Vigil rhapsody on the Green to herald new era for Lanka
Protesters rebuff PM’s offer for talks, say: ‘Just go home’’
As midnight falls on Galle Face Green, Young Lanka lie huddled in a makeshift tent defiant against the beating rain, praying for a new dawn, free of the terrible curse that has condemned the nation beyond the pale.
They brave the elements like they have braved the threats. Even before the first protestor had set foot upon the Green last Saturday, the Government had banned entry to it the night before on the feeble pretext that it was under development.
They had ignored the ‘Keep off the grass’ sign with the same infectious disdain the people had ignored the emergency law’ curfew the previous Sunday; and reclaimed the sovereignty they had constitutionally delegated to the President and Parliament.
Throughout the week, they have felt the pangs of hunger, they have endured the bouts of thirst. They have faced the oncoming monsoon winds blowing hot, blowing cold but it had not changed their resolve. They have suffered protest fatigue but it had made them more resilient. They have left their cosy shelters to rough it out in the forbidding air under a canopy of cloudy climes, waiting undaunted for their star to shine.
They have cut their democratic teeth in the dust of the Galle Face Green.
Not all the obstacles thrown in their way have swerved them from their avowed course. Their individual strength has been the strength of ten for their cause is just, their conscience clear: Their peaceful mission pure, pristine and undefiled by even a trace of partisan politics.
They have shown they will not settle for anything less than the total riddance of family power and its tenacious grip on the nation which has left their lives blighted and the country bankrupt.
Theirs is not a protest for food, for gas, for fuel or for medicines. Theirs is something beyond their daily bread. Theirs is the crusading cry for total regime change, echoed in one vociferous roar, ‘Gota, go home.’
And, as they keep round the clock vigil, chanting the same potent mantra to exorcise the body politic its inherent evil, they are not alone.
Sunday Punch 2
The marathon protest that has continued for over a week without its fire dimming, has attracted the hearts and minds of many who have rushed to keep the flame alive. Iconic Sinhala music artistes like Nanda Malini, Victor Ratnayake and songwriter Prof. Sunil Ariyaratne, along with many other well-known personalities, have joined in the protest to express solidarity with the Galle Face phenomenon. The youth movement has galvanised people of all ages, of all classes and rank, near and afar to make a beeline to the Green to pledge their faith and rekindle the fire.
They have moved spontaneously to set up on the Green public lavatories, tents, makeshift kitchens, a library, mobile phone charging centre and a medical centre to cater to their basic needs while a daily stream of well-wishers provides a surfeit of food and drink. And to raise their morale, the rhapsodic power of music lustily rends the air to make all share in the magic of the soul stirring song.
The Galle Face Green has now come alive, pulsating with vibrant life. It has
been turned into a freethinkers’ pantheon for pilgrimage, beckoning all to come and throw out the false gods they had once worshipped in ignorant awe. It reflects the spirit of the age and symbolizes the nation’s mood for change.
But they should be extra vigilant from falling prey to the machinations of die-hard masters of political stratagems. Already overtures have been made for talks and the sudden appearance of truce flags in the horizon, portend no good. Rightly the Prime Minister’s call for talks has been rebuffed with the terse reply, just go home. They have struck the right note and there can be no compromise, no letup in the battle to win their just demands.
The blood, toil, tears and sweat already shed on this expanse of Green should energise the power of the people’s roar, not dilute or weaken it to a whine. Else they would have been shed in vain.
It maybe that the exertions will threaten to wear them down. But those who have forfeited the sceptre and the isle by their ruinous reign, still retain the seat of power; and, thus fortified, can afford to sit it out. But for them, too, inexorable time is running out, as further hardships will trigger wave after wave of unstoppable mass protests. The outcome will depend on which side has the greater resolve to hang on longer.
As midnight falls, Youth Lanka lie huddled in tents to bed down for the night, praying to glimpse the distant star twinkle through the gauntlet of ominous clouds hugging the sky. Already their struggle has reaped rewards. It has sent home the family Finance Minister and the crony Central Bank Governor. It has forced the cabinet to resign. They have been the expendables, temporarily sacrificed like pawns on a chess board to thwart the People’s Gambit and save the greater family interest.
People Power has moved heaven and earth to achieve so much in so short a time. To remove the rest of the offending baggage, this ‘one equal temper of heroic hearts’ must remain, ‘strong in will to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.’