The Island Editorial

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.

Daily News Editorial

Our first full steps in economy re-start

Today, after over two months of suspended public movements and large scale economic slowdown, millions of Sri Lankans step out to work. With the national COVID-19 infection rate hovering just over the 1,000 cases mark, we can only hope that this first-time break-out into the open by everyone after the highly restrictive lockdown, will not add to a further nasty outbreak of this deadly disease.

Given the torrid pandemic conditions prevailing all around us, both on the island and without, it is imperative that all Sri Lankan step out tomorrow with the full cognizance of the still-raging contagion. The curfew will be fully removed during day-time but if we do step outside, we do so into a disease rampant world.

If we have been familiarising ourselves with the basic scientific facts – repeated daily, ad nauseam – we should be aware of the dangers. It is crucial that Sri Lankans, a supposedly highly literate population with instant access to global data and knowledge via the Internet, should know the basic scientific findings about COVID-19.

Only the data and analysis coming out of the detailed scientific study of the virus and the epidemic pattern will tell us what we need to know: How does the contagion spread, how fast? How long does the virus survive while airborne from one human host to another? How long does it take to jump between people? How quickly can we rid ourselves of any traces of the virus? What are the early symptoms of the disease? What can be done to avoid infection? What and where is the treatment available?

This knowledge only comes to us from scientific research done by medical scientists, specialist health administrators and public sanitation managers. They have been diligently tracking the outbreak from its original epicentre in Wuhan, China, to its frighteningly rapid spread across the globe, including into this country. Thanks to the internet and also to the extensive data exchange and joint research frameworks enabled by the WHO and other professional health networks, the data has been made available to all countries and all regions to enable management of the pandemic.

Our faiths and life philosophies should motivate us to rely on the scientific information and divert us from any desperate reliance on superstition-based speculation about the pandemic and obscurantist claims of ‘magic’ and astrology. It is the data measured by the health professionals that must inform our behaviour in the course of our economic start-up.

On the basis of scientific research, we know that the virus could be carried by all and sundry, whether showing symptoms or not, young and old and, even on inanimate things like clothing, furnishing, cocooned vehicle, office and house interiors. We also know that the threat of air-borne COVID-19 infection will be around in our immediate atmosphere as we journey to workplace, function within the workplace and, step outside on the return journey home.

Everyone will be expected to fully comply with all the rules laid down to combat the contagion.

Thus, dear readers, we do hope you will diligently wash hands, wear your face masks, maintain the stipulated one-metre physical distance from other people and, take all other mandated precautionary measures. These include avoiding touching your face (to prevent any virus from latching on to you from others); and also quickly changing your outdoor clothing once you return home.

We must also carefully observe the night curfew times (10 p.m. to 4 a.m.). Our true citizenship will be demonstrated by our co-operation with the currently over-worked enforcing and managing authorities.

Indeed, citizens are encouraged not to unnecessarily leave home and to do so only for essential things like livelihood and domestic or personal administrative tasks. At the same time, we must be alert for a sudden resumption of curfews or movement restrictions of different kinds as the authorities act swiftly to counter any resurgence of the contagion as a result of our renewed economic activity.

We must heed the fervent appeal of our public health managers to be as strictly disciplined as possible in accordance with stipulated social hygiene as we set forth into the post-COVID-19 era.