Tisaranee’s Censored And Uncensored Columns: Hell Hath No Fury….
Hell hath no fury like the Rajapaksas thwarted.
All those who opposed the interests, whims and fancies of the Ruling Siblings in the past know the hellfire of their fury. Students, workers, Tamil civilians, Sinhala farmers, journalists, military personnel, Negambo fishermen and Colombo poor, all know that to resist the Rajapaksa-juggernaut is a career-destroying, life-eviscerating, and at times lethal, business.
Now it is the turn of the highest court in the land to experience, at first hand, this fundamental law of Rajapaksa rule: those who support the Siblings will thrive, even if they wallow in crime; those who oppose the Siblings will suffer, even if they commit no wrong.
When the Supreme Court refused to remove the constitutional roadblocks and give the Divineguma Bill a free pass, it incurred the wrath of the Siblings. Seeing in this mild expression of judicial independence a dangerous threat to their power project, the Siblings resorted to their customary slash-and-burn tactics, to clear their path of all constitutional and legal hurdles.
Lies and empty declarations are part of the repertoire of any politician; the Rajapaksas make use of these deceptive tactics more than most. When there was a public outcry against the 18th Amendment, the regime solemnly promised not to implement it; once the public focus evaporated, the Amendment was pushed through via a politico-legal Blitzkrieg.
Similarly, for weeks the regime denied media reports of a plan to impeach the Chief Justice. When MinisterNimal Siripala de Silva was asked about an impeachment plan, he said “No, there is no such idea. These are reports by various media or hidden forces trying to set one against the other and destabilise the country by spreading rumours or publishing reports on websites. Attempts are made to create conflicts between the Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary” (The Sunday Times – 14.10.2012). The motion was probably being drafted, even as the Minister made his mealy-mouthed declaration.
Let’s face it; had the CJ been willing to violate the constitution on demand, there would have been no impeachment motion against her and no corruption charges against her husband. The only reason Pradeep Kariyawasam was charged was because his wife refused to do the bidding of the country’s ersatz royals. Had the CJ ignored the constitution and approved the Divineguma Bill, her husband could have misused every asset of the NSB, with total impunity.
The latest COPE Report highlights several ‘bad transactions’: the purchase of Sri Lankan shares by the Peoples Bank for Rs.1,137 million; Central Bank’s investment of US$15.6 million in Greek Bonds; IIFA accounts….. It does not require any supernatural foretelling capacity to know that none of the authors of these transactions will be charged before the law, so long as they do not cause the ire of the Rajapaksa kith and kin. Had the Chief Justice been willing to abide by the Rajapaksa dictats, she could have broken every law, in perfect freedom – and perhaps even been rewarded by an appreciative executive with some high national honour (Desha Bandu? Desha Manya?).
Just as Gen. Fonseka could have stolen anything and murdered anyone, without losing his rank, pension, or freedom, had he abided by the new First Commandment: ‘Thou shall have no other Leaders before Us; not the law or the constitution, not even your conscience; if you obey Us, you will prosper; if you do not, you will not’. Simple; easy to understand, but harder to obey for those who value the law, honour the constitution or just cling to common-or-garden decency.
So how will this tale end? Read More
