New forces and cat in box
We hear of some newly discovered forces, in these times of gloom. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has spoken of a new force, in Sri Lankan politics, while the world is grappling with a new virus, which, according to the World Health Organisation, we will have to learn to live with.
When S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike formed the SLFP, he harnessed what came to be known as the pancha maha balavegya (or five great forces) in Sri Lankan politics, to wit, Buddhist monks, physicians, teachers, farmers and workers. Bandaranaike succeeded in achieving his political goal—capturing power—but died at the hands of some persons representing one of the very forces that had made his victory possible. About 64 years on, PM Rajapaksa, who once led the SLFP before breaking away from it, has added war heroes to the list of political forces; he says they will continue to hold positions in SLPP-led governments. It is still too early to hazard a guess anent the impact the ranaviru force will have on Sri Lankan politics, but we believe the PM’s statement at issue is a subject for a substantial public debate.
The recognition by the PM of what he calls the new socio-political force has come at a time scientists are examining a claim that some of their Hungarian counterparts have detected a fifth fundamental force in the universe. It has also coincided with a bitter clash of competing political forces, in the apex court, over the interpretation of certain sections of the Constitution, which lacks clarity. All eyes are now on Hulftsdorp, which is like the giant screen everybody stares at, pending a third umpire’s decision that will determine the winner in an edge-of-your-seat cricket match.
In most other countries, including the developed ones, coronavirus has caused health related crises by overwhelming their healthcare systems, which are in utter chaos, and is carrying off thousands of people. Not even the US has been able to face the Covid-19 crisis successfully. Thankfully, in Sri Lanka, the virus has failed to overwhelm the health system and snuff out many lives; instead, it has taken its toll on the country’s political system.
Sri Lanka must be the only country whose political health has deteriorated due to Covid-19. The politico-legal mess we find ourselves in due to the postponement of the general election reminds us of physicist Erwin Schrodinger’s paradox thought experiment involving a hypothetical cat in a box. In short, no one knows whether the cat is alive or dead so long as the box remains closed. Until someone opens the box, the animal is ‘living and dead in equal parts’.
There are two schools of thought anent the fate of the 15th Parliament, which was dissolved on 02 March. The government maintains that it stands dissolved although the general election has been postponed and the next Parliament cannot meet before the constitutionally stipulated deadline (02 June). The Opposition argues that since the national legislature cannot remain closed for more than three months at a stretch, the presidential proclamation that dissolved Parliament, in March, has lost its legal validity, and the President is left with no alternative but to reconvene the dissolved 15th Parliament. There are various arguments based on these two lines of reasoning, and they have left the average citizen none the wiser.
The 15th Parliament is thus like Schrodinger’s cat, which is living and dead in equal parts. No one will know whether it is actually ‘living’ or ‘dead’ until the box is opened at Hulftsdorp, so to speak. Meanwhile, let the government and the Opposition be asked to strap themselves in for the judgment which is expected shortly.
We hear of some newly discovered forces, in these times of gloom. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has spoken of a new force, in Sri Lankan politics, while the world is grappling with a new virus, which, according to the World Health Organisation, we will have to learn to live with.
When S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike formed the SLFP, he harnessed what came to be known as the pancha maha balavegya (or five great forces) in Sri Lankan politics, to wit, Buddhist monks, physicians, teachers, farmers and workers. Bandaranaike succeeded in achieving his political goal—capturing power—but died at the hands of some persons representing one of the very forces that had made his victory possible. About 64 years on, PM Rajapaksa, who once led the SLFP before breaking away from it, has added war heroes to the list of political forces; he says they will continue to hold positions in SLPP-led governments. It is still too early to hazard a guess anent the impact the ranaviru force will have on Sri Lankan politics, but we believe the PM’s statement at issue is a subject for a substantial public debate.
The recognition by the PM of what he calls the new socio-political force has come at a time scientists are examining a claim that some of their Hungarian counterparts have detected a fifth fundamental force in the universe. It has also coincided with a bitter clash of competing political forces, in the apex court, over the interpretation of certain sections of the Constitution, which lacks clarity. All eyes are now on Hulftsdorp, which is like the giant screen everybody stares at, pending a third umpire’s decision that will determine the winner in an edge-of-your-seat cricket match.
In most other countries, including the developed ones, coronavirus has caused health related crises by overwhelming their healthcare systems, which are in utter chaos, and is carrying off thousands of people. Not even the US has been able to face the Covid-19 crisis successfully. Thankfully, in Sri Lanka, the virus has failed to overwhelm the health system and snuff out many lives; instead, it has taken its toll on the country’s political system.
Sri Lanka must be the only country whose political health has deteriorated due to Covid-19. The politico-legal mess we find ourselves in due to the postponement of the general election reminds us of physicist Erwin Schrodinger’s paradox thought experiment involving a hypothetical cat in a box. In short, no one knows whether the cat is alive or dead so long as the box remains closed. Until someone opens the box, the animal is ‘living and dead in equal parts’.
There are two schools of thought anent the fate of the 15th Parliament, which was dissolved on 02 March. The government maintains that it stands dissolved although the general election has been postponed and the next Parliament cannot meet before the constitutionally stipulated deadline (02 June). The Opposition argues that since the national legislature cannot remain closed for more than three months at a stretch, the presidential proclamation that dissolved Parliament, in March, has lost its legal validity, and the President is left with no alternative but to reconvene the dissolved 15th Parliament. There are various arguments based on these two lines of reasoning, and they have left the average citizen none the wiser.
The 15th Parliament is thus like Schrodinger’s cat, which is living and dead in equal parts. No one will know whether it is actually ‘living’ or ‘dead’ until the box is opened at Hulftsdorp, so to speak. Meanwhile, let the government and the Opposition be asked to strap themselves in for the judgment which is expected shortly.
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