Unless the people get their act together, they are bound to face a double whammy. They will have only themselves to blame, in such an eventuality.

Daily News Editorial

Tackling poverty in post-pandemic development

Notwithstanding the continuing, if slow, spread of the COVID-29 disease in the country, the President is already looking ahead for the future of the nation. Alongside the management of the health threat itself, there has been considerable effort at contingency management of economic activity. Now the President has appointed a Presidential Task Force on Economic Revival and Poverty Eradication.

If society is to be sustained on a daily basis, then the economy has to be kept ticking over. The continuous string of directives and administrative initiatives emanating from the President’s office over the past three months of the evolving pandemic demonstrated the country’s operational dynamism in facing up to this disaster.

The carefully planned phasing out of the nationwide crippling lockdown is only now under way and, that, too has been suitably amended to slow down the opening up of public activity in the face of recent unexpected spikes in the infection rate. The number of infections stood at 338 yesterday but this is expected to slowly rise further as expanded testing detects more positive cases.

While beefing up the proactive testing programme is the immediate pre-occupation, the President has now appointed a Presidential Task Force to plan for overall economic recovery and tackling the expected upturn in poverty. The Task Force comprises some thirty top officials and experts as well as respected private sector magnates.

The President has rightly included ‘poverty eradication’ in the subject matters to be addressed by the Task Force because the severe socio-economic dislocation being caused by the pandemic is expected to include income loss affecting whole social layers. The on-going economic shutdown has already affected employment which in turn means loss of income.

Unlike the rich countries with their billions and even trillions in financial reserves, Sri Lanka is a developing country that has been burdened with debt in its struggle to reach its current standard of economic and social life. We do not have reserves to draw on and so there will be a socio-economic pinch that needs much innovation and public-private partnership and astute management of the national economy in the coming months.

The nation will now look to this new Task Force to begin to plot our post-pandemic economic course.

Human violence in the Wild

The 25-year-old Wildlife Officer who died when shot at by intercepted poachers in the Gal Oya National Park on Wednesday night is not the first human Sri Lankan to sacrifice his life to protect the wildlife on our island home.

And, judging by the continued illegal preying on of our wild animals to feed human desires despite the visible dying away off of some of our most loved creatures, there may be other brave young Wildlife Officers sacrificing their lives in the future as well.

Our 65,610-square-kilometre island is blessed by one of the world’s highest bio-diversities and bio-densities. We not only have an extremely varied range of flora and fauna but all these numerous species of nature are packed into a small land area. And the physical area of animal habitat is getting smaller literally by the day due to human expansionism.

Humans are not only busily reducing the living space for the other creatures that inhabit this island with us, but also they are busy actively hunting them down. Our area of forest cover has dwindled from over 50 per cent of land area two hundred years ago to just 29 per cent at present with the primeval tree cover comprising a mere 9 per cent.

No wonder that various creatures of our wilderness are constantly spilling over in to human settlement and livelihood areas! Even as our beloved elephants have become a most endangered species we yet describe their predicament as a “human-elephant conflict”. The correct perspective should be ‘human genocide of elephants’ (and other threatened species).

This is why the Department of Wild Life Conservation plays an important role. Already an important element of our tourism attraction, in the post-pandemic period, we will need to rely even more on our wildlife as well as our natural landscapes as we look to tourism as one of the main strategic tracks for economic recovery.

It is hoped that not only will the killers of a State officer on duty be prosecuted and severely punished, but also that the authorities investigate and interdict the consumers and markets that stand to benefit from this poaching of our wildlife. New and growing global market demand includes genome and DNA industries for medical and industrial purposes as well as exotic food interests and rare fauna and flora interests.

Given the increasing importance of our (dwindling) natural habitat, it is time that the Wildlife Department is given more legal teeth as well as more human and technical resources to protect our flora and fauna. Such new technology as remote-controlled surveillance drones can be deployed to help our Wildlife rangers who are also an ‘endangered species’.

The Island Editorial

Animals enjoying freedom

Man has been put in his place, at long last. While humans are having lockdown blues, which are not likely to go away anytime soon, animals which were in hiding for fear of cruel bipeds are now enjoying unbridled freedom, which they richly deserve.

A report we publish, today, says Albania’s pink flamingos and curly pelicans are flourishing in lagoons, thanks to Covid-19, which has forced humans, who pollute water and air, and disturb the world, to remain indoors. Animals have been sighted even in cities in some parts of the world. We have recently seen heartwarming pictures of a gaze of raccoons scurrying about, in the Central Park, New York, a herd of sika deer in Nara, Japan, a sounder of pigs in Haifa, Israel, a paddling of mallards in Paris, a tribe of mountain goats in the Welsh town of Llandudno, a peacock in Dubai and a herd of fallow deer in East London.

Whoever would have thought, a few moons ago, such rare, pleasing sights would ever be possible? The curious critters, straying into the newly opened-up terrain, must be feeling sorry for the bipeds inhabiting the concrete jungles.

Humans get depressed when they have to stay at home, together with their loved ones, for a few weeks. Has anyone ever paused to think how depressed the dumb animals, forcibly removed from their families and natural habitats, and kept in zoos, are? We fought quite a battle, about a decade ago, to prevent a baby elephant from being separated from his mother, in Pinnawala, and donated to a temple. Sadly, our efforts failed.

Some people are so depressed due to being confined to their own homes that they have turned to alienists to get over their blues, we are told. But nobody give a tinker’s cuss about the animals kept in prisons that are zoos.

Freedom that raccoons are enjoying in the Central Park, New York, reminds us of the poor Central Park Five—a group of schoolboys including four Black Americans and a Latino—wrongfully convicted of raping a white woman and incarcerated, 30 years ago. Donald Trump called for implementing the death sentence by way of deterrent punishment, but the man who committed the crime confessed, years later, and the youth had to be exonerated. By that time, they had served sentences, ranging from six to 13 years. Last year, when the issue was raised again, President Trump refused to tender an apology!

Besides being slaughtered and incarcerated for commercial purposes, animals are subjected to various other forms of cruelty. In this country, which is said to be home to several great religions, elephants are made to undergo untold suffering in the name of jumbo safaris. Hakkapatas (improvised explosive devices concealed in fruits, etc.) cause elephants to suffer agonising deaths. In some other countries, dogs are eaten or made to take part in races. The same goes for horses, camels, etc. In Scandinavia, dolphins are slaughtered, in their hundreds, by boys upon reaching ‘manhood’. Some nations are notorious for foxhunting, which Oscar Wilde rightly described, though a character in one of his plays, as ‘the unspeakable in full pursuit of the uneatable’.

There are many other ways in which humans inflict suffering on poor animals. It looks as if the retribution had finally come in the form of a highly contagious zoonosis, which has snuffed out many lives and caused humans to be incarcerated in their own homes. The dreadful coronavirus has stood everything manmade on its head and instilled into humans the fear of death in a far more effective way than terrorism. Will they stop deriving pleasure from inflicting suffering on animals?

Daily Mirror Editorial

Home education during a crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic poses many questions regarding school education. One is why should students return to school at all if technology was used effectively in providing knowledge during this break taken from education inside an institution?

Parents will vouch for the fact that students enjoyed the use of learning devices like laptops and smart phones in the task of down loading tutorials sent to them by their school teachers.

One of the advantages of this method of providing education, during this pandemic, is that the students can pick the time of learning. They (Students) are in a way ‘bosses’ and can set their time for education. But education experts warn that still parents must have some control over their children in the use of learning devices due to the presence of internet use. 

These experts also have provided guidelines for parents for the task of supervising their children in ‘home education’.

Parents have been told to make children have a set time to get up and go to sleep. They must also ensure children have regular meal times. These experts also recommend regular breaks during education and allow or create time for children to engage in physical activities. 

We can take a cue from the planting community in the tea estates. Most planters in these tea estates are alone and away from their families; hence there is a tendency for them to go ‘wild’. Most ‘trainee managers’ in the tea planting industry have been advised to dress for meal time when they are alone in the manager’s bungalow. This is because a person with authority when alone can develop very unhealthy or unbecoming habits. The dressing up during meal time is a reminder to these planters, both rookies and veterans, that discipline is as important as the air one breathes. Students locked down at homes during this pandemic must follow this habit of planters in maintaining discipline during this crisis.

There are enough of stories about some of our own parliamentarians being given home education. Some of the most erudite ladies in the Sri Lankan society were home educated. 

But then we must return to the question why our present ‘home educated generation of students’ must return to school when the coronavirus is eliminated. 

The present generation must be taught several old lessons here: The school is not a place where our learning is restricted to the use of books. It is a place where we learn to share and care and be sensitive to the needs of others. It is a place where cultured children are exposed to others from all walks of life. It is also the place where the less aggressive ones learn to survive among the aggressive and less ambitious ones learn to raise the bar or hence be left out of the race. ‘School’ is a once in a lifetime period and being with other children and getting that community feeling is one vital ingredient in recipe that produces an all-round student.

The COVID-19 pandemic made the educational authorities accelerate the development of the online learning process. This crisis will push the educational authorities to demand more from technology experts and the latter will in return have to sweat to upgrade their devices. As much as the internet is used these days to educate children it would be a miss if no mention is made of the Government’s efforts to use state television and provide an education to students studying for the O’Level and A’Level examinations. 

Home education using technology opened the eyes of school teachers to new dimensions in education. But this system of learning also underscored the fact that the life lessons learned inside the boundaries of the school can never be offered in the process called home education, even if the best of technology is used.