Sunday Island Editorial

The Presidential take on investigations

28 August 2016

 

Investigation is all about unearthing the unknown. Sometimes you know what you are looking for and you investigate because you suspect that the exercise will yield it. Sometimes you just dig, hope to make a strike – like people looking for precious stones or gold. Sometimes you strike a vein and you work it to exhaustion. It’s all part of the exercise.

Two investigations made headline news over the past week. The first was a revelation by an Australian investigation and the second the unmasking of a attacker by a victim.

In the first instance, it is alleged that a bribe was sought by an official on behalf of his minister. The minister in question was none other than President Maithripala who has rightfully called for a full investigation. In the very least it will put fear in the hearts of all officials used by politicians to negotiate kickbacks on their behalf or else claim to speak for their ministerial bosses to make some bucks on the sly.

Interestingly (as editorially pointed out in The Island yesterday) the President’s brave assertion (which essentially claims ‘Investigate me!’) has lost much of its gloss by the ‘warning’ issued by one of his recently rewarded loyalists, Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena. Abeywardena vowed action against anyone making corruption-allegations against the President. In doing so, he is essentially saying that the President is above the law, which of course is quite out of tune with yahapalana principles. This government has mostly been about allegations. One can’t really fault Abeywardena because the allegation-levelling exercise has been selective. Again, as The Island editorial points out, where as some alleged wrongdoers are hauled over the coals and made to ply a tired route from FCID to court to jail to court only to be released on bail and then made to walk that same path all over again, others are left untouched.

The President’s approach is therefore brave and laudable. He is affirming that yahapalana principle of no one being above the law. If the President is willing to be investigated there’s no reason why the dealings of other politicians and also officials charged with far more serious crimes should not be investigated. This, after all, is what President Sirisena’s presidential election campaign was all about. Indeed it was ‘the difference’ that was promised. The delivery has been disappointing in that it increasingly seems that justice and truth are sought only in cases where political opponents stand to be exposed.

The second case offers more hope, however. Upali Tennekoon, former editor of our sister paper Divaina and later Rivira, has along with his wife taken the bold step to come forward and help identify those who had attacked them on the morning of January 23, 2009 in Imbulgoda, Gampaha. The couple who had to flee the country back then for obvious reasons and is now domiciled in the USA, have chosen to return and assist the investigations into this attack.

The action of the Tennekoons can be read in many ways. First of all, the courage to come forward. For this, one must credit the political climate created by the electoral defeat of Mahinda Rajapaksa, a context which, given statements such as the one by Abeywardena, appears to be dependent on the degree of political security felt by those occupying the high seats of this regime. For now, though, there’s space to speak the truth. The Tennekoons have and by doing so will no doubt strengthen the resolve of others to come forward.

The Tennekoons have given a clear message to those absolutely unconnected with this particular investigation. People can speak out now about things they were scared to talk of not too long ago. Every single person aggrieved and yet rendered silent by fear of reprisal, whether it is theft, abduction, torture, murder or disappearance, can now feel less insecure about speaking the truth they know. Of course if relevant pieces of protective and emboldening legislation are put in place, we won’t need examples of courage, but that’s for later. For now, others like the Tennekoons, can speak out and indeed, if they take their civic responsibilities seriously then they must.

That said, there are concerns that need to be addressed. As the Abeywardena-statement indicates, there seems to be a thus-far-but-not-farther clause that somehow hovers over investigations. The President’s courage and example notwithstanding there seems to be some holy cows, some untouchables and, as The Island editorial suggests ‘guards who ought to be guarded’.

The Friday Forum which has championed the cause of good governance details the disappointment of those who expected this Government to be different from the regime it replaced in the following manner:

"Siblings were appointed soon enough to offices of high profit; friends were appointed to high offices of state whose misdemeanors and abuse of office were overlooked with ease; and advice was sought from among friends and colleagues who were too ready to satisfy the prejudices of leaders. Quick fixes were sought to problems whose solution required wide consultation with all stake holders. These undesirable practices inevitably led to glaring departures from established procedures, by-passing experienced and competent public officers whose advice and implementation capacity went unused. Large investment projects, whose feasibility had been seriously questioned when initiated during the previous administration, have been re-negotiated, ignoring consultation with the people; it is the latter who will suffer the ill effects of poorly thought out project activities. Political exigencies have installed a large number of ministries, wasting substantial amounts of public funds, making it absolutely necessary to establish working mechanisms for coordination among them. Their absence is glaringly evident."

President Sirisena, as the elected custodian of the people and resources of this country, is mandated to do much more than say ‘Investigate me!’ The arduous task he set himself was to ensure that no stone is left unturned in the search for truth and justice and none left unused to build the systems that will ensure that such investigations are carried out independently regardless of the names, positions and power of the perpetrators that the evidence points to.

Perhaps, in this regard, the past week marked a turning point. If on the other hand these developments generate hope that will be deflated subsequently (like the euphoria produced on the 8th of January, 2015, which has long since subsided), the next challenge is not for the President or the Government or even the Opposition, but the people. How they take stock cannot be predicted, but the unpredictability must worry everyone, politicians included.

Investigations are about unearthing the unknown. Sometimes you come up empty-handed or with little to show for your efforts. Sometimes you find things you were not looking for or things you never knew existed. Sometimes the truth-yield of investigation is disconcerting or even terrifying. Hunters, as they say, can become the hunted. That too is part of the exercise.

May the Government be as brave as the President!