Govt. tug-of-war over cornering Gota!

Jul 25, 2016

A tug-of-war within the government is delaying the arrest of former defence secretary Nandasena Gotabhaya Rajapaksa over several allegations, including the MiG deal, reports say. Although there is adequate evidence for his arrest, it is getting delayed to arrest him due to objections raised by the SLFP side.

Gotabhaya faces a serious accusation of having bought four MiGs without quality at high prices, and preliminary investigations have revealed that the relevant Air Force documents have gone missing. An agreement has been reached with Ukraine to investigate this financial irregularity, following a request made by the foreign minister during a visit to that country.

In addition, Gotabhaya stands accused over the murders of Wasim Thajudeen and Lasantha Wickramatunga and the disappearance of Prageeth Ekneligoda. Also, there are accusations against him over white van abductions, misuse of state property and engaging in politics while being a public servant.

Police say he could be arrested over the misuse of state property and interference as a public servant charges alone.

UNP politicians ask as to why Gotabhaya could not be arrested over the same charge (misuse of state property), over which Basil was taken into custody.

Most SLFP ministers are against Mahinda, Basil and Namal and other members of the Rajapaksa family, but they are loyal to Gotabhaya, and are making attempts to bring him to lead the SLFP in the future. In the event the incumbent does not contest again, their choice as the candidate at the next presidential candidate is Gotabhaya. They have made hints about their intentions on several occasions, and not even president Maithripala Sirisena is much averse to it. That is why SLFP ministers are opposing his arrest. The tug-of-war is due to the fact Gotabhaya is not anti-Maithripala and the president is not anti-Gotabhaya.