The system takes on system changers

The new government faces challenges in delivering their campaign promises whilst navigating established bureaucratic structures

• Mahinda Deshapriya, alongside NPP supporters, expressed concern over the inability of the government to take on their political adversaries and the bureaucracy letting down the governed
• Electors expect reductions in costs of essential items, like electricity tariffs and also arrest the perpetrators of large-scale corruption
• Lumumba, Sukarno and Allende were left-leaning leaders of Congo, Indonesia and Chile who had similarly wanted to reform the countries they governed

Those who supported the National People’s Power (NPP) at the recent Presidential and Parliamentary elections seem to have been bewildered over the failure of the government to deliver, despite them still having faith in their leaders as an untainted group. 
More than their bewilderment, they seem to have been agitated over their inability to face their political adversaries in their localities who tease them round the clock on the promises that the NPP leaders gave during the recent elections. 
Also, on top of everything else, they seem to have been agitated over a fear of the bureaucracy letting down the governed at the instance of the leaders of the past governments who were hand in glove with them in corrupt activities. All these are manifested in a Facebook post by the former Chairman of the Election Commission (EC), Mahinda Deshapriya on which hundreds of apparent supporters of the NPP had commented with similar concerns. 
Deshapriya in his post had expressed fear that “what happened to the governments of Lumumba, Sukarno and Allende would recur here as well, unless the “deep state” is defeated”. Deshapriya is one of those who played a huge role ideologically through social media, in bringing the NPP into power. 

There are so many interpretations and definitions of the term “Deep State” on various websites. In Wikipedia, it is defined as “a type of government made up of potentially secret and unauthorised networks of power operating independently of a state’s political leadership in pursuit of their own agenda and goals”. The definition in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is “an alleged secret network of especially non-elected government officials and sometimes private entities (as in the financial services and defence industries) operating extralegally to influence and enact government policy”.
Lumumba, Sukarno and Allende whom Deshapriya has referred to in his Facebook post were leftist or left-leaning leaders of Congo, Indonesia and Chile respectively during the youth of the current dying generation or in the 1960s and 1970s whose governments were toppled in military coups, with the connivance of the West, especially the US, killing or incarcerating them for life. 
In all these three instances the governments were weakened from within by unscrupulous officials or the military. A similar situation is suspected to have arisen or in the making here in Sri Lanka which is instrumental to many a recent failure on the part of the government. 
Supporters of the NPP, as promised by their leaders genuinely expected immediate price reduction of essential items, especially the electricity tariffs and the arrest of those who were involved in large-scale corruption. They were disappointed in these besides they had to face embarrassment owing to unexpected issues such as shortages in eggs, rice and coconut, shortage of passports, long delays in clearance of containers at the Colombo Port and the revelation of the release of uncleared containers by the Sri Lanka Customs. 
In fact, some of these issues had been time bombs set by the previous government. The first news item on the rice shortage had been published in the Daily Mirror within the first week after President Dissanayake assumed office in late September, last year. Similarly, the shortage of eggs which has now been resolved and the shortage of coconuts were also witnessed within weeks after Dissanayake ascended to power. It gives an idea of when these problems have originated. 
It has now been revealed that the rice issue is an upshot of the mismanagement of the rice industry by the previous governments. It was startlingly revealed at a recent meeting of the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) that even the Agriculture Ministry does not have accurate data on rice production and distribution in the country. However, government supporters had to encounter embarrassing comments floated on social media by the supporters of the very previous governments. 
One has to accept that the NPP government has to work to change the system within the mechanisms that have already been placed by the old system and also with the officialdom that had been working with the corrupt politicians for decades, wielding power within those mechanisms. However, the supporters of the government do not seem to be happy with the government’s lack of aggressiveness in dealing with issues and officials. 
Two ministers of the NPP government in December had expressed their frustration over the lack of cooperation on the part of a section of the officialdom in their efforts to make changes to the existing system. Agriculture Minister K.D. Lalkantha had accused bureaucrats for obstructing the Government from taking the country forward. A controversial figure he has been, Lal Kantha warned “The next tsunami will happen against the corrupt bureaucracy of this country”. Minister of Industries Sunil Handunnetti also during an event said that the “State Officials, who have got used to working according to the corrupt policies and practices of former governments are not prepared yet to get rid of those old practices”. 
During a discussion with the heads of the Department of Immigration and Emigration, Sri Lanka Customs, and Airport and Aviation Services, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake also highlighted the need to eliminate negative perceptions surrounding Sri Lanka Customs and underscored the urgency of implementing strict disciplinary and legal action to restore public confidence.
It is pertinent to note a comment on Deshapriya’s Facebook post by a former JVP leader Nandana Gunathilake who contested the 1999 Presidential election on behalf of the party before joining the UNP to become the Panadura Mayor in 2018. He says; “Following a non-revolutionary capture of power nothing more could be done, except for working within the existing system. No cultural revolutions (such as the Clean Sri Lanka Project) could be achieved. 
“Yet, revolutionary changes have to be brought in, in order to keep the promises given to the people. 
“The contradiction between these two aspects is deepening day by day.
“Against the backdrop of the existing system standing in the way of revolutionary changes, this contradiction in turn would intensify.
“Hence, the attacks originating from within the state would escalate with the help of those from outside.” This is a logical observation and a warning by Gunathilake to his former comrades.