Daily News Editorial

National consensus against COVID-19

Friday 03rd April, 2020

As the country battled the slowly expanding Coronavirus pandemic, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has again met with, and briefed, the leaders of political parties represented in the last Parliament on the current status and Governmental measures to defeat it.

It was only on the previous day that the success of the country’s COVID-19 offensive was lauded by none other than WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a telephone call with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and a subsequent Twitter post. In his Twitter message, the WHO Director General said he thanked President Rajapaksa “for mobilizing the whole of Government in the fight against the COVID-19”.

Premier Mahinda Rajapaksa had first convened an all-party meeting on March 24 as the country shifted from its initial organised reaction to the sudden invasion of this deadly, previously unknown, virus to a proactive strategy to counter the pandemic. In yesterday’s meeting, the Prime Minister and top Defence and Health officials updated the party leaders on the ongoing measures and priorities in coping with the contingency.

Party leaders attending the meeting reiterated their support for the nation’s endeavour to meet the unprecedented health crisis while raising issues in relation to different aspects of the impact on the population.

In the absence of Parliament, it is important that the Government maintains an engagement with the other political leaderships in the country. Such regular interactions with other, parallel national political leaderships that are representative of the people (having been elected Parliamentarians and former ministers) enables the Government to hear more about public concerns and specific needs in relation to the pandemic. Such feedback helps the authorities combating the pandemic fine-tune their strategies that contain its spread as well as mitigate its growing impact on society and the national economy.

Premier Mahinda Rajapaksa had first convened an all-party meeting on March 24 as the country shifted from its initial organised reaction to the sudden invasion of this deadly, previously unknown, virus to a proactive strategy to counter the pandemic. In yesterday’s meeting, the Prime Minister and top Defence and Health officials updated the party leaders on the ongoing measures and priorities in coping with the contingency.

Party leaders attending the meeting reiterated their support for the nation’s endeavour to meet the unprecedented health crisis while raising issues in relation to different aspects of the impact on the population.

In the absence of Parliament, it is important that the Government maintains an engagement with the other political leaderships in the country. Such regular interactions with other, parallel national political leaderships that are representative of the people (having been elected Parliamentarians and former ministers) enables the Government to hear more about public concerns and specific needs in relation to the pandemic. Such feedback helps the authorities combating the pandemic fine-tune their strategies that contain its spread as well as mitigate its growing impact on society and the national economy.

As pointed out previously in these columns, the current health crisis is of such a potentially catastrophic scale that our whole society should be mobilised fully in response. Such a comprehensive societal response can only be generated by simultaneous action by all political interest groups. Collective leadership in various forms is needed because a pandemic, by its very nature, requires a disciplined response by every citizen in the interests of themselves and of society as a whole.

The challenge to the political class is manifold. The immediate, intense, health offensive needs the maximum public co-operation irrespective of any specific social group differentiation. And it is needed fast since speed is key to targeting the viral spread and its rapid social attrition.

At the same time, such public collaboration can only be obtained by catering to public needs arising from such unprecedented actions as a total, continuous, lockdown on human activity and movement. People are going to be reluctant to cease all productive work unless they have some assurance that suspended livelihoods would be offset by various forms of social and economic support.

The Government is sensitive to this and has already initiated action.

Meanwhile, a complex, modern and, once-thriving national economy that is now undermined by a pandemic needs management.

Different sectors of the economic and different financial dynamics, for example, will affect different social layers as well as different geographical regions. Hence, the need for inputs by parties representing different sections of the populace.

Citizens will want an assurance that the urgent needs of all sectors would be catered to irrespective of political affiliation or socio-cultural affinity. Such assurances are a useful psychological foundation to generate the kind of wholehearted and diligent public compliance with required pandemic counter measures.

Navy scores again

Even as its troops and specialist human resources are devoted to the fight on land against the Coronavirus pandemic, the Navy has been equally tireless in its ranging of the high seas around the island – as shown by its latest success against big-time narcotics smuggling.

Scouring the high seas as far as 835 km south of Sri Lanka, a long range maritime patrol ship of the Navy intercepted a shipload of 605kg crystal methamphetamine (Ice) and around 579kg of ketamine valued at a record Rs. 12.5 billion.

This is the first such detection at such a long range in the history of the Navy and the service should justly be proud of its achievement, especially since its operation was carried out amid its engagement with a dangerous pandemic on land.

Citizens must surely appreciate the hard work of its Armed Forces personnel. This is all the more reason to fully cooperate with the pandemic counter measures so as not to betray the commitment of its defence forces.

The Island Editorial

When a virus hits democracy

Sri Lankan politicians believe in numerology. Some SLPP leaders must be considering ‘19’ an unlucky number. The 19th Amendment (19-A) to the Constitution has become a thorn in their side. They are hell bent on scrapping 19-A as they need a strong executive presidency to prevent the next administration, they are planning to form, from keeling over, in case they fail to secure a comfortable majority, in the House. While being troubled by 19-A, they have had to contend with C-19 (or Covid-19).

Given half a chance, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will get rid of 19-A, which has drastically reduced his executive powers so much so that he cannot even hold a ministerial post, though he is the Head of the Cabinet. He is also desperate to eliminate Covid-19, which, however, has created a situation, where Parliament stands dissolved, and he can govern the country, with the help of the Cabinet.

Following an abortive power grab, in 2018, the then President Maithripala Sirisena ran a one-man show, albeit for a while; he had decreed the dissolution of Parliament, and the judiciary had suspended the Cabinet. But, today, Parliament is not functioning and the next general election has been postponed indefinitely owing to the coronavirus pandemic. The Opposition is trying hard to have the dissolved Parliament reconvened; perhaps, there is no other way it can think of remaining politically relevant until the next parliamentary election.

At present, the President and the Cabinet represent the same political camp and are, therefore, fully co-operating with each other, in the country’s battle against Covid-19. There would have been absolute chaos if last year’s change of government had not occurred, and the President and Cabinet had been at loggerheads. But the fact remains that the party which failed to obtain a mandate, at the last general election, to govern the country, is now the levers of power, indefinitely.

Thankfully, Covid-19 did not hit the country, during the latter stages of the yahapalana government, while the President and the Prime Minister were at daggers drawn. Otherwise, we would have been in the same predicament as Italy.

Coronavirus has exposed not only our unpreparedness for a national health emergency but also serious flaws in our Constitution. Following the presidential election in January 2015, the party which the people had denied a mandate to rule the country, formed a government, which lasted about seven months. Parliament, however, met during that period. Today, as was said earlier, in this comment, the party which failed to obtain a popular mandate to govern the country and failed to muster a majority, in the House, in 2018, after sacking the PM and forming a government, is in power. Worse, Parliament has been dissolved. This situation wouldn’t have arisen if the President had not been stripped of the power to dissolve Parliament until the expiration of four and a half years of its term, or if Parliament had resolved to dissolve itself following the last presidential election. The Constitution allows politicians to act according to their whims and fancies.

Coronavirus has hit not only Sri Lanka’s people but also its democracy. This, however, is not the time for a political debate. The country’s battle against the runaway virus must take precedence over everything else. The fourth Covid-19 death occurred, here, yesterday, and it is feared that the worst is yet to come. But when the coronavirus crisis is over, the flaws in the Constitution should be rectified, as a national priority, to ensure the democratic wellbeing of the country.

Daily Mirror Editorial

We can survive and with a lot less!

Friday 03rd April, 2020

Long queues seen at pharmacies on Thursday (April 2) reminded us that life is short and could become terribly shorter. We’ve learned discipline and honouring private space; now when we stand in queues we have to maintain a ‘distance’ of one metre from the person who is standing in front of us. The COVID -19 pandemic is teaching us painful lessons. One of the best lessons is about living with a lot less. 

The number of coconuts used in Sri Lankan homes during a day and how much of each nut is wasted opens a window to allow critics to judge how wasteful we are. We’re guilty of plundering the country’s wealth. This was a key feature which was seen in the past from top to bottom in the regime’s order of hierarchy.

We saw a regime change and so many promises being made to reduce waste and work towards prosperity. If this change was happening slowly the COVID -19 pandemic has added speed to the process. 

This writer remembers an erudite priest in the Uva Province telling a gathering the following: If one eats three meals he is a sick man, if one eats two meals a day he is healthy and if a person survives on a single meal he is a yogi-a person adhering to a spiritual practice and has control over his mind, body and senses.

We are nowhere near being close to surviving one a single meal. But if we can get by eating twice during this challenging period that would not only be an achievement, but also help save on some of the limited groceries. 

When all was well some of us hardly had time to talk with our loved ones. Now we see moving posts on social media like; ‘If you had a crush on me and didn’t reveal it, this is the time to do it’. It seems like we aren’t sure about tomorrow. There are attempts made to restrict data usage because there are no communication centres open in town for us to top up with reloads. Those whose credits are already exhausted, have started occupying the couches at home and rekindle the past by watching old movies.

Those who never even thought of sharing food are now seen sending half a jackfruit to the neighbour who sent them a bagful of mangoes the other day. COVID-19 has taught us to share and care and even to check on whether the nextdoor neighbour has enough to put the next meal on the table. 

We see similarities in lawmakers and school going children these days. No one in these groups is given half a chance to waste anything. The householders are saving on cash given for snacks and drinks and the state doesn’t have to maintain a large cabinet. And with a lot less no one in these groups has fallen dead or is heard complaining!

Suddenly we get that uneasy feeling that this virus will shorten our stays on planet earth. If death isn’t whispering in our ears at this moment at least the chorus that news reading on television produces regarding the pandemic is making us sick. 

Jobs, careers and celebrated personalities are being reduced to nothing as the death total from the Coronavirus keeps rising.

But there are some sections of the society who are demanding opportunities for the traditional burial of their dead when tragedy has struck through COVID-19. This is happening at a time when the government is stressing on the fact that anyone dying of the Coronavirus has to be cremated and not buried for serious health reasons. This is a time when all others have no issue with government regulations and are holding hands and praying. If funeral rites have to be performed low key, then be it. The survival against COVID-19 is all about lot less. Those who work less, demand less, are seen less and travel less will be the survivors!