Lanka: Where many are let down by so few

Speaking on the role of the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II, controversial British war-time Prime Minister Winston Churchill praised the efforts of Britain’s air wing, saying ‘never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few’. He was referring to the RAF’s role in saving Britain from Nazi Germany.
That we quote Churchill however, does not mean that we hold this man in high esteem.

Churchill is on record as praising “Aryan stock” and insisting it was right for “a stronger race, a higher-grade race” to take the place of indigenous peoples. He reportedly did not think “black people were as capable or as efficient as white people”. In 1911, Churchill banned interracial boxing matches so that white fighters would not be seen losing to black ones. He insisted that Britain and the US shared “Anglo-Saxon superiority”. He described anti-colonial campaigners as “savages armed with ideas”.

Whatever else we may think of the British, a majority of them dumped Churchill in 1945. They voted him out of office even before World War II was brought to an end.

Yet, in our own country, we see a reverse of Churchill’s quote, over and over again. Governments promise much but let down the thousands who vote them into power. To our country’s shame, the moment electoral power changed hands, newly elected regimes go back on their word.

For instance at the 1970 polls, our people threw out the government of Ms. Sirimavo Bandaranaike for creating an era of queues, shortages and nepotistic rule. We elected into power J.R Jayawardene who promised to usher in a ‘free and just society’. He ended up, in his own words, inviting in ‘robber barons’.

By April 1980, with costs rising, public servants struck work, demanding a measly wage increase of Rs 300/- per month. Jayawardene’s response was to mobilise the armed forces, impose a nationwide state of emergency, declare the strike illegal and dismiss around 40,000 workers.  

To take the people’s minds away from increasing day-to-day problems, Jayawardene and his government stoked the flames of racism. This led the country into a debilitating, near three-decade ethnic war. Jayawardene left the country divided on ethnic and religious lines and the economy in ruins.

At the presidential election of 2015, we Lankans voted out war-winning President Mahinda Rakapaksa for his nepotistic and corrupt rule and brought into power a government which promised ‘yahapalana’ or good governance. 

Within months the new regime foisted the biggest fraud to hit the island in the form of the Central Bank scam. The country was robbed of billions. The weak and vacillating regime also oversaw the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks in which local misguided terrorists killed around 250 innocents.

In despair, fed up with the ineffective government, on 20 November 2019 the electorate threw out that weak and corrupt regime, and elected former Secretary Defence - Gotabaya Rajapaksa- as president. Rajapaksa promised a stable government and canvassed on a law and order platform. 

Unfortunately his regime was corrupt and nepotism widespread. Attacks on religious minorities were frequent and his economic policies led to bankrupting the country. Shortages from fuel to food and medicine led to violence and nationwide strikes. It ended with president Gotabaya fleeing the country and the populace at starvation point. 
President Wickremesinghe helped drag the country out of its debt-stricken condition. But the austerity measures he put in place helped the present NPP government win handsomely at elections in September 2024. The NPP promised to bring down the cost of living, renegotiate the IMF bailout and weed out corruption.

Many saw the new untested political alignment as a positive alternative. Unfortunately the ‘new broom’ has failed to bring down the cost of living. In fact prices of essentials are on the rise. The price of rice used to be around Rs. 99/- in 2021. It is currently over Rs. 230/-. Those in positions of responsibility are making excuses for failure. The IMF package remains unchanged.
On the corruption front, the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation having selected a blacklisted supplier to provide medicaments, it recently made a U-turn regarding the supplier. Was the change due to adverse publicity or election of the new president? We hope it was the latter.