Opposition's crocodile tears over drug menace deplored

The main Opposition - the United National Party (UNP) has suddenly woken from its slumber like Rip Van Winkle after the recent dissolution of the Western and Southern Provincial Councils. Deeply cognizant that yet another election defeat is as sure as daylight under the tottering leadership of Ranil Wickremesinghe, the UNP is now going hammer and tongs to discredit the Government. Lo and behold, Wickremesinghe is now weeping buckets of crocodile tears over the drug menace as if he is lily-white and had descended from the seventh heaven.

Admittedly, the drug mafia is flexing its muscle and using Sri Lanka as a distribution hub. Underworld drug dealers are wooing more youth to become drug addicts, posing a serious threat to the society.

The Government has declared an all-out war against drug barons and as a result, more cases are being reported on a regular basis. The police, narcotics and Customs officials have been directed to intensify their operations to combat the drug menace.

The other wild allegation by the Opposition, in a desperate bid for their political survival, is that liquor shops and casinos are being operated under the patronage of Government politicians. This is furthest from the truth as the Government is implementing the Mathata Thitha under the Mahinda Chinthana. Not a single liquor licence has been issued since President Mahinda Rajapaksa took office in November 2005.

There was a time when politicians made big money by issuing liquor licences indiscriminately when the UNP was in power for 17 years. It was a money-spinner for politicians at the time as they sold liquor licences for thumping amounts.

It was President Rajapaksa who put an end to this sordid practice and ensured that not a single liquor licence was issued from the day he took over the destiny of our nation. He embarked on an ambitious program to educate the youth on the adverse effects of liquor and drugs.

In point of fact, fresh casino licences were not issued after the 1977-1994 UNP era. Even the few casinos that operate at present obtained licences issued during the Jayewardene and Premadasa UNP regimes.

Wickremesinghe cannot absolve himself of these sins as he had been an active partner during those notorious regimes. All such notorious acts came into being as a result of the open economic policy introduced by the UNP when it gained power in July 1977. Wickremesinghe, a Cabinet Minister from 1977 to 1994, approved all the policies of the then UNP governments.

Nevertheless, he has now descended to the lowest level and is making wild allegations against the Government as if the liquor and casino licences had been issued during President Rajapaksa's tenure. Since the number of reported drug offences has increased, Wickremesinghe is making a subtle attempt to show that drug abuse has increased after 2005.

Wickremesinghe fails to realise that more cases of drug peddling have been reported as a result of the Government intensifying such raids and apprehending the culprits.

Drug peddling and abuse were rampant when Wickremesinghe was serving as a Minister and Prime Minister. Since the UNP regimes turned a blind eye and permitted its supporters to operate freely, none of these cases came to light.

Does Wickremesinghe have the right to talk about the drug menace when he himself had been a close partner of the UNP governments which ruined our society with the drug mafia, casinos and gun culture which had been by-products of Jayewardene's open economic policy?

Rather than trying to mislead the public for petty political mileage, Wickremesinghe should apologise to the nation for being a partner in those notorious UNP regimes which promoted harmful narcotics such as heroin to far-flung places in the country.

It is by no means easy to eliminate the deep-rooted menace introduced by the UNP. The Government, on the strict instructions of the President, is making a concerted effort to curb the drug menace and protect the country's youth.

The President, in a message to mark International Anti-Narcotics Day, said the LTTE terror which had plagued the country for three decades, was crushed in 2009. He called upon the nation to join hands to eliminate the drug menace. "As much as we defeated terrorism and made it a part of history, let us all join hands to overcome the next challenge of ushering in development in the country by eliminating the drug menace which has been a great stumbling block to development and progress," he said.

Needless to say, the entire nation was plunged into a dark era due to LTTE terrorism. Thanks to the political sagacity of President Rajapaksa and the untiring efforts of Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the country wiped out terrorism and bequeathed a free, sovereign and united country to the next generation. Now that terrorism is a part of history, we are confronted with yet another challenge today.

The President's initial task after defeating terrorism was to win the economic war and make Sri Lanka the Wonder of Asia. Now that Sri Lanka is heading towards that goal, with the right economic policies in place, we need to look into other problems that could hinder the nation's progress. The drug menace is chief among them. The dynamic youth who could give off their time and energy for the country's development, have become lethargic due to the drug menace with some of them being imprisoned.

A large sum of money, which can be profitably channelled for development, is being drained out of the country due to drugs. It has been revealed that many families living in abject poverty were spending lavishly on drugs. A large slice of funds allocated to the Ministry of Health is spent to treat drug addicts and for their rehabilitation. The country is losing its valuable resources as a result of the increase in the number of drug-related deaths per year.

Hence, the President calls upon the nation, at all times, to join hands with him to put a full stop to liquor and drugs and usher in a free country with a healthy society.

The Defence Secretary has pledged to wipe out the drug menace with the same zeal with which terrorism was eradicated from the motherland. The law enforcement agencies are dedicated towards cracking down on illegal drugs, narcotics and illegal weapons. Operations are under way to arrest underworld gang members and seize their weapons.

The Security Forces including the trained troops have been deployed in these operations to help the police. Several such cases have been reported in recent times. Successive UNP governments had turned a Nelsonian eye and permitted their financial supporters to thrive on others' misery.

The Government has evolved a mechanism to eradicate the drug menace and get rid of underworld gangsters and a massive operation is now under way. There is no doubt, whatsoever, that the police would win the war against drugs too with the help of the Security Forces.

The Opposition, true to form, is spreading malicious propaganda about the degradation of law and order in the country to gain political mileage. The UNP's latest move of shedding crocodile tears over heroin and liquor is another ploy to hoodwink voters on the eve of the Provincial Council elections.

The masses are intelligent enough and will not fall prey to what Wickremesinghe says to salvage the UNP and retain his post as the Opposition Leader. Rather than descending to an abysmal level, the Opposition should prove its sincerity and support the Government in its efforts to wipe out the drug menace.