Curfew for the few

Wednesday, 29 September 2021 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

As the countrywide lockdown enters its seventh week, the discrepancies in its enforcement have become increasingly perplexing. What started off as a ‘quarantine curfew’, wherein only those carrying out essential services or in need of essential goods and services would be allowed to venture out of their homes, has now descended into … well, seemingly, business as usual.

But this is only seemingly within the confines of Colombo and other business hubs, but venture outside of those and the rules seem to change. While Colombo has actual traffic, in Trincomalee, there’s scarcely a vehicle on the road; in Mullaitivu, so strictly is the lockdown enforced that the public can’t even get public transport to go to hospitals and clinics. Moreover, in the past few weeks, there have been reports of a man beaten and arrested in Ampara for not wearing a mask, and two brothers in Batticaloa beaten for having the temerity to take their bike to a petrol station.

And most recently, leading marine biologist Asha de Vos took to social media to share her story of how she and her father were reprimanded by authorities for going to the beach, this despite her having a valid reason – in the name of conservation – something that is by definition ‘essential’.

De Vos’ story gained even more traction because it came hot on the heels of the President’s nephew, Minister Namal Rajapaksa, posting on Twitter about his surfing escapades, while a daughter of a retired Army General was also chided on Twitter for posting pics of her sailing on a yacht in Colombo.

These are just the publicised double standards; on any given evening, Independence Square is swelling with runners and those engaging in various public excursions, while supermarkets and restaurants are also gradually being opened for public access.

While the country’s vaccination drive is in full flow, this gradual easing of restrictions is not the issue, nor is it on its own a problem. Rather, the problem lies in the two-tier enforcement of the regulations. Why is it that supermarkets in some places can entertain customers freely, while other smaller establishments elsewhere in the country run short on supplies because ‘lockdown regulations’ prevent them from being able to restock? How is this fair? Where is the logic? How is there one law for some, and another for others?

Therein lies the rub, the law is unclear by design because the implementation of the curfew has no legal standing. This has been the case since the first lockdown in March 2020.

While other countries have brought in new legislation to cover the necessary curfew measures, legislation that makes clear in black and white what citizens can and cannot do, Sri Lanka is seemingly winging it. As things stand, there is no law under which the curfew was set up.

This has led to a sorry state of affairs, where implementation in any given area of the country is at the behest of whoever is in charge there, leading to a situation where some citizens’ fundamental rights are stomped on, while others a free to do as they please. Needless to say, this is not how a country should be run.