Call For A Public Prosecutor & Five Commissions To Dismantle Rajapaksa Mafia

February 9, 2015

A concerned citizen has written to Colombo Telegraph, noting steps that should be urgently implemented by the new interim government if there are to keep their promise of exposing the corrupt deals of the government and hold those guilty, accountable for their actions.

On the condition of anonymity the writer said that the recent revelations following the presidential elections have exposed the manifestations of a criminal state in Sri Lanka that has mainly been the result of the existing structure and manner in which the polls are held.

Pointing out that the entire machinery of the state have been infected by corruption including the judiciary, Police department, the CID, the bribery and corruption commission and the stock exchange, the writer has said that it seems as if a ‘mafia’ has penetrated the entire system.

In order to purge these bodies of corruption and bring about good governance promised during the Maithri governance, the writer has called for the establishment of several commissions with wide powers to investigate the crimes, by giving a period of six months to probe into the allegations.

The writer has called for the appointment of a public prosecutor in the likes of those appointed in USA, Indonesia and Thailand and for the following Commissions to be established under the public prosecutor:

-Commission on the plunder of state resources
-Commission on the narco traffic syndicates in Sri Lanka
-Commission on money laundering
-Commission on foreign deposits
-Commission no land seizures and frauds

Furthermore, the writer has urged all those who voted and worked hard for the victory of the current regime to remain vigilant and form a strong advocacy body to ensure that the politicians practice what they preach and preach what they practice.

Read the concerned citizen’s opinion in full;

Call for a public prosecutor and the establishment of commissions to dismantle the criminal state

Recent revelations after the Presidential Elections, has brought to light many manifestations of a Criminal State. The nature of the crimes committed is staggering in order and extent. Dismantling a Criminal State will not be easy where corrupt practices are a norm in Sri Lanka. It starts with the politicians, who argue that they have to find large sums of money for the elections and as a result has to earn the money for the next elections. Thus the M.P uses his powers of patronage for illicit bribes. This happens from the local government level to the Ministers, Prime Minister and the Presidency. Corruption is all pervasive within the state sector where citizens have to bribe their way to get things done. The Judiciary is also is corrupt to the core. Even Chief Justices to ordinary Judges are known to takes bribes for a friendly dispensation. This is also true of the Police force. The Criminal Investigations Department, the Bribery Commission. The Stock Exchange was also seized by the Mafia. . It would seem that the Mafia has penetrated the entire system. In dismantling the corrupt system, a systematic analysis of the nature of the Criminal State and its scale and extent .

The scale and magnitude of the frauds perpetrated is such that it is import to have several Commissions, with wide powers to investigate these crimes. They should be given a time period of 6 months to investigate critical and important cases.

.In the first instance a Public Prosecutor should be appointed Such Public Prosecution offices have been established in the USA, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand nod other countries. Under the direction of Public Prosecutor the following Commissions should be appointed :

COMMISSION ON THE PLUNDER OF STATE RESOURCES; From anecdotal evidence, it is clear that there has been a massive robbery of state resources. They range from the abuse of funds used for election purposes, to the use of state funds for the appropriation of the ruling family.

COMMISSION ON NARCO-TRAFFIC SYNDICATES IN SRI LANKA;Today the newspapers are full of the extent of Narco Trafficking in Sri Lanka. The recent arrest of Wile Soda has revealed the involvement of politicians and officials in these frauds. It has also been revealed that Customs have been prevented from arresting these people at the customs, where the highest officials of the land have ordered the release of the cargo. It is also well known that Sri Lanka is a major hub for Marco-Traffic from Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Burma and Thailand.

COMMISSION ON MONEY LAUNDERING; Sri Lanka is a major hub for Money laundering. It is alleged that the Central Bank is a conduit for Money Laundering from Malaysia and India. Significant international attention has been taken with regards the scale of Money Laundering in Sri Lanka.

COMMISSION ON FOREIGN DEPOSITS;  held in off-shore banks. The recent revelations of money held in safe havens have been in headline news recently where trillions of dollars have been moved out of Sri Lanka. The money trail leads from Seychelles. To Uganda, South Africa and other off – shore destinations.

COMMISSION LAND SEIZURES ND FRUUDS; Land frauds are an insidious crime perpetrated on thousands of innocent people. These frauds are being committed by the Mafia, with the connivance of other public institutions such as the Criminal Investigations Department, the Police, and the Land Ministry etc.

Thousands of people have lost their homes and properties. In the North, land grabbing and confiscation has also happened in a massive scale. There are well known practices which the fraudsters use such as changing the deed at the land registry, to evicting home owners and then claiming their properties and also outright evictions.

The Maithri Presidency and government promised the people that they would dismantle the criminal state. Corruption of the ruling family other Ministers was the principle campaign issue. The citizens, who worked hard for the Maithri victory should be vigilant alert, and form a strong advocacy body to ensure that the politicians practice what they preach and preach what they prctiwse. Criminal states around the world have been dismantled in many parts of the world through people’s power. Remain vigilant.