A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Saturday, July 29, 2017
Ravi Karunanayake – Fall Guy Or Savior Of The Monarch?
“Hell Hath No Fury Like A Woman Scorned” – William Congreve
(Lanka-e-News - 28.July.2017, 7.22PM) Educated and highly focused, the
introduction of Miss Muthukudarachchige Anika Vinodhini Wijesuriya (AW)and her testimony at the Commission to Inquire into the Bond Scandal (CIBS) has
indeed created a storm and without a doubt. Born to a Singaporean
businessman of Sri Lankan origin, and whose fortune was made through
questionable deals using his connections at the highest levels of
successive governments in power, it may be a little too late now for
Miss. AW to realize that she bit much more than what she can actually
chew, when she decided to try her hand in tilting the scale in a game of
thrones.
Raised in a broken home and having grown up on the wild side, Miss
Wijesuriya’s various relationships with various men in power and stature
is her business alone. But if her recent actions originated as a result
of a romantic relationship gone sour or at the behest of her father
whose inner circle of friends include the likes of Mr. Gotabaya
Rajapaksa, raise does it not more questions than for reasons she made
her way into the said Commission?
Sri Lanka’s political culture has changed very little since the time the
Late Mr. J.R. Jayawardena introduced the open market economy. Power
corrupts and all of them politicians are in it either for power, money
or for both. And not surprisingly, strange bedfellows they make
politicians and businessmen. While it is no secret that members on both
aisles of the parliament have loyalist friends amongst the business
community, hesitate they do not to forge an alliance even with the
enemy, should there be a mutually beneficial opportunity up for grabs.
In this context, I believe no parliamentarian is free from such
associations or righteous enough to live by a certain code of honor.
Enter Mr. Ravindra Sandresh Karunanayake (RK), Minister
of External affairs, ex-Minister of Finance and the man of the moment,
tried and convicted by sections of the media and awaiting ‘execution’.
While my attention was drawn to this ‘trial-by-media’ circus when seeing
attempts being made to vilify RK as the fall-guy for this entire ‘Bond
Scandal’ episode, now that a Presidential Commission has been
established to look into possible illegal acts, shouldn’t the passing of
verdicts of guilt, innocence or complicity be the sole task of its
highly respected panel of judges?
Being an investigative columnist and an activist, I was one of the first
to expose the Bond Scandal as early as in March of 2015 through social
media (Facebook). Having crossed swords with Mr. RK on numerous
occasions on public platforms and in private over matters of national
interest, I too believe RK should be investigated if there is enough
evidence to prosecute him, and for him to be punished if found guilty.
No dispute there. And adopting a holistic approach in addressing the
matter, I sure wish learned readers or concerned officials would take
note of following observations and questions or respond to same,
1/ Was it not PM Ranil Wickremasinghe (RW) who appointed Mr.
Arjun Mahendran as the Governor of Central Bank in the first place? And
was it not the same RW who defended vehemently the good name of Mr.
Mahendran when the Bond Scandal was first exposed?
2/ If Mr. Arjun Aloysius (AA) of Perpetual Treasuries Limited
had manipulated laws and profited out of it due to his connections to
then-Governor of Central Bank as alleged, how did the Ministry of
Finance get all involved in this web of deceit in the first place,
directly or as an accessory?
3/ Though the Central Bank falls under the purview of the
Finance Ministry, If there were no allegations of wrongdoing against
officials of the Ministry of Finance over a possible or direct
involvement in the scandal, on what basis or grounds was Minister
Karunanayake being summoned to the Commission to inquire into the Bond
Scandal?
4/ According to laws in existence, it is not a criminal offense
for parliamentarians to be friends with members of the business
community or to seek their assistance even in matters of personal
nature. In this context, as claimed by her, if Miss AW was not willing
to transact directly with politicians for reasons best known to her,
would leasing out her apartment to a third party through a mutual friend
(AA in this instance) be tantamount to a criminal offense by either
party?
And now that the payment made by the family of Mr.
Karunananayake to Miss Anika Wijesuriya through Mr. Aloysius for the
lease of the apartment at Monarch residencies has been sensationalized
by the news/social media, the way I see it, the hypocrisy of our
countrymen is such that I find the latest developments and the hype
surrounding it to be quite nauseating. I mean, where was the outrage
when UNP heavyweight, MP Mr. Daya Gamage was heavily involved with the
corrupt Rajapaksas in building roads or when the Rajapaksa acolyte Mr.
Sumal Perera of Access International being given large scale government
contracts by big wigs of the present government? The list of such
instances is too long to publish here, but I believe it is a new low
when vested interests drag down names of prominent and unconnected
politicians and try linking them with infamous and highly controversial
cases, solely to bring down the government they represent. If at all, I
believe individuals should be tried individually in a court of law for
their individual conduct.
5/ As claimed by her in her testimony, if Miss Wijesuriya was
all skeptical about leasing out her apartment to the family of Mr. RK
through Mr. Aloysius, why did Miss. Wijesuriya show the apartment and
the functions of keys to the family of Mr. Karunanayake in the first
place and using a similar sales pitch as that of a used-car salesman?
And why did Miss. AW state her uncorroborated OPINION in a manner that
is favorable to the prosecution side at the CIBS two plus years after
the deal was done and dusted?
6/ Though educated in a reputed foreign university, could it be
possible that Miss. AW missed out on the business school lesson on
ethics where it was taught not to betray one’s customers or to implicate
them negatively especially AFTER earning a hefty profit through them?
If the trust placed on her by her business associates can easily be
broken by her with regards to confidential information, could the
possibly be malicious testimony of Miss. AW still be admissible in a
court of law?
7/ Did Miss. Anika Wijesuriya or did she not have a
sexual/romantic relationship with Mr. Aloysius at some stage in their
lives? And if the answer to this question is in the affirmative, could
it be possible that her testimony against her ex-lover resulted from her
desire to avenge her bitterness over an intimate relationship gone bad?
While there may be some truth in Mr. Arjun Aloysius intervening
and getting the lease under his name or under a company that he owns…,
to imply that the upfront costs of the lease was borne entirely by Mr.
AA and to prematurely castigate the Karunananayakes as ‘free loaders’ or
accuse them of never repaying the original amount to Mr. AA is simply a
malicious accusation as per my understanding. And absurd is it not to
accuse someone of not having the funds to lease an apartment when he/she
is rich enough to purchase it outright? To be fair to the family of Mr.
Karunanayake, I believe Mr. RK too should be given an opportunity to
present his case and for him to explain the timeline of events
pertaining to the lease and purchase of the apartment in question.
While the opposition may want to use Mr. Ravi Karunanayake as their
trump card, it should also not come as a surprise when self-promoting
fellow parliamentarians from the same UNP push him towards the altar of
sacrifice expecting him to take the blame for all their collective
failures in good governance.
With new entrants and destabilizing forces acting behind-the-scene in
the political arena, the need to investigate the likes of Sumal Pereras,
Jayawardena’s of House of Fashion fame and Nahil Wijesuriyas among
others for possible large scale fraud and financial improprieties
becomes all too urgent and important. Furthermore, I believe the ploy of
bringing the Bond Scandal into limelight by interested parties is none
other than to buy time or to avoid being prosecuted for crimes committed
during the Rajapaksa regime.
Come August 02, 2017, all eyes will be on Mr. Ravi Karunanayake to
listen to his side of the story at the CIBS. Come what may, the guilty
should be tried, punished and laws of the state upheld. In the same
light, actions of a few individuals should not be causes for overthrow
of a democratically elected government or to destabilize a government
that gives hope to millions.
By Muhammed Fazl
watch the related video
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by (2017-07-28 15:43:28)
by (2017-07-28 15:43:28)