Muddle, Confusion & Bewilderment

By Kumar David –FEBRUARY 24, 2021

Prof. Kumar David

The three words in my title usually denote much the same thing but their nuances are different. One or the other better fits the right-royal tangle that the Nandasena-Military-Executive cum Mahinda-Cabinet-SLPP two pronged bull-horn government of Sri Lanka has got itself into. Let me enumerate:

1. GoSL clearly has no economic policy, strategy or direction. It simply survives from day to day in a condition of bewilderment. How can anyone disagree with this?

2. There is confusion in how the authorities handle the covid pandemic. There is no clear division or hierarchy of authority; Army Silva and his 25 military supremoes – one per District – frankly admit that they are clueless about epidemiology – dire confusion prevails. You may not agree with this 100% but when you consider S Korea, Taiwan, HK, NZ and now even the US they are doing it much better.

3. Mahinda promised to let the Muslims bury their dead; his Minister of Health overruled him and told him to go to hell (no doubt at the instigation of Nandasena and the military). What a muddle!

4. Two leading racists in government, Weerawansa and Vasudeva have declared that it’s time Mahinda buggered-off and handed over leadership of the SLPP and the Parliamentary Group to Nandasena. 

5. Multiple-murder convicts have been pardoned by Nandasena in response to demands by monks.

6. Harin Fernando has been promised the funeral rites of a dog. Points 4, 5 and 6 inspire no confidence.

7. Dees anyone know what’s going on about Chinese renewable energy proposals on three islands off Jaffna? Have the Indians made a counter offer which has been rejected? What’s the GoSL stance?

8. Eastern Container Terminal, Japanese funded light-rail project, Trinco oil-storage facilities, MCC-RIP; can even the government’s most splendorous friends deny that the muddle is disastrous?

9. The Great Kahn has arrived. Just this morning I had an email from a friend who threw up his hands in horror declaring “How Insane is this!?” First they insulted Imran withdrawing an invitation to address parliament, now they have prohibited him from meeting SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem and ACMA leader Rishad Bathiudeen. I should have enhanced by title by adding “Insanity”.

10. And now it’s Geneva Season. The regime has no visible strategy for compromise, accountability and winning friends. The Chinese and Russians will have to deliver the votes since GoSL seems foxed.

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