Ranil and the rigours of anew republicanism

WHILE the public debate still rages hotly, private reflections which don’t get liked or attacked on social media may be the order of the day a week and more after the arrest and remanding of a former executive president of Sri Lanka.

- By Wijith DeChickera

Not because the points of view expressed don’t have their relative merits or otherwise. But because a sense of proportion must eventually grasp the discourse by its horns and make the issue sit down and have a quiet think. And admittedly even this perspective is subjective if not slightly arbitrary.

Frame the case

The polity remains deeply divided over the most drastic political development to press its case recently.

On the one hand, the government has defended its actions as a single-minded pursuit of its agenda against alleged political corruption in high places. On the other, defenders of the ‘ancien regime’ have portrayed the Friday arrest and bail delays as being political expedience at best or personal revenge at worst.

In-between these diametrically opposed positions, the citizens of the Republic of Social Media have arranged themselves in ranks spanning the spectrum from the sublime to theridiculous.

Legal eagles have shown cause as to how the investigation, detention and overnight remanding could or should have been handled differently if the government was to avoid the charges of vindictiveness or conducting a vendetta. Empathisers with the conservative establishment played the sympathy card, majoring on the senior status of a stalwart statesman who discharged sterling duty by helming the ship of state through its direst straits. Irate progressives welcomed the arrest and indictment as a move in the long-postponed direction of ending a culture of impunity especially for political elites.

And the man in the hot seat widened the dichotomy by contending that in the life of state officials such as him — especially at upper echelon executive levels — there is no division and separation of powers, perks, privileges and payment for services received in the discharge of public duties amidst personal detours or private affairs.

Old guard rallies