Challenging Times Continue After Easter

The religious leader has come down hard on the ageing politicians who he suggests should call it a day. He attributed this decline, to people moving away from religion. He has time and time again stressed that departments handling intelligence and national security shouldn’t be politicized

- Ravi Nagahawatte

This year’s Easter celebrations were put on hold largely because of the on-going Coronavirus and the state declared curfew. Last year too the Christians in the island nation went through much pain due to the Easter Sunday bombings that ravaged three churches and took the lives of over 250 people.

If the first incident that happened last year exposed the past regime’s inability to strengthen security in the country the present regime has failed in the task of distributing essentials to the needy who have no source of income. A crisis has always highlighted the shortcomings of lawmakers in this island.

Despite the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) allocating Rs 600 million to buy fish stocks and facilitate their distribution there are several areas in the island which have not seen the colour of fish nor any of the items given away as relief packages. The Daily Mirror reported recently that much of these relief goods have ended up in the hands of the affluent.

In situations like these religious leaders tend to get involved in nudging lawmakers to play their roles properly. One such religious leader who has been in the news since the carnage last year is the Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith.

The cardinal voiced his disapproval regarding an independent committee not being appointed to probe the series of blasts. The Archbishop of Colombo continuously voiced his concerns regarding members of the Special Parliamentary Select Committee (SPSC) comprising members who were attached to political parties. The Cardinal’s protests and the past regime sticking to its guns regarding the composition of the SPSC show that regimes do try to gain political mileage during a crisis.