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
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Tuesday, August 8, 2017
High level consensus neededto make the third transition
By Jehan Perera-August 7, 2017
Sri Lanka is at the threshold of its third transition within the space
of a decade. The first took place in 2009 on the battlefields of the
north when the LTTE was militarily defeated and the government regained
control over the entirety of the country. The second transition took
place in 2015 with the political defeat of the former government that
won the war at the presidential and general elections that took place in
the course of the year. The issue of Foreign Minister Ravi
Karunanayake’s involvement in the Central Bank bond case and its
potential fallout could be the third transition. The way that the
polity, not just the government, tackles this issue could prove to have
momentous consequences.
The public controversy that has engulfed Foreign Minister Karunanayake
is an outcome of the process of transition launched by the leaders of
the government, most notably President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime
Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, and including former President Chandrika
Kumaratunga, in 2015. During the presidential and parliamentary
elections that took place that year they promised good governance and an
end to impunity, where the Rule of Law prevailed over the Rule of Men.
In concrete terms they promised that the culture of fear that gripped
all sections of the population would be brought to an end. They also
promised that the corruption that had reached massive proportions would
be ended and transparency brought to governance.
To its lasting credit the government has delivered on the first, and
most important of its promises. The culture of fear has receded if not
ended. Without security of life there will be unwillingness to act or
speak out. Today there is a willingness and ability on the part of the
general population, let alone political activists, to voice their
criticisms of the government and its leaders. The storm that now
threatens the Foreign Minister could go beyond to others in the
government. During the period of the last government there were scandals
of massive proportions, such as the construction of white elephant
projects that have created a long term foreign debt crisis for the
country, and the purchase of foreign bonds from bankrupt countries. But
fear kept most people silent from voicing their concerns and
governmental impunity ensured that there were no independent
investigations at all.
LARGER PROBLEM
Foreign Minister Karunanayake’s daughter has written about this
disparity and double standard on Facebook. She asks why her father has
been singled out when there is such a large government. Today there are
many pots calling the kettle black. But the challenge posed by the
daughter is valid. The larger picture needs to be taken into
consideration. It would not be good governance to make her father the
"fall man" as she has put it. The problem of corruption is both
widespread and deep rooted and needs to be dealt with in a systematic
manner. Together with the most recent allegations, the corruption of the
period that came before also needs to be investigated. Or else the
process of investigating corruption runs the risk of becoming corrupt.
One of the government’s biggest failures so far has been its
unwillingness to deliver on its election promise to tackle corruption.
This has caused much heartburn amongst the general population. This
corruption comes in many forms. It comes in the form of the multi
million rupee super luxury vehicles that are routinely imported for
government ministers. It comes in the form of the growing percentage
that is siphoned off contracts to give to political decisionmakers. This
percentage was believed to be extraordinarily high during the period of
the last government. It is now believed that a similar situation exists
under the present government. A contractor who told me in late 2015
that a big change had taken place and ministers did not demand their
commission had a different story to tell when I met him a year later.
Not only that contractor but most of those who do business will confirm
the reality of corruption, though they may not wish to go public as they
themselves will be incriminated for being part of the deal.
It is important that the government, and the polity as a whole, should
utilize the present moment when the general public is focused on the
corruption issue to regain its credibility and show deference to public
opinion. Both public opinion and the independent institutions that the
government created through the 19th Amendment to the constitution are at
work at the present time to force the government’s hand. The Attorney
General’s Department is investigating the Central Bank bond issue with a
vigour that is unusual. This demonstrates the value of the 19th
Amendment and of having government leaders who respect the Rule of Law
and do not seek to impose the Rule of Men upon those whose duty is
specified in their institutional mandates.
AGREEMENT NEEDED
In tackling the problem of corruption a cue can be taken from the
transitional justice process of dealing with the past and with the war
time violations of human rights. The path that Sri Lanka is taking is
one of restorative justice, where the emphasis is on healing of victims
and of ensuring non-recurrence, rather than punitive justice where the
emphasis is on meting out punishments. In addition, instead of an
emphasis on the last phase of the war when the LTTE was defeated, the
thinking seems to be that the period to be considered should include
those that came before when the LTTE was on the ascendant. This would be
like the fisherman throwing out his net and catching all the fish, and
not using a fishing rod and catching just one or two big fish. All sides
have done wrong in the past, and so the process needs to be inclusive
and holistic if it is to obtain the people’s acceptance, as befits a
democracy.
Shortly after the present government came to power in 2015, it launched
investigations into a number of corruption scandals, and also heinous
crimes such as the murder of Sri Lanka’s rugby captain Wasim Thajudeen.
At the beginning the investigators made swift progress in obtaining the
evidence necessary to prosecute those guilty of these crimes. But they
now appear to be moving too slowly. This has led to the surmise that the
investigations have been stalled on purpose for political reasons. One
more than one occasion President Sirisena has lamented that the
investigations into crimes committed by members of the former government
are not being taken forward. The failure to take action against members
of the former government who today lead the joint opposition weakens
the president as it undermines his bid to gain full control over the
SLFP.
At the celebrations in Parliament to mark the 40th anniversary of Prime
Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s entry into parliamentary politics, the
prime minister stressed the need to speed up the process of finding a
political solution to the national question and the development of the
economy. He said, "The two main factors we have to focus are on securing
permanent peace and economic development and it is essential to speed
up our effort to achieve these objectives," and added that the two main
parties should work together for this purpose. President Sirisena and
Prime Minister Wickremesinghe need to come up with an agreement to
ensure that political rivalries, such as contesting the next elections
as leaders of rival political parties, do not stand in their way when
they tackle the issue of corruption also.