Though the Aragalalaya or its physical phase at least as one member of the uprising described it, has ended, there should be some way in which the events that transpired during that phase of rebellion could be assessed.
A President was sent into exile as a result of the uprising, and this is not just the Galle Face uprising of course, but also the rebellion that took place on street corners and indeed ‘in hearts and minds’ of various people.
Many people seem to be gratified that the resistance resulted in the President having to quit. They felt that the excruciating nature of the hardships they suffered more than warranted that outcome. It has to be stated that the uprising was a success — that the Aragalaya had served its purpose.
A revolt
In that sense, it was nothing short of a revolt.
The people were at the end of their tether. They held the administration that was in power at that time squarely responsible for everything that had happened — the shortages, the resultant breakdown of law and order even, and the wrecking of life as they knew it with prices at an even keel earlier, even though there was always some level of inflationary pressure most of the time.
But, the fact that things had gone out of control with prices skyrocketing to stratospheric levels while the shortages and the power cuts shook society to its core with any semblance of normal life being completely out of the question, had meant that there was rebellion brewing in people’s hearts.
This situation is changed now, but the country is not totally out of the woods. The IMF facility that Sri Lanka would regard as the ‘bailout’ is still in the process of being negotiated. But if the worst of times are already over, it means that there should be some stock taking done.
Those who were at the frontline of the uprising have to be congratulated for what they achieved. They had the interests of the people at heart. It was unfortunate that there were arson attacks and murders in the melee, though relatively few and far between. But the core forces that were responsible for the revolt were not responsible for these ugly outcomes, and that is fairly reasonably established by now.
The fact that there were people who had the courage to come out and say ‘enough is enough’ is testament to the fact that the people had the backing of those who had taken up their cause full time. Most of the times it was the people who were out there on behalf of themselves. But yet, there was a frontline rebel leadership, a frontline rebel cadre, however, scattered and unidentifiable that leadership cohort may have been.
They achieved something extraordinary, because the change of the guard was inevitable the way things were going. The people may not be happy with the outcomes that may have resulted — at least some of them may be not — but at the very least, it is possible to say that what they set out to do primarily which was to unseat the then untenable regime, was achieved.
There was international coverage of events and the events that were recorded were extraordinary. In the backdrop of severe disruption of normal life, there was a brave rebel leadership that took matters into their hands despite the fact that their own positions were not secure. There was no guarantee that their lives would be safe — but they were willing to make themselves heard and make themselves vulnerable to counter-attack by the regime and the powers that be of that time.
This was courage and determination personified. The young and the old who were at the frontlines of protest should be happy that their non-violent movement had achieved what it set out to accomplish. If things had not taken such a turn and if the then regime prevailed without any opposition, by now the threat to society would have probably been worse.
The shortages would have led to anarchy and a breach of the social contract. But all that was avoided because of the channeling of the people’s voice via a non-violent protest movement.
Betrayers
The measure of success achieved can never be scoffed at. Particularly at the time it happened, the revolt was so necessary that it was a godsend. It spurred ordinary people into action too and in a sense the uprising was everybody’s. All the people of this country could claim ownership and kudos to them all for having the courage to topple a regime that was not just ineffectual, but had betrayed the people’s trust.
But even as the rebellion was in full force, there were betrayals of this people’s revolt that were quite stunning in their insensitivity and their brazenness. Some of it at least ought to be recorded in the short term before there is a more thorough-going appraisal that would document the events of the rebellion more comprehensively for the historical record.
While the people stood up for themselves and their rights in the manner that had been described, there was the sorry spectacle of some three-wheeler drivers for instance who before the introduction of the QR code, caused mayhem and mile- long queues by regularly returning their vehicles to the petrol queues soon after they had topped up their tanks. This they did out of profit motive, so that the fuel they drew the first time around — and the second time around and so on — could be sold at exorbitant rates on the black.
The fact that a lot of three-wheeler drivers and others similarly placed had been doing this became obvious soon enough, but is now established because the introduction of the QR code has put an end to their ability to game the system for a quick buck.
But the fact that there were elements that were able to do this and get away with it was a betrayal of everything that the ordinary people had accomplished by making a sacrifice to come out and rebel against a regime that had to go. While the people risked their lives to do that, there were betrayers who thought nothing of gaming the system and exacerbating fuel shortages making kilometres long queues the norm.
This sort of tendency borne out of selfish profit motive was not just insensitive but was also brazenly against the law and against all considerations of community cooperation. It was a nadir, and came at a time people had already made enormous sacrifices for the common good.
No amount of inveighing against politicians would help if there are some elements that are ready to put self-interest before the common good in this manner. Betrayal does not even begin to describe that kind of perfidy.
There cannot be any justification to the effect that those who gamed the system did so because they too were undergoing hardships and took the opportunity when they saw it. The problem was that everybody was having a tough time, and most of all the ordinary people that had nowhere to turn to. That some elements chose to betray these people and add to their woe by gaming the system at the petrol pump was something in the order of the unimaginable, but it happened.
Initial breakdown
True, that the initial breakdown in normal civilian life was due to politicians and their mismanagement and their perfidy, but once the regime was forced to relinquish power — it was imperative that people cooperated.
By and large they did, except for the elements that made use of the ensuing situation to make a quick buck and hijack the system to serve their own ends. They would have to live with the ignominy if that forever, and here is a reminder that there were at least some elements of law-enforcement that were in cahoots with these people. Such betrayal was gob-smacking in its intense cowardliness and insensitivity, and was a shameful reminder that when politicians do badly, there are some elements out there who do much worse.