By Fr Chryso Pieris –

Fr Chryso Pieris SJ

The behavior of the opposition in the parliament is ludicrous to say the least but actually it is a tragedy. A tragedy because we really do not have a critical, constructive opposition which is a weakness in the democratic governance of a country.

What is happening to the opposition? It is good to reflect on it and study it. My thesis is that the NPP government is making the System Change happen. And they are serious about it. The opposition is unable to adapt itself to the new way of honest, committed and serious governance and finds itself like a fish out of water thrashing around moribund. You feel sorry for the opposition. They are in an unenviable position.

The governance of the opposition when in power

Till the NPP government was appointed by the people in a landslide victory, we had a governing set up that was infested with swindlers, robbers and murderers. For them politics was not a temporary, enlightened service to fellow citizens of the country. It was a livelihood lasting a life time with pensions, perks and privileges. It was a business and truly a dirty business. That business had to do with all the illegal and illicit deals and rackets that made money for the ‘so-called’ politician. Beggars became tycoons. They became richer and richer and the country became poorer and poorer till it had to be declared bankrupt unable to pay even the interest on the enormous debts that were robbed whole sale.

So many dirty lists of how the politicians and their cronies amassed the country’s wealth are exposed in the parliament one after another. Frankly, it is unbelievable. Can a man with a semblance of a conscience bring himself to cheat the poor of this country and enjoy his loot? Yes, they do enjoy it. They did it for decades, especially after the presidency of their god-father JR.

Their method of governance was pitting one ethnic group against the other; one religion against another; one language against the other. It was pure and simple divide and rule. The notorious and tragic Black July of ’83 and the aftermath, especially the burning of the Jaffna Library, are common knowledge. All know, who planned it, committed the dastardly crimes and allowed them to happen. They deliberately created and trained fanatic groups with extreme chauvinistic ideologies. They are so many and I don’t intend to list them or their activities except the Easter Massacre of Catholics in 2019.

Even after the NPP government came to power the stink and the left overs of their governance are still there. Six years after the Easter Massacre the master minds are still free and living happily paid and protected by the government! Ever hear of the forty thieves searching for Ali Baba with an arrest warrant? It is happening in Sri Lanka. Ali Baba has vanished into thin air. Shame on you Sri Lanka Police! Maybe we need to call in the Scotland Yard after all.

Finally, after all the physical and financial harm they have done to the people and this country they have bankrupted it and shamed it before the whole world. And that is unforgivable. We were ashamed of our passports when traveling abroad. With a Ministry of Foreign Employment, we practically sold our women, youngsters and soldiers to domestic, cyber or military slavery in the Middle East, Myanmar and in the Russo-Ukraine border. And now the born loser, the default president, RW the Seeya, has gone on the world stage at the Al Jazeera studios and shamed himself and the country yet again.

The current predicament of the opposition

Currently the opposition is at its wits end. They really do not know what to do. They try to join forces to make a stronger stand. But they are unable to achieve even that. In the readings of the first budget of the NPP, the young, “so-called” inexperienced MPs of the government are so eloquent, logical and heartwarming hearing them presenting lucidly the plans for various subjects, the opposition is simply dumbstruck and has nothing useful to say. So, they pick on a PhD or a degree of an MP, question the abilities of a brilliant and blind MP, point to a buttoning up mistake of the shirt of AKD and such trivia and behave like cantankerous brats in a Montessori.

The morons have still not understood what the Aragalaya was all about. They have not grasped the message of the Aragalaya. The Aragalaya generation was the epitome of the whole population.  All wanted the System Change. People had enough of their evil governance. With the rise of the NPP, their huge rallies one after the other, enormous crowds gathering to these rallies and especially the truth of the speeches they heard so close to their hearts and minds, with the mesmerizing final delivery by AKD, the opposition totally failed to come up with anything to counter it. And the NPP, AKD message was the same System Change that people wanted.

Austerity follows bankruptcy like the wheels behind the bull. The renunciation of the pensions, perks and privileges that was willingly and happily accepted by the 159 showed the country the hardships people will have to face to pull Sri Lanka out of bankruptcy and indebtedness. They practice what they are preaching. Their sincerity and their commitment are like thorns in the backsides of the opposition and are challenges they cannot face. The NPP government has preempted and countered everything they could say. They know very well they are finished and have no future. This is their present predicament.

What could be the future of this opposition?

If there is going to be a future for this opposition, they must first of all realize this plain truth. This is what I have been telling for years and it was like fiddling to deaf elephants. The political parties United National and Sri Lanka Freedom and their off shoots are cadavers full of maggots. All of them need to be buried as soon as possible just to get rid of the stink. What they could not do all these years the System Change is going to do. The System Change will bury them for good.

Secondly, what I want to say was already said by SF, I think. There is a need for a new party on par with the NPP or even better. This is not going to be easy at all. The decency, honesty, commitment, sacrifice and true love of the country and its people of the NPP are not easy to emulate. But unless there is such a party for the people to turn to in case the NPP does not deliver there is no hope for the opposition. They can go on blathering in the parliament and nobody would listen to them.

One MP from the opposition has done what the people expect from them. He is a big, successful, private bus operator. He has offered his services to the government to streamline the SLTB and the government has accepted it with grace. Could this be a way out for the opposition to become relevant? Will the opposition learn a lesson from it?