Free Chopper Rides – duplicity of Eastern Governor Austin Fernando
Oct 19, 2016
Recently people of the country were aghast find that nothing much has changed with Yahapala government coming to power. As a reply to a question raised in parliament by Joint Opposition MP Udaya Gammanpilla, State Minister for Defence Ruwan Wijewardena tabled in parliament a list of those who money to the Sri Lanka Air Force for using its helicopters. The bomb shell caused lot of concern in many quarters.
With the list becoming a public document many tried to criticize it by trying to show that it is wrong. Despite criticism careful examinations show that there is nothing wrong with the list tabled by State Minister Wijewardena. The only shortcoming is in the listing the foreign leaders. Helicopters are provided to foreign leaders on the request of the Foreign Ministry, Prime Minister’s Office or Presidents Office. In any event the cost has to be paid to the Air Force. In the list details of the foreign leaders are given but not on whose request it was made. But the amount due is still outstanding. It is the duty of those who requested the helicopters to pay for it.
One of the officials who have abundantly used free helicopter rides is Eastern Province Governor Austin Fernando. He is the only ex-official as all others in the list are politicians. A former civil servant and the most disgraceful Defense Secretary ever, he has the habit of advising government servant all and sundry to ‘always keep your back straight and work’ , ‘never bend the rules’, and ‘never be afraid to do the correct things’ Investigations carried out by Lanka News Web shows that he has been abusing the system throughout and using the Government Agent-Gramasevaka connection he has taken it to a higher level.
Fernando was aligned to the UNP and was doing politics even while being a civil servant. His apparent loyalty was rewarded when he was appointed Defense Secretary in the 2002-2004 UNP government. It was under his watch the worst betrayal happened in post-independent Sri Lanka, the ‘Millennium City’ intelligence operation was exposed to the media resulting the assassination of over seventy intelligence officers by the LTTE. He is infamous for taking apples to LTTE Peace Secretariat head Pulidevan and bragging about it. After the fall of the UNP Government he wrote a book on the Norwegian led Peace process called ‘ My Belly is White’ in 2008. Investigations carried out by Lanka News Web reveals that Fernando went to give a copy of the book to President Kumaratunga in July 2008 to her official residence at Independence Square. During the discussions he was very critical of Ranil Wickramasinghe’s handling of the government and the peace process and led the fact that she took over three ministries and thereby got rid of the UNP and saved the country. He has also told that Wickramasinghe ‘is dictatorial’ ‘does not listen to anyone’, ‘as Defence Secretary he was never consulted’, ‘cannot work with him’ and ‘he can never lead the country’. So much for his loyalty to Wickramasinghe and the UNP.
Though he was involved with the UNP the coming of Yahapalana government gave him a new lease of life. It was he who went to Presidential Secretariat and tinkered with the appointment of Secretaries to Ministries. He changed the list and appointed many of those he favoured. He got himself appointed as an Advisor to the President in addition to UNP given post of Eastern Province Governor. He was interfering in the workings of the government so much that on one occasion he was told sternly by Prime Minister Wickramasinghe, in the presence of President Sirisena, to be in the Eastern province and do the job of the Governor without being in Colombo all the time. After Wickramaisnghe left he told the President that Wickramasinghe does not know how to talk. Under Yahapalana government Austin Fernando managed to get one of his daughters (he has only two daughters) appointed to Sri Jayawardenapura hospital and the others daughter’s (who is living in UK) husband to the Sri Lanka High Commission in London.
One of the reasons for the now famous sudden outburst of the Eastern Province Chief Minister to berate the Naval officer was that he was not given a helicopter ride by Fernando to the function while Fernando travelled by helicopter from one function to the other while the Chief Minister had to come by car. Fernando has forgotten that his role is a ceremonial role and the actual administration is carried out by the Chief Minister. According to Air Force sources Austin Fernando is a pain as he is always asking for helicopters rides for him and his family. There have been occasions when Fernando has arranged helicopter rides to Trincomalee and back for his daughter working at J’pura hospital and her family. When then other daughter and the family members visited Sri Lanka last year Fernando organized helicopter rides for them to travel to Trincomalee and back. It is as if he is on par with the President and the Prime Minister.
Austin Fernando is portraying to be a good government (although now retired) servant while acting to the contrary. He is continuously abusing the system while pontificating how a officials should act. People likes of him are causing irreparable damage to the Yahapalana Government and unless he is curtailed he will become a law unto himself.
