Ceylon Today Editorial

TRAVAILS OF CONSTITUTION MAKING

01 March 2017

When a Head of State, in this case President Sirisena, defines bilateral relations with a specific country, in this case the United States, as having reached 'a new height', there's more than a mere passing significance to such a statement.

He said this at the conclusion of talks last week with the US Congressional Delegation at the Presidential Secretariat which the US Embassy in Colombo called a reaffirmation of the "Bipartisan US Support for Sri Lanka". That delegation comprised House of Representatives Judiciary Committee members.

Obviously there's a lot more than that which meets the eye when in a fortnight, members of the US Congress visit Sri Lanka for top level talks with government leaders.

The US Embassy described this as being a demonstration of the "bipartisan support in the legislative branch of the US Government for Sri Lanka's democracy and its efforts to ensure lasting reconciliation."

The House of Representatives is empowered to initiate all federal legislation. The USA delegation discussed Sri Lanka's proposed new Constitution besides "strategic issues affecting vital sea lanes in the Indo-Pacific"....and also was briefed on Sri Lanka's progress in forging lasting reconciliation and a non-recurrence of conflict. Talks then went on to examine matters relating to economic reforms which could increase bilateral trade and investment between the United States and Sri Lanka.

The delegation also expressed support for Sri Lanka's efforts to fulfil its Geneva commitments, 'including more land returns'.

In political usage, this word 'bipartisan' is of special significance in that it is supposed to mean that two parties have agreed on a programme of work that brings benefits for both sides.

So when President Sirisena says that this bipartisan relationship has reached 'new heights' one is left to come to his own conclusions.

Neither side spelt out what exactly was discussed in relation to "strategic issues affecting vital sea lanes in the Indo-Pacific." Nor was anything forthcoming by way of even a media release defining exactly in what manner the proposed "new Constitution and progress in reconciliation and non-recurrence of conflict" will benefit Sri Lanka by way of rewards from the US in giving Sri Lanka greater access to US markets and increase US investments in Sri Lanka.

In a "bipartisan" relationship as differentiated from a bilateral relationship, in modern political usage, is a word that implies that two parties broadly agree on a centrist position. Judging by all the issues broached in the talks, one can perhaps hence assume that the US does have some influence in the drafting of the new Constitution. With less than a fortnight for the Geneva UNHRC sessions on Sri Lanka to be held, one can also perhaps presume that the US could end using influence on Colombo to come up with some concessions to a political settlement approximating federalism along US federal lines in the proposed new Constitution.

The people in the US delegations were not, as during the Obama regime, from the US South Asia Desk such as that formerly headed by Tom Malinowski, nor from Samantha Power's then team but top US Congressmen from the House of Representatives who are veteran legislators of the US Government to whom the drafting of Constitutions is child's play. One is compelled to ask how much of a role this will play in further 'heightened relations' by way of "Strategic issues effecting vital sea lanes in the Indo-Pacific area", an issue that directly involves the use of harbours and airports and a modicum of defence cooperation in joint operations.

We wrote a month ago that Donald Trump would be making moves to consolidate US security interests in the Indo-Pacific area and would soon be sending Defence Secretary Jim Mattis for talks with Narendra Modi in Delhi. It appears that Modi, in anticipation of such a possibility sent his Defence Secretary Jaishankar for talks here earlier last week with Sirisena and Wickemesinghe to be able to answer questions from Mattis on collaboration from Sri Lanka. Jaishankar obviously went back with firm reassurances of Colombo's cooperation in matters to do with security fears stoked by China's daring moves to extend Beijing's sphere of influence in the South China Sea and beyond into the Indo-Pacific area.

US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee members met Speaker Karu Jayasuriya and Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan to discuss strengthened cooperation between the Sri Lanka Parliament and US Congress.

US Representative Hank Johnson (Democrat – Georgia), one of the first Buddhists elected to the US Congress, offered his respects at the Gangaramaya Temple where the delegations had unofficial exchanges on Buddhist practices.

It would appear that the drafting of Sri Lanka's new Constitution is held hostage by more forces than merely the TNA, the Tamil pro-LTTE diaspora and the singular search for a solution to the grievances of the Tamils.

Daily News Editorial

The Kalutara carnage

01 March 2017

It appears that the term gun culture thuwakku sanskruthiya that was coined during the second JVP uprising in relation to the mindless killings that took place at the time via the then ubiquitous T56 could have relevance today too in this country, given the gruesome nature of the bloodletting we are witness to which has a resemblance to that which took place in the late eighties. Hardly a day passes without a killing in some corner of this country, a majority of which are contract killings either due to business rivalry or deep seated enmities. But surpassing all these are the gangland killings that takes place with regular monotony, with the use of the still handy T56.

Monday saw the most serious of these tit for tat killings where a prison bus was ambushed by a group said to belong to rival gang of one of the inmates who was being transported from the Kalutara Prison to the Kaduwela Magistrate’s court. It is the audacious nature of the attack, which, no doubt, would have shocked, not just the general public, but the law enforcement agencies as well. One recalls attacks of the nature that took place on Monday only in connection with bheeshanaya era where the armed wing of the JVP overran well guarded armouries, not to mention, attacks carried out on vital government installations.

In a well planned operation, carried out, with almost military precision, the armed gang ambushed the prison bus, their target - a rival gang leader. The prison bus is said to have come under a hail of T56 fire killing some of the inmates in the initial firing. The gang had then boarded the prison bus, dragged their target out on to the footboard and fired at him until he was pulp. A prison officer and a jailer too perished in the attack, after which, the assassins left in a getaway vehicle leaving behind the carnage, reminiscent of a blockbuster Hollywood gangster movie.

As usual the buck is sought to be passed. The Police spokesman says there are times when the police is called upon to provide escort to prison vans while at the same time saying that prison officers too have been provided with equal police training to meet with any contingency. However in this instance the prison officers were not equal to the task and, what is more, two of their men perished in the shooting while five others were injured, two of them critically. It is said that the prison officers too had fired at the attackers but that the gang fled.

This shows that they (prison officers) were not up to the challenge. It is not clear if the prison authorities had requested for police security in this instance. If not, it is indeed a glaring lapse, considering the nature of the mission. This is because the gang leader Samayang, in fact, was a high risk prisoner, on whose life an attempt was made earlier inside the same court premises.

This should have made the Kalutara Prison authorities seek police escort for the prison bus, particularly considering, the route which the vehicle was to take was through a jungle patch where the assailants had lain in wait. The Police, for its part, considering the risk involved, should have been more circumspect and deployed a police contingent to escort the Prison bus.

As usual, the police say it has deployed a number of teams to hunt down the killers and that some progress had already been made. The public will hope that the attackers will be eventually apprehended and brought before justice.

Monday’s incident is no doubt going to be a challenge to IGP Pujith Jayasundera who has vowed to confront the underworld when he took office one year ago. But during this time a series of killings have taken place, both, gangland killings and contract killings. The same day the Kalutara incident took place the owner of a Wine Stores in Kurunegala was gunned down, although the motive was said to be robbery.

The police, today, is without the burden of war duties, as before, and should concentrate all its energies to combat serious crime. True, it has made several breakthroughs in some of the more prominent cases and apprehended the perpetrators. But the crime rate keeps on mounting, and, if the Kalutara incident is anything to go by, dangerous criminals are still on the loose, posing a grave threat to society.

The IGP should, hence, take special measures to bring the situation under control. A hunt should be carried out for illegal firearms, because, from what is witnessed, a large number of T56 and other illegal firearms are still in circulation. According to reports, the firing at the prison bus had been a professional job and there can be little doubt that those with a good weapons training had been among the attackers. The presence of army deserters among the assassins, therefore, cannot be ruled out which could also be a pointer to the source of the T56 weapons used, all amnesties to recover such weapons notwithstanding.

The Island Editorial

Iron Ladies to the fore

01 March 2017

 

The belated yet welcome presidential probe into the bond scams has taken a dramatic turn with the surfacing of a mystery gazette, on the sale of Treasury bonds, published with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s name thereon nearly two years after his defeat in Jan. 2015. The government has, true to form, sought to defend the indefensible.

President Maithripala Sirisena has been praised for the special bond probe. But, the fact remains that he sided with the bond thieves in 2015 for political expediency. He dissolved Parliament and thereby thwarted an attempt by the COPE (Committee on Public Enterprises) headed by veteran leftist, D. E. W. Gunasekera, to present a damning report on the bond thefts to the national legislature. The President, desperate to queer the pitch for Mahinda Rajapaksa and ensure the UNP’s victory, did not want the COPE findings published before the last general election.

President Sirisena then went on to deprive Gunasekera of a National List slot in Parliament in a bid to silence the latter’s voice. Such action antithetical to good governance was unbecoming of a leader who had sought and secured a popular mandate to rid the country of bribery and corruption.

It was to atone for his sin that President Sirisena subsequently refused to reappoint Arjuna Mahendran as the Central Bank Governor and went so far as to set up a presidential inquiry into the bond scams. The onus is on him to ensure that the bond thieves won’t be able to go scot free and the colossal losses suffered by the Employees’ Provident Fund etc due to their scams will be recovered.

The credit for blowing the lid off the biggest ever financial fraud should go to several intrepid public officials who chose to be on the side of the truth even at the risk of incurring the wrath of the powers that be and being hounded out of their jobs. They have been at the receiving end of many a vilification campaign carried out by the hirelings of the ruling party politicians. It is a pity that some UNP MPs’ despicable attempts to frighten Central Bank officials including a woman into submission at COPE meeting by shouting at them menacingly were not condemned by the champions of women’s rights. Their barks did not yield the desired result and the officials concerned stood their ground. These men and women who gave evidence against the bond thieves are real heroes and heroines. But for them, the bond scams would have been swept under the carpet. They deserve public plaudits.

Former COPE Chairman D. E. W. Gunasekera, speaking at a ceremony where a book on bond scams, titled, Bandumkara Andaraya (‘The tale of bond scams’), was launched at the BMICH on Monday, paid a glowing tribute to Acting Government Printer Gangani Kalpana Liyanage. He said she had courageously revealed the truth about the above-mentioned mystery gazette, craftily issued by some government politicians and their bureaucratic lackeys after the conclusion of the second COPE probe into the bond scams. They may not have expected a presidential inquiry. He also praised former Superintendent of the Public Debt Department of the Central Bank Deepa Seneviratne for a note which had foiled bond thieves’ attempt to claim that Mahendran had acted on Monetary Board recommendation when he went for the controversial bond auction. Auditor General Gamini Wijesinghe, another intrepid public official who made some conceited UNP MPs eat humble pie at COPE meetings, has also praised her.

The country should be proud of these two Iron Ladies who have stood up to the corrupt and the powerful in the name of public interest. The International Women’s Day is around the corner. Every year, on this day, lip service is paid to empowering women, bringing about gender equality etc. Politicians wax eloquent on women’s role in achieving national progress and the need to recognise and safeguard their rights. We suggest that Gangani and Deepa be felicitated on March 08 for their outstanding contribution to the country’s battle against corruption.