The more things change, the more they stay the same

Recently the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) -the main opposition political party in parliament- accused the government of appointing one of it’s defeated candidates to head the Lankan mission to Cuba

In 1849 the French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr penned the phrase “plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose”; translated into English it means “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” This makes us remember with nostalgia the Presidential elections on 21 September 2024 and the parliamentary elections of 14 November 2024.
Then presidential candidate AKD, promised to change the existing corrupt political system and the political culture of this country and provide a clean government. We the people of Lanka, with great expectations of change, elected first, the National People’s Power presidential candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) as president. Come 14 November the same year, we gave his political outfit the National People’s Power, a two-third majority in parliament.
The newly elected president promised to bring quick closure to the trauma of victims of the Easter Sunday bombings of 19 April 2021 which still ‘hangs fire’. He and his political party also vehemently emphasised they would renegotiate the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement for Sri Lanka to restore debt sustainability, which heaped burdens on poorer sections of the community. 
However nothing came of that promise after IMF delegates made it clear that government’s proposed changes were non-negotiable. Any unilateral changes by government would lead to the IMF withdrawing from the deal. Which in turn meant, a return to the dark days of shortages of all manner of goods and services, fuel shortages and other economic realities which led to the ‘Aragalaya’. 
Poor AKD and his inexperienced team were forced to eat humble pie. They learned quickly, breaking international agreements, unlike promises made to the local electorate could lead to swift reprisals. 
The following mornings news papers carried pictures of a smiling president agreeing to all aspects of the IMF deal. The NPP government also promised to scrap plans of the immediate past regime to privatise loss-making state owned enterprises (SOEs) which were draining government coffers. Central Bank reports reveal loss-making SOEs reported an aggregate loss of Rs 851 billion. 
However, media reported on 29 March, a government-appointed committee was planning to either liquidate or do away with state involvement in dozens of these loss-making SOEs. One hundred and sixty-six SOEs came under review. The report has suggested lands belonging to particular SOEs be leased to the private sector! 
The NPP also promised postings to lead diplomatic missions would be limited to career diplomats and defeated electoral candidates would not be rewarded with diplomatic postings. Recently the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) -the main opposition political party in parliament- accused the government of appointing one of it’s defeated candidates to head the Lankan mission to Cuba. 
Another startling revelation shows, only one career diplomat among fourteen heads of Sri Lankan missions appointed after the AKD-led government came into power was a career diplomat. Even more sad has been President Dissanayake’s failure to bring to a closure the sufferings of the victims of the Easter Sunday bombings. Seventy-one months have passed since the day the dreadful deed was committed. President Dissanayake has failed to implement even the recommendations of the Special Presidential Commission which investigated that terrorist attack.  Dissanayake promised a fresh investigation into that attack which killed over 250 persons and injured twice as many. Unfortunately, it remains merely a promise and the victims misery continues. More recently the government tabled the Batalanda Commission Report in parliament. The main reason for this appears to be an investigation into the role of ex-President Wickremesinghe in the alleged torture camp that Batalanda was. 
Yet the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) itself -the party to which president Dissanayake himself belongs to- stands accused of similar violent crime. One such being the forced emptying of hospitals including the maternity nursing home at Colombo and the children’s hospital at Borella.Will the President present himself for investigation or will he hide behind his presidential immunity? Sadly, it appears the new regime which promised much during pre-election campaigns, is simply following in the footsteps of its predecessors.