Sum of all fears

Two years ago, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected with an overwhelming mandate to ‘change the system’ and deliver on prosperity. The efficient former wartime defence secretary, credited with beautification of Colombo through the Urban Development Authority was the man for the job. To the credit of candidate Rajapaksa, he made no false promises on democracy, pluralism, human rights or liberty. Nearly seven million, mostly Sinhala Buddhist voters decided to trade democratic values and rights for the promised prosperity that was to be ushered in through this no-nonsense administrator and non-career politician.

In his inaugural speech delivered with much symbolism near the Ruwanweliseya, President-elect Rajapaksa made it clear that he was elected by the majority community. Always feared as a Sinhala nationalist, the newly elected President did not use his inaugural platform to allay the fears of minority communities in the island. Still, most people were willing to give him a chance in the hope that the weight of the high political office would allow for course correction.  

Eight months later, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, led by former president Mahinda Rajapaksa won an overwhelming majority in parliament. Two months later, the 20th amendment to the constitution was passed reversing some of the limited, yet much-needed checks and balances on the executive put in place via previous constitutional amendments. Today, President Rajapaksa is the undisputed power centre of Sri Lankan politics. His authority is unquestionable and unchecked. With a two-thirds majority in parliament, and his own brothers as prime minister and finance minister and an ineffective opposition, the President has the political space to deliver on promises of comprehensive system change, efficient administration and policies for economic development.

But two years into his tenure, Sri Lanka is in dire straits on multiple fronts. Elected on a ticket of national security in the wake of the devastating Easter Sunday attacks, President Rajapaksa has failed to bring those who were responsible for that crime to justice. Instead, the administration has hounded those who have questioned the motives and masterminds behind the attack. In the last two years, it has also failed to effectively face the COVID-19 pandemic, despite having one of the most advanced healthcare systems in the developing world. The economy is in shambles with a looming credit crisis and shortages of essential items. The agriculture sector is on the verge of collapse due to unsound policies. Unchecked government spending has exacerbated a severe foreign currency crisis. Part of the expected system change was addressing corruption. Yet today, corruption is rampant with countless scandals and allegations from the importation of essentials, such as sugar and coconut oil, to large scale tax evasion and international crimes exposed in the Pandora papers and the Airbus deal. No one has been held accountable for these crimes.

On the law-and-order front, the judiciary has been repeatedly undermined and cowed. Convicted murderer Duminda Silva and child killer Sunil Rathnayake have received presidential pardons, while high profile accountability cases such as the abduction, holding for ransom and killings of Tamils allegedly by the Navy have been in limbo, with the Attorney General unilaterally withdrawing charges against key suspects now on trial for the crimes. One by one, corruption cases against members of the current administration – who were being held to account for crimes committed the last time they were in power – have been dropped and dismissed.

One of the greatest fears of a Rajapaksa administration was the treatment of minorities. It was long rumoured that hard-line groups like the Bodu Bala Sena had the active patronage and backing of the then Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Amidst further allegations of war crimes against the Tamils, many assurances were given that candidate Rajapaksa, once elected, would be a leader for all communities. But the fears have proved to be well founded. President Rajapaksa sent shockwaves across the world when he appointed an extremist monk and inciter of hatred against minorities to chair a presidential task force to oversee his ‘One Country-One Law’ policy – an euphemistic take on an agenda for anti-minority legal reform in Sri Lanka.

Anniversaries offer a moment for reflection and course correction. The Gotabaya Rajapaksa presidency is young, and should the President be willing, there is time and space to make amends. It would be wise for the President to introspect and assess his own performance in the last two years. There is still time to make things right.