thuGland

As I see it, the primary role of government is to maintain law and order. If a government is incapable of doing that, then it’s worthless already.

The situation in Sri Lanka makes it obvious that the situation in terms of law and order in Sri Lanka leaves a lot to be desired but that’s not the government’s fault. It’s ours and ours alone. If we don’t petition the government through all the usual channels when we want change and then stand on the street if that doesn’t work… the fault for the rickety system of justice practised in this country should lie squarely on our shoulders. We vote them in and then we sit by indefinitely while they waste our money and bungle their jobs. I bet no one would tolerate this sort of ineptitude in their businesses – so why is it ok in government?

Is it because government is so remote for the average citizen? The link between the taxes you pay on a monthly basis and the awful system of governance you get in return is somehow accepted as the norm. The fact that we can actually petition people to do basic stuff, like sort out our garbage, turn on our street lights, hire more courteous policemen and generally just get a bloody move on with governing this country, doesn’t quite seemed to have seeped in. Ditto the press, our constitutional watchdogs… who do nothing but laze in the sun and write articles of no consequence (ref: full page article in the Sunday Observer, page 33 on ‘A life in the day of a pregnant lady’)

It’s a sad, sad state of affairs when you hear of politicians involved in club and bar brawls – even worse if you see them leading the charge. The recent incident where one of our better-known and less-respected Western Provincial Councillors started a horrible fight at Clancy’s, came as no surprise.

So the thing is this. If you’ve already got rape charges against you and you cause a fight pretty much wherever you go – why does society still tolerate you? The only up side is that this time he picked a fight with people of absolutely the wrong nationality. You can’t randomly pick fights with law abiding Americans because they have a superpower on their side. And you certainly can’t beat up their embassy staff without feeling some developed nation wrath bearing upon you.

AND what happened to the Ratwatte trial? How long were they in prison for? What happened to SB? How was he released so soon? What about the Ranatunga’s who were alleged to have beaten up schoolboys from the neighbouring school. Or my friend scummy-scummerson Mervin Silva. What about the car theft-related killings, the rise in the rate of petty theft and the increase in the murder rate? Are we really ok about it. This is a very different city to the one I grew up in. And it will be utterly unrecognisable when the next generation is our age.

Oh and what happened to the drugged out junkie who killed the foreign kid at Royal Park. How come we haven’t heard a peep from those quarters. And why is it that the girl’s family who have done nothing wrong have packed their bags and left Sri Lanka? Death threats? Seriously death threats? They say, justice delayed is justice denied. And justice denied is…. Is what?

DO something.

Meet. Protest. Get off your hands.