Daily News Editorial

Let court decide WW’s case

17 January 2017

A big ha ho is being made these days over the arrest and remanding of National Freedom Front leader Wimal Weerawansa, with even demonstrations being planned by the Joint Opposition. Weerawansa was arrested on a court order, obviously after a thorough examination of his case by the judge. The JO, as is its wont, has seized on this opportunity to gain maximum political mileage and has even gone to the extent of challenging the court order.

It is indeed strange that not much noise was made by the Joint Opposition following the arrest and remanding of Yoshitha and Namal Rajapaksa on the more serious felon of money laundering. Is the JO then conceding that there is sufficient material for the arrest of the junior Rajapaksas and that this was not the case in respect of Wimal Weerawansa? Ditto for the likes of Jonston Fernando, Mahindananda Aluthgamage et al.

In the eyes of the JO, they are indeed guilty and not so Wimal. If not, how can one explain the lukewarm response to their arrests compared to what we see now in respect of WW. Is it because the JO is today badly missing the anti minority tirades of Weerawansa?

We are not here passing judgement on WW. He is only in remand custody. He may, or may not be guilty in respect of the charges brought against him. This is entirely a matter for the court to decide. But what cannot be condoned is the challenge mounted against a court order by JHO stalwarts, among whom are leading lawyers.

Not long ago we saw the ugly spectacle of a court being lain siege to by a mob, led by persons in saffron. This was their way of showing contempt for a court order. Is this now going to extend to the country’s lawmakers, no less, who should know better? Weerawansa is only one among many languishing behind bars. What about the others placed in the same predicament but have not the power or influence to mobilize support of the kind commanded by WW?

There is also another dimension to the whole affair. Attempts are being made to rope in others, who are said to be complicit in the offence for which Weerawansa has been accused of. One of them, Deputy Minister to WW at the time, Lasantha Alagiyawanna, while admitting to using Ministry vehicles, is on record saying that these vehicles were used solely relating to development purposes and obtained following the laid down procedure while then Chairman of the State Engineering Corporation Ashu Marasinghe says that he had already given statements to the FCID. He is being accused by the Weerawansa front for following up on WWs orders and issuing directions for the release of the vehicles but the police letting him off.

As has already been observed in an editorial of an English weekly, a Minister is the lord of all he surveys in his domain and it is unthinkable that his orders can be countermanded by his subordinates, short of being thrown out on a limb. This truism has held under all governments since independence and this government is no exception, although there had been officials, along the way, who had stood up to irregular and illegal orders issued by the Minister, as pointed by the editorial, and left with their heads held high. Knowing Weerawansa, who is used to having his way, as demonstrated by his getting then Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa evict the policemen guarding the UN compound in Colombo so that he (Weerawansa) and his mob could do as they please (the scene went viral on Social Media), it is doubtful that any official would have had the mettle to go against his minister.

The bone of contention here is the 40 vehicles requisitioned by WW from the SEC had been placed at the disposal of his relatives, members of NFF, clergy and journalists, among others. It is obvious that these personages could not have used these vehicles for facilitating development or supervising projects. It is difficult to comprehend that any of these persons could have had the knowledge or aptitude for such tasks, particularly the relatives of WW and members of the Sangha.

Hence it is reasonable to assume that the 40 vehicles, said to have been hired at a cost of Rs. 90 million to the state, had been used for purposes other than that related to the ministry and most probably used for political work, particularly that connected to WW in the Colombo district.

Be that as it may, staging protests, openly challenging court orders, have become a recent trend in this country. We saw this in Hambantota the other day. If allowed to continue unchecked, it may lead to a serious situation where the law’s supremacy itself will come to be challenged.

Drastic action should be taken, if things are not to deteriorate further. Open defiance of court orders should not be permitted at any cost. If need be, laws should be introduced to deal severely with protest leaders who act against a court order.

Ceylon Today Editorial

Burdens of being President

17 January 2017

Remember that line, "It's good to be king" which portrayed the gloriousness of being the ruling party of a country/kingdom/monarchy? Yeah, the same cannot be said about the present days of a democratic society (HA!) with a President who is being watched, monitored, criticized from all possible directions – except during the tenure of the previous administration (you know what we are talking about – no need to spell it out).

Accountability and responsibilities go hand in hand. For if someone comes across a position of power it is obvious that he or she is entitled to some amount of responsibilities that have to be completed during that period of time. These responsibilities have to be completed with complete transparency and accountability. Such is the way of a democratic system – currently the one we are in, unless you've been living under a rock.

The President of the country already has too many responsibilities under his Modi outfit – one too many that makes the donkey break its back (no pun intended). And that one too many responsibility might just be the National Lotteries Board.

Recently it was revealed that President Maithripala Sirisena will be taking over the supervision of the National Lotteries Board and the Development Lotteries Board. The decision is still in the pipelines with the President waiting to meet and greet the representatives of the Lottery Marketing Representatives Association and the State Minister of Finance, Lakshaman Yapa Abeywardena.

The matter is very timely – the lotteries market has dwindled throughout the country with the ticket agents and sellers walking out of their day jobs in protest of the government's decision to increase the price of a lottery ticket without increasing the commission percentage received by a seller or an agent.

This decision resulted in the crash of the lottery market throughout the island with the beginning of New Year and continued for a little over a week with no proper results. Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake was audacious enough to threaten the agents saying that their jobs can be replaced if they continue to protest – a really bad idea on his behalf.

This protests and the nationwide demonstrations attracted the attention of the President who later on promised to give them an audience to discuss the matters, causing the protest to end.

That was two weeks ago and the government is yet to provide a solution to the matter.

The National Lotteries Board and Development Lotteries Board are currently under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance and its Minister Ravi Karunanayake. Therefore, the solution should naturally come from the necessary respective authorities and not the President. Handing over the supervision of the two Boards to the President is nothing but a ball pass, very much like the blame that is passed around when the government fails at doing something – either they blame it on the people or they blame it on the members of the previous government.

The President has enough to do as it is and handing over the supervision of these two crucial Boards would be impractical on a major scale. It is a solution that would not solve the problem but would only create more complications in an already complicated system.

The best the President should do is that he should intervene until his responsibilities come to a limit – specifically, advising the Minister of Finance and his ministry to take the necessary action to increase the commission of the lottery ticket agents and salesmen – a simple task, the Finance Minister is clearly not willing to take for some reason. Other than that, the President should stay away from 'collecting' responsibilities as a hobby.

Being responsible is a powerful thing. But being too responsible can lead to obvious irresponsible behaviour. This is a burden. And the President should keep away from doing so if he values his position as the top leader of the country. An irresponsible leader is the last thing this country needs right now.

The Island Editorial

Towards a police state?

17 January 2017

 

The Rajapaksa government stood accused of militarising society. Intoxicated with power it went so far as to order a military crackdown on a civilian protest against the contamination of groundwater by a factory in Rathupaswala in 2013. It looks as if the yahapalana administration, which came to power promising to demilitarise society, were trying to create a police state. It blatantly abuses the judicial process and the long arm of the law to suppress democratic dissent. Now, it is planning to restrict public protests to some designated areas in the city, we are told.

True, protests in busy urban areas are a public nuisance. Undergraduates and trade unionists often overstep their limits and make life miserable for commuters and other road users. Protesters don’t consider their struggles complete unless roads are blocked and massive traffic jams created. Some action is, therefore, called for to make protesters act with some restraint and consideration towards fellow citizens. But, by no stretch of the imagination can the proposed government move be considered pro-people. It is trying to suppress political dissent.

The last regime did not give two hoots about public opinion. It did not tolerate dissent and crushed Opposition protests openly. It unleashed criminal elements within its ranks and their confederates on protesters. The situation has somewhat changed under the incumbent dispensation. During the Rajapaksa government police operated alongside goons to disrupt demonstrations against it. Today, goons operate alongside the police as we saw in Hambantota the other day! None of the stone throwing thugs caught on camera during the recent Mirijjawila protest have been brought to justice. The police have, true to form, acted against only the Opposition activists.

The yahapalana government has no need for the likes of Mervyn and Eraj to lead attacks on the Opposition and the media. The police and Navy chiefs are doing a much better job! No sooner had the navy commander roughed up a journalist in Hambantota in full view of the media than the police chief swung into action in the same district, directing as he did a police crackdown on those who opposed the sale of national assets; he succeeded in his endeavour. Both of them are likely to be rewarded for services rendered.

Police bigwigs have never been independent under successive governments. But, never have they made a public display of their servility to politicians in this shameless manner! Senior university don turned Chairman of the National Police Commission (NPC), Prof. Siri Hettige, has resigned. Had he continued to hold that office he would have ruined his reputation further. It was a wise move on his part as the NPC has become a mere appendage of the ruling coalition.

The government is apparently busy devising ways and means of countering street protests which are likely to erupt when it has to resort to highly unpopular moves like setting up war crimes courts and signing agreements like the ETCA and the one to hand over national assets like the Hambantota Port.

The yahapalana grandees seem to think they can confine protests to some godforsaken areas and ratchet up pressure on the media to black them out. They are already issuing not-so-veiled threats to cancel the licences issued to television stations which refuse to toe their line. Government leaders frequently launch into tirades against independent newspapers in a bid to frighten them into submission. Moves are also underway to muzzle the web-based media.

Let the government pundits be warned that what they are doing is akin to trying to control dysentery with a loincloth. Ill-conceived moves to contain public resentment without letting it find expression in protests will only cause it to well up and burst forth. They are playing with a time bomb.