Booze and piety

Minister of the Buddha Sasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Mr. Lakshman Jayakody, has announced that he intends establishing ‘no liquor zones’ near schools and places of worship. A special presidential task force is to be established to implement the recommendations of a master plan of action to combat liquor, drug and tobacco addiction, it has been reported.

The public is aware of many such good intentions being announced on and off by governments in power but these vices not only remain but have over a period of time become more widespread.

In the context of the proposal to establish ‘no liquor zones’ it has to be pointed out that such zones should have been in existence long years ago if the existing laws had been implemented. Licences are not issued for sale of liquor near schools or religious places.

Mr. Jayakody’s call for the establishment of ‘no liquor zones’ and the fact that permits are in theory not issued for liquor outlets near schools and places of worship reveal the pious hypocrisy of the policies adopted by all governments on alcohol consumption.

The best illustration of the hypocrisy of governments on alcohol consumption is the issue of liquor permits by the governments to MPs . It is no secret that such permits are sold to cronies of politicians for lakhs if not millions— depending on the location of the sales outlet. Why a. liquor permit is of such value is because the issue of liquor permits is restricted on the excuse that a proliferation of liquor sales outlets leads to increased consumption of alcohol.

However, it is the converse that is true. When legal retail outlets are few and far apart there is the proliferation of illegal hooch dens. Today, down every street and bylane in towns there is an illict hooch dens selling gut rot. In the villages manufacture of illicit liquor has become a cottage industry.

In our editorial comments on this subject, we have consistently pointed out to the unholy trinity of the police, politician and the moonshine dealer. This combination had led to the emergence of Sri Lanka’s biggest industry— the kassipu industry which could be worth billions of rupees. Illegal industries need protection and thus we have criminals joining hands with the unholy trinity leading to the criminalisation of politics.

Today, we are witnessing the outbreak of violence in the North Western Provincial Council elections. Why the NWP is so violent an electorate is because of the thriving illict hooch manufacture for which this region has gained notoriety. The kassipu belt commences from Colombo North and spreads beyond Puttalam and it has proliferated criminals along with its growth.

Thus, we hope that the government in its effort to tackle alcoholism will take a pragmatic view of the problem rather than attempt to project a pious posture. The business of the government is to see that the law is not flouted and sales of liquor regulated. It cannot impose piety by legislation. Let the schools and religious teachers prevent students from taking alcohol, drugs or tobacco.

Where hard drugs are concerned it is once again the failure of the government to bring the big names of the most despicable trade to book. Heroin and other hard drugs are brought into this country by big businessmen. Despite pictures of grinning Customs officers posing for press pictures when a minor offender is detected there is an abundant flow of drugs into this country. One way in which these drug smugglers can be apprehended is by tracking down those who have become filthy rich within a short period of time.

While the government is concerned with alcohol, drugs and tobacco, it does not seem to be much concerned with the spread of casinos. These casinos are making millions of rupees each day and the funds collected could well go into underground businesses.

There have been shoot -outs near casinos where the names of the high and mighty have surfaced. The PA when in the opposition was highly critical of Casino Capitalism of the UNP but now seems to be blind to the spread of these gambling dens. In UNP times these casinos were confined to tourist hotels but today they are spread out everywhere.

There have been high sounding units such as presidential task forces and master plans for many things before but they have not been very successful. That is because they have been mere cosmetic gestures aimed at pleasing the pious. If the government does want to curb these menaces then a pragmatic approach is called for.