Upholding the law, prime among
priorities
Inasmuch as the state is
duty bound to enforce the law, the public of this country is
obliged to uphold the law and to act in complete conformity to
it. The government is on record that it would not flinch from
discharging its responsibilities and we have ample proof of this
in the speed with which it restored calm in Puttalam and other
areas recently. Accordingly, it is left to the public to deliver
on its civic duties.
The past 30 years of bloodshed and conflict in this country
should have had a sobering impact on the local polity but this
does seem to be the case entirely. This is most unfortunate
because those who do not learn the lessons of history are bound
to repeat past blunders. However, the state seems to have learnt
the need to act fast and decisively in the face of threats to
law and order and this is something much relief could be derived
from.
If governments need to learn one lesson from our past woes
and worries, it is the advisability of acting fast to defuse
threats to law and order. Defence Secretary Gotabhaya
Rajapaksa's assurances that the law would come down heavily on
wrong doers, smack of this alacrity and readiness on the state's
part to act responsibly and promptly when confronted with
lawlessness.
Particularly significant was his assurance that communities
could freely go about their religious duties. All this is a far
cry from July 1983, for instance, when the government of the day
seemed to freeze into inactivity when lawlessness exploded over
the length and breadth of Sri Lanka. However, by saying this we
do not intend to imply that the civil strife of 1983 and the
public unrest of a few days back in Puttalam, share any
significant commonalities. The point we want to drive home is
that the state cannot dodge its duties in the face of threats to
public order.
The Lankan public and other significant sections cannot be
faulted for being somewhat befuddled by these recent bouts of
lawlessness in some areas of the country. Right now, hypotheses
abound on these bizarre disruptions of normalcy but a coherent
and intelligible account of the happenings and what has
accounted for them are yet to be put together. For most
observers, these unsettling happenings are very much beyond
their comprehension and this sense of bafflement is quite
understandable.
Until more is brought to light about these developments, all
that we could say is that law and order must prevail and that
the state should not stray from its responsibility of bringing
all wrong-doers to justice. Besides, it is best that all
concerned bear in mind that happenings of this kind are
exploited to the fullest by a range of miscreants and evil-doers
whose agendas are usually at cross-purposes with the aims of a
democratic, liberally-oriented and secular state, which is
comfortable with the numerous pluralisms that usually make up
this world.
The fact that some of this unrest has been witnessed in
ethnically heterogeneous areas of Sri Lanka points to the
presence of some communal elements in these disturbances. We may
be wrong in framing this hypothesis but it is an explanation
which needs to be closely looked at.
Nevertheless, nothing could be left to chance. Besides the
law being stringently enforced and no quarter being given to
violators of the peace, every effort must be made to strengthen
the multicultural and pluralistic identity of this country. Such
aims do not run contrary to the unquestionable principle that
all citizens of this land owe their allegiance to Mother Lanka
or the 'Maathru Bhoomiya', which is a mother of all.
The urgency is great to make every Lankan feel at ease in
this country and the state needs to undertake to do this.
Besides, of course, ensuring the security of all, the state must
redouble its efforts to strengthen the bonds of understanding
among the numerous communities of this country. It must be
proactively engaged in this undertaking and in a very productive
and dynamic manner too. |