Political Necessity Used For Politicking, Negates Independent Commissions
Kusal Perara
In a not so peculiar turn of events for Sri Lanka, but certainly beyond what was expected, the Fundamental Rights petition by former secretary to the ministry of defence and urban development Gotabaya Rajapaksa, was allowed leave to proceed by a two member Supreme Court (SC) bench with a restraining order that prevents him being arrested, at least till 06 of October, when the petition is fixed for hearing. From 12 May to October 06, Gotabaya is now free to travel anywhere he pleases without fear of arrest, except outside Sri Lanka.
Leaving PM Ranil Wickremesinghe’s usual out of the orbit interpretations, this time on Commonwealth intervention, this length of time stretched for 146 days for the SC to start hearing a petition that in turn allows Gotabaya an arrest free period that long, is most terrifying to say the least about judicial independence. The issue is not just about his FR but one on mega financial crimes related to national security and illegal weapons trade. This raises the most important question whether social responsibility of the judiciary can be left aside for purely legal and technical propriety.
Whatever Hultsdorf decides, resentment over the Financial Crimes Investigations Division (FCID) is obviously about politics and not about curbing corruption. There is in any society a consensus against fraud and corruption. Yet in modern liberal economies fraud and corruption is a common occurrence usually taken for granted, when at tolerable levels. Tolerable, when it is not hitting you right in the face, almost every day. Way back in the 80’s when the accelerated Mahaweli Development projects were on, the only “Left” MP in parliament, the respected Communist Party member Sarath Muttettuwegama accused Minister Gamini Dissanayake of corruption in Mahaweli projects. He was told by the minister, the issue is in his communist lingo. “You call it corruption. We call it commissions” said Minister Dissanayake. The minister said, they had left a margin of about 10% for such transactions for the “system to move things fast”.
That’s neo liberalism in its formal, tolerable form. Over the years through President R. Premadasa and then through President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s tenure of 11 years when she was minister of finance also, we slid and slumped to conscious mismanagement of the free market economy. Fraud and corruption mounted to very conspicuous heights. Thereafter, we were pushed over the top to the bottom of the pit with an unbearable stink by the previous Rajapaksa regime. Worst was the period after the 2010 January presidential polls. The 08 Jan 2015 presidential poll was therefore all about curbing abusive and excessive powers with the executive presidency and cleaning the stinking pits.Read More