Shame of watching cracks in a glass pane

A chairman of a leading multi national company, in his opening address to a team of young managers from across the globe attending a senior management training programme in the UK once emphasized, as to why he paid so much attention even to the smallest crack seen in a window pane in any business unit of the group. He said managers who watch and accept the slightest crack without a response action, will next accept a crack across the whole glass pane, and thereafter successively accept one pane missing, next all glass panes missing and in the end even accept a whole window or door without glass, with consequential grave danger to security, risk of leakage of goods/heat/air conditioning/ information and discomfort to employees. This message clearly drilled into the young managers the need to be attentive to the environment, act without procrastination, and take risk mitigation, control and productivity/quality enhancing measures from the very first available opportunity.

A person trained within the above paradigm of management will find it hard to reconcile as to how the whole of the civil society of Sri Lanka, consisting of religious/societal/professional/business, media and NGO leaders keep watching the chip in the glass pane of Sri Lankan society, during the last year which first turns to a crack, then a crack across and now to a state of many glass panes missing and leading to the whole window of civil liberty, civic and human rights, law, order and personal security being removed first by one actor in the north, then by the southern extremists, next by emerging terror groups of the north and south, next the cowboys, drug peddlers and mafia gangsters, favoured and protected goons, the law enforcers in mufti and finally the law enforcers themselves with the tacit acceptance of the leaders.

Is it now the moment to say the rosary, the prayers at the death bed, and the last rights and to prepare the coffin for burial of freedom, security, human and civic rights, rule of law and democracy?

Definitely not for the many Colombo residents judging by the cocktails, the celebrations, anniversary/birthday parties, grand weddings and of course the five star dining and the flow of wine, the night clubs and the much respected joints to throw the dice. The irony of it is that, not only are these held without any pang of guilt, but more importantly the tell tale pictures and stories flash across the newspapers and specialty magazines.

The shameful and sinful acts watched on by civil society are the human suffering inflicted by all parties to the conflict on common people who are totally outside the framework of the conflict. They suffer the fear, shock and uncertainties of daily life as combatants use them as shields, recruit them forcefully as combatants irrespective of age, get them to participate in hartals, deny the children a schooling routine, forcefully hold them or move them back to their homes whilst artillery fire and shells are landing in their midst. The state and armed forces in mufti have been accused of acts of violence against people including burning shops and setting of bombs. The attacks by the northern terror groups on the armed services using mines, bombs and suicide cadres impact innocent civilians. The retaliatory action especially aerial bombardments and artillery fires have severely impacted the innocents.

The means of telecommunications have been denied and movement restricted. To cap it all the forces have since the end of August blocked the land routes with much needed food, drugs, fuel and travel denied to a large segment of society. The international NGO’s and the innocents are harassed and denied even access to move the dead and injured. With the monsoons coming in severely over the next two months, food discharge by vessels will be severely restricted and food shortages will lead to starvation of Jaffna citizens. A caring legal eagle described the impending scenario in one word- “GENOCIDE”.
To multiply this suffering and uncertainty, daily disappearances, abductions, heavy ransom and protection money payments and gangster operations are carried with impunity. Those who speak out or act against are harassed and join the groups of missing or killed.

A leading development partner representative described the current scenario in Sri Lanka as “a light years away from Singapore being developmentally emulated and closer than a wink away from Sudan”. Another was to say “when the whole community and the world sees what is happening and none is concerned with the government itself involved in violation of human rights, and law and order have all but gone, it is time to pack the bags and leave and not support development.”

The government appears even ready to challenge the UN and the leading nations of the world and carry on with its course unrelentingly. The local civil society leaders are happy with their press statements and meditations. Relief and support are leveraged only where such humanitarian efforts are funded by the world outside.

The real faces behind the masks of the civil society of Sri Lanka, religious/societal/professional/business, media and NGO leaders have been revealed. The time to say “Amen” is near.