Sunday, December 16, 2012

Impeachment Crisis Helped the Easy and Comfortable Passage of the Budget which had the Potential of Causing Riots.

Defence expenditure is gobbling most of the income – Rs 231 billion – 23 per cent more than last year

Gamini Weerakoon-

UNDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2012

What’s happening to the country?
This is a question frequently posed by thinking people and even those who do not think. This is the question we were contemplating in our thinking chair, the hansiputuwa, on Thursday morning but no ready answer was forthcoming.
There was the ‘War’ which we were told would end all our troubles but even after three years defence expenditure is gobbling most of the income – Rs 231 billion – 23 per cent more than last year. Everything is going up in price but no one seems to care.

There is a Sri Lankan satellite now up in space – we did it before the North Koreans sent it last week – but fortunately this one was not at the cost of the tax payer but by a foreign investor, we are told. But how is this country going on from crisis to crisis? We pondered.

From crisis to crisis

Three years ago the ‘War’ ended. After that there was a national crisis on who won the ‘War’: Sarath Fonseka or the Rajapaksa brothers? Fonseka, the Army Commander who led the army and was described soon after the victory as the ‘Greatest army commander in the world.’ But soon after that he was sacked and jailed.
It was a grave political crisis but the ruling party organised playing raban, kiributh gobbling throughout the island and staging victory parades.

Then there was the presidential declaration: Patriots are those who are with us. Others are traitors.
We can’t keep track of the events but a major crisis occurred when we plunged into the ‘War Crimes’ debate and the UNHCR moves made at Geneva. Dayan Jayatilleke, the new Ambassador in Geneva at that time led Lanka to a spectacular victory but soon Jayatilleke was back at home at his lectures in the Colombo campus. He had stepped on the toes of an almighty person. Needless to say, you can’t prevent rubber bouncing back and so has Jayatilleke and now he is in ‘Gay Paree’.

Then Sri Lanka in the second Geneva round took on the mightiest of the mighty, the US of A, and was roundly trounced. Patriots roared against neocolonialists, imperialists and western hypocrisy, etc. causing national consternation.

We will be back at Geneva next March and will there be another crisis?

Yes, Sri Lanka has been going from crisis to crisis. We took on India whom we looked on as our Godfather. We spoke and supported not only the 13th Amendment , produced and directed in New Delhi but pledged even to enact 13 Plus – whatever it meant. Then the Indians dealt us a resounding slap at the second round in Geneva and we have not been offering the other cheek as good Christians do but griping and threatening to end the 13th Amendment while abolishing provincial councils. In the meantime we are embracing the Chinese.

Local Crises

Local crises we simply cannot keep track of. There were suspects killed at police stations, people surrounding and attacking the stations; ‘Grease Yakkas’ emerging from the dark and embracing women from down South to the Jaffna peninsula, trade union protests and a FTZ worker being shot dead by the police; fishermen in Mannar demonstrating on roads and protesting against fuel hikes which ultimately led to the Mannar Courts Complex being stormed and the magistrate threatened. There was the showdown between two SLFP strongmen and leading politicians and their gangs at Himbutana with one person being killed and the other being shot through the head.
Crises keep churning out by the day. Contaminated fuel being imported not once but twice; hedging by officials familiar with cricket statistics dabbling in international finance costing billions to the nation; the famous Z-Score controversy affecting tens and thousands of innocent students; leakage of question papers and more.

Crises keep Lanka going

Reflecting on all these crises – there were much more which we couldn’t recall – we realised the secret of Lanka’s survival. This was our Eureka moment like that of Archimedes. Only thing different was that we did not drop our sarong and sprint down the road like Archimedes did in his birthday suit when he discovered the Law of Specific Gravity, shouting ‘I have found it, I have found it’. We celebrated our discovery quietly with a sip of the Golden Water of Life.

Our discovery was: Sri Lanka survives because of the continuous cycle of political crises – an incoming crisis knocking out from the public eye the existing crisis and after some time the existing crisis being knocked out too by another. And life goes on with the nation forgetting what happened the week before.

Velupillai Prabhakaran, a very perceptive observer of Sinhalese society declared: The Sinhalese have memories which last only two weeks. Absolutely true.

What escapes the attention of most Sinhalese is that the main problems affecting the daily life of the people are forgotten in the heat of these political crises. In bad old times the rise in the price of rice, flour or sugar by a few cents brought protestors on to the streets. Remember the Hartal of 1953 when the hike of rice by a few cents caused violent demonstrations and a few people were shot dead by the police. It led to the resignation of Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake.

In contrast the price of a loaf of bread has risen from Rs 3.30 in Chandrika’s time to more than Rs 50 today. But has there been a whimper of protest? People have been blowing out their fuses, developing apoplexy on TV shows over political issues but ignoring their pangs of hunger and even that of their children.

We are now in the throes of the biggest political crisis in recent times, the impeachment of Chief Justice Dr Shirani Bandaranayake. And this has helped the Rajapaksa regime getting over the biggest financial crisis it has faced. The budget for 2013 was passed a few days ago, heaping terrible burdens on the poor and the middle class as never before. Indirect taxes placed on essential commodities of the people have sent prices sky rocketing. But the people were far more concerned about the impeachment of Dr Shirani Bandaranayake and the budget was passed in parliament without much fuss and bother.

Dr Shirani Bandaranayake’s impeachment helped the easy and comfortable passage of the budget which had the potential of causing riots.

What if political crises fail to materialise in the Sri Lankan political scene in the future? Simply ask Vermin and his son to attack some innocent people and the whole country will rise against it, make a terrible fuss and forget about it next week.

We have seen that happen quite often. That’s what Vermin is there for.

Divineguma: Basil May Get Populist Dictator Illusions Himself And Create Problems To His Brother!

By Vickramabahu Karunaratne -December 15, 2012

Dr. Vickramabahu Karunaratne

Main bloc to Mahinda’s march to be a populist dictator is now Shirani, the CJ. After the genocidal war the main aim the government pursues, with no consideration for cost or consequence is to put Mahinda on a pedestal. Winning elections using any method; the replacement of the more democratic 17th Amendment with the 18th Amendment which enabled the President to contest again and again; the Leadership Training Programme, the Lotus Tower, etc, etc are all for that particular purpose. All fanciful projects are to increase power of Mahinda and enhance his glory. Therein we can observe a fundamental law of this rule. They always pursue chauvinist interests and their desires; they fight for this clan; supporting them, helping them. Thus obeying them is good; hindering them, questioning them is bad. Three opportunist left parties have realized this belatedly. They are in a struggle to display independence. Tamils also can change side and join the chauvinist clan and live in luxury. Ordinary Tamil detainees rot in jail, without even being charged, while KP a top man in the LTTE is allowed to function freely, with all privileges like a state guest. KP has considerable use-value for them and he pretends to serve them faithfully. Thus he is elevated above the law, while ordinary Tamil detainees, who have no such use-value, are deprived of justice. Funny thing is that Mahinda claims every blood sucking programme of theirs as a populist welfare activity. For instance, though the government says water tax is to help the down trodden and it will not tax wells used by ordinary people, once the groundwater tax is enforced, expanding it to include private consumers would be just a matter of interpretation.

Government claims that Divi neguma bill is to enhance the life of village poor. Contrary to the claims by government propagandists, the Divi Neguma Bill will render Minister Basil, super-powerful. However the government says,

”Divi neguma is actually a movement. In the past, there were family based self-sufficient economies. They did paddy cultivation. Likewise, they cultivated other food crops such as chili. With the onset of seasonal rain, they started cultivating them. Once the tanks were filled, they did paddy cultivation. They collected their harvests mainly for consumption. The harvest from other crops was sold for other needs. Also, they had backyard poultry. They had a few buffaloes and head of cattle. They used them for drawing their carts and to plough their fields. Also, they used such livestock for milk and making curd. Whenever there was a surplus of household products, it was released to the market. Besides, there were cottage industries such as weaving mats. The focus on developing such household economic units was mainly for domestic consumption but not for commercial purposes. But, in today’s society, this system alone is not sufficient to provide for a family income in many situations. Therefore, we have developed Divi neguma activities with a commercial purpose. As such we need the Divi neguma Bill.”

This is the point. The village today is already in the market and Divi neguma wants to come in as money lender replacing others. It is an activity with a commercial purpose without democracy. The Bill will create several layers of unelected organizations, from Grama Niladari level upwards, and endow these unrepresentative entities with many powers hitherto enjoyed by elected provincial councils. At the apex of this power-pyramid will be the Divi Neguma National Council, controlled by Minister Basil. It is huge political and financial machinery and he will also control the Divi Neguma Banks, Banking Divi Neguma Development Fund. The secrecy clause will give Minister Basil a carte blanche. The Divi Neguma Department will be allocated more money to play development-game with, than allocated for either education or higher education. Only good thing about it is that if it ever implemented Basil may get populist dictator illusions himself and create problems to his brother!

From fiery leftists to feeble lambs

Sunday, December 16, 2012

My Dear Vasu, Tissa and Dew,

I thought I must write to you when I heard that you had written a letter to the Leader of the House, Nimal, saying that you didn’t agree with the way the Chief Justice was being ‘tried’ by Parliament following the impeachment that has been submitted against her by your own colleagues.

These days, anyone who has anything to say about the impeachment makes a song and dance about it calling press conferences and issuing statements. But what do the three of you do? You quietly send a letter to Nimal and pretend that you have done your duty!

I was both surprised and extremely disappointed to hear of what you had done. And may I hasten to add that until recently I had enormous respect for all three of you as leaders of the ‘Old Left’-and not merely as old leaders who are leftovers of the Leftist movement in this country either.

Vasu, we would have liked to remember you as the man who was a rebel not only in Parliament but even in the Lanka Samasamaja Party where you began your political journey and later in the Navasamasamaja Party which you helped to form.

The Vasu that we remember was never afraid to speak his mind and paid the price for it on more than one occasion, being expelled from the political parties in which he was a member. Unfortunately, Vasu, today you seem to be a ghost of your former self.

Dew, we remember you as the man who replaced the irreplaceable Sarath Muttetuwegama in a Parliament which was then dominated by the Greens. Sarath was a hard act to follow, but you made a good impression and were a worthy standard bearer for the Communist Party.

I assume you know that you are following in the footsteps of giants like Pieter Kueneman and S.A. Wickremesinghe. Sadly, I am not so sure that you have had the courage to stand up for the ideals that they stood for.

Tissa, you took to politics relatively late compared to Vasu and Dew but you are today the standard bearer of the Lanka Samasamaja Party. You are first and foremost a medical man and we do appreciate that you are still a modest and simple person, unaffected by your position or power.

You have been given step-motherly treatment for some time now. Remember the All Party Representative Committee of which you were the head? They ignored that too and yet, you said nothing. Would your predecessors like NM and Colvin be proud of what you are doing today, Tissa?

Vasu, Tissa and Dew, it was not so long ago that the three of you expressed your opposition to the eighteenth amendment that allowed Mahinda maama to become King for more than two terms and also abolished the independent commissions that would have strengthened democracy.

But even then, when it came to a vote in Parliament you trotted out some lame excuse and voted for that amendment. That must have been a sad day for the parties you represent and it is good that NM, Colvin, SA and Pieter are not with us for if they were, they would have died of heartbreak that day!
We remember these people not only because they were political greats of the past but also because they had the courage to walk out of the Queen Bee’s government in the mid-seventies, instead of compromising on principles merely to enjoy the perks and privileges of power.

And it is not only leftist leaders who have done that, Vasu, Dew and Tissa. When the Old Fox was King, quite a few ministers like MDH, Gamani and Cyril Mathew resigned with honour. Then, under his successor, Lalith and Gamini resigned over another memorable impeachment.

So, Vasu, Dew and Tissa, when you cling to your ministerial portfolios while making noises to the effect that you don’t really approve of what is being done or the way it is being done, we can only assume that you are doing so because you want to enjoy the comforts of your position.

Of course, all three of you are over seventy years of age and that is probably why two of you are ‘senior’ ministers. And, Vasu, even though you are a functioning minister you too have been assigned ‘National Languages and Social Integration’ which is not the most important ministry in the Cabinet!
So, if we are honest about this, even if all three of you resigned, you wouldn’t stand to lose much, except the privilege of being ministers. Yet, you choose not to do so and opt to remain in a Cabinet which, by your own admission, is acting in an improper manner!

This, Vasu, Dew and Tissa, is the tragedy of our times. Those in power, be they Blue or Green, will try every trick in the book to stay in power. But that is also why someone once said that the real tragedy is not the strident clamour of the bad people but the appalling silence of the good people!

Yours truly,
Punchi Putha

PS-I am sorry if I have struck a discordant note in this festive season of cheer and goodwill but I have tried to compensate: I have asked Santa to bring you gifts this Christmas season. He asked me what you would benefit most from and I suggested the identical present for all three of you: a backbone!

The Futility Of words: Now Only Actions Matter

The final injunction is: “If the public fails, there is no point in blaming this one and that one”.

By Kumar David -December 15, 2012

Prof Kumar David

As someone who writes regular political columns it is apparent that there comes a point beyond which words serve only a limited purpose and could even become a flight from action. This is where we have arrived in RajapakseLanka. Words are of use, hereafter, if their purpose is exhortation to action. Words hoping to awaken probity and sense, or an appeal to reason aimed at dishonourable leaders, doltish ministers, and supine self-seeking parliamentarians, are a desecration of time.

The purpose of words must be to awaken the just wrath of the people, to rouse them to practical actions against tyranny. It is not that the kangaroo-court proceedings against the CJ are an eye opener in themselves, the outcome was entirely foreseen; nor is it that the CJ embodies all that is worthy in our society; no it is that certain events mark the crossing of a redline on the other side of which lies the end game. The self-immolation of a vegetable vendor in Tunisia was a small incident, but it released tectonic stresses that had built up in the Arab world for decades. So too the shameful conduct of our politicians in recent days has made all society recoil in sock and disgust.

Let me give you a sample; there were six responses (at the time I read it) to a piece last week on “Prefab Impeachment” by Tisaranee Gunasekara. I have edited all for length, not content, and reproduced them. Bear with me but it is important to see how people are reacting, unanimously. I have reproduced the two names which appear not to be pseudonyms.

Quote 1: “Why does Sri Lanka have rulers of this nature at the helm? Is it because we deserve them? Fiddling and smacking their lips waiting for their chance to do the same as the Rajapaksas.

Quote 2: I do not think one member in this Parliament deserves a single of our votes ever again. These are selfish, self-serving, greedy, stupid individuals who have hoodwinked all of us. Did any of these people’s representatives come out to join the public to protest? Not one even opened their mouths. The opposition is waiting for the imbecile Ranil to die?

Quote 3: Almost all of our parliamentarians (government and opposition) are insincere, selfish, greedy unsympathetic hypocrites. We have seen how eleven clowns joined the media blitz in full make-up dressed in white. However, the way CJ resisted seems genuine and heroic. The seven clowns in office scored a point to earn more perks. The four clowns scored a point to dreaming the same in a government run by them. These are not visionaries worth running a legislature.

Quote 4: I curse the idiots of my country who elected these scumbags to Lanka’s Parliament. (Ben Hurling)

Quote 5: The transposition of parliament into a kangaroo-court that carries out a cruel and farcical inquisition violating every tenet of natural justice represents the ultimate degradation of the great ideal of a legislative branch of government that is supposed to represent the people. MPs must be the servants of the people; they have become masters; feared rather than loved; despised rather than respected. Nowhere else in the world do you see such bumptious arrogance, conceit, vanity and indifference of the elected towards electors. In this situation whether society can transpose to a tyranny by parliament is a fair question! (ANI Ekanayake)

Quote 6: I believe the Rajapaksas, in trying to impeach the CJ, have impeached themselves. Now it is up to the public to give the verdict to the Rajapaksas they deserve. If the public fails, there is no point in blaming this one and that one.

What’s the gist of it?

These uninhibited commentators have said what I would have liked to say, and done it better than I could. However, let us vet these remarks carefully to ferret out a certain developing shift in public attitudes. Observe first, before we attempt to deconstruct or ferret out core thoughts behind the remarks, that despite their apparent anger and the strength of language, they are not wild, random or hitting-out without a systematic line of rational thought behind them. Whether you agree or not with the comments themselves, they carry a clear political message which we can easily distil out. And my point is that this is a message which is gaining wider acceptance in recent months.

OK, so what are the core thoughts? First, the assumption that the regime is evil is taken for granted, there is no need to keep repeating it; second, the quotes manifest that the public mood is turning hostile not only to government parliamentarians, but to the opposition as well. Third, and perhaps most significant, the whole system is cursed, there is a loss of confidence that anything can be salvaged by playing within the rules, when the regime itself deserves to be impeached, and parliament is in the hands of degraded scumbags whose only motive is to feather their own nests. There is a collapse of confidence in the very system that is supposed to enshrine and protect democracy.

I do not for a moment give this a nihilistic reading. I do not read it as a: Damn democracy; let’s go back to the primitivism of 1971, or 1989-91, or the nihilism of Prabaharan era politics, type of message. I read it differently, the constructive message that I see is: Let us not confine ourselves to actions where the Rajapakses can dupe us endlessly, run rings around common decency and truth, and “transpose tyranny” into our midst. The final injunction is: “If the public fails, there is no point in blaming this one and that one”. This can only mean one thing, greater mobilisation, in democratic chambers and forums, the press and publications, and protests, slogans and demonstrations. And electoral mobilisation too, of course, but not confined to that only.

I believe that if the people of Lanka can show half the gumption that the people of Egypt are showing today, we would not be facing this terrible predicament. I do not want to be misunderstood; I do not here take a stand about whether the opposition should participate in negotiations on the basis of the current draft Egyptian constitution, or reject it outright; nor am I unaware of the acute danger of anarchy and breakdown if street conflict in Egypt goes on much longer. My sole point is that people are forcefully intervening in critical national issues in Egypt, but not in Lanka. This is why I said the third point, the implied call for mass intervention, democratic but forceful, using a wide range of tools, the most important. This is the best way to short-circuit these “bumptious, arrogant, conceited, and vain, hypocrites”. Nor will we need to “wait till some imbecile dies!”

Heroic BASL the sixth force decisively defeats MaRa

(Lanka-e-News -15.Dec.2012, 11.30PM) The united heroic Lawyers over 3000 of the SL Bar association representing the sixth Force in the country that met today in a historic conference, unanimously resolved that if the MaRa regime by adopting improper procedures or wrongful measures displaces the present Chief justice (CJ) and appoints a new CJ , the SL Bar association (BASL) will not acknowledge or recognize the new CJ.

This resolution is a clear , crushing and decisive defeat for the Mara regime because it is the prevailing law that , if the SL Bar Association does not recognize the new CJ , the latter cannot carry on his/her duties. This means that if a new CJ is appointed by the MaRa regime by a majority vote using its puppet MPs of the select (reject) Committee, that CJ cannot carry on her official duties without the BASL recognition.

Three resolutions were adopted at the meeting :

1. To make a request to the President to review this impeachment process.

2. If not , a transparent , just and fair decision be arrived at based on a duly conducted investigation into the charges against the CJ by a select Committee that is appointed duly, lawfully and that follows proper procedure .

2. If anyone is appointed as CJ without adhering to these requirements ,the BASL will not accept or recognize a CJ so appointed.

The necessity for the BASL to hold two general membership meetings in close succession after 20 years arose because of the brutal jungle laws of the MaRa regime which heard the case against the CJ and announced the verdict in just a night in unholy haste as in the Kekille court ( mockery court) of the bygone days. MaRa ‘s Kekille court (mockery court ) decision deserves a place in the Guinness book of records for the record it created in travesty of justice.

It is interesting to note that MaRa , BaRa and NaRa the three Makadi (trickster ) musketeers moved heaven and earth to sabotage the BASL meeting with a view to advancing their foul objectives. NaRa who controls the President’s secretariat had stayed the whole day there and tried to summon the pro regime lawyers Island wide for the meeting . They were provided transport to come to Colombo. Board and lodging too were provided for them in Colombo Hotels . Moreover sumptuous luxury Hotel meals as well as drinks were supplied. They were also frightened into participation by the other Pro MaRa lawyers attending the meeting by spreading rumors. Yet , MaRa regime could only get a group of about 200 unscrupulous lawyers of the nitwit category in their favor for the meeting today.
In contrast , over 3000 lawyers who value professional ethics and championing the cause of justice and independent judiciary assembled at the venue of the meeting . The few potty nitwits who know no discipline like the regime’s Rajapakses began shouting hoarse refusing to accept Wijedasa Rajapakse as BASL President.

These pro MaRa potty nitwits screamed , ‘Courts shall be defeated , Mahinda Rajapakse shall be winner’. These screams rending the air was most rudely shocking as they were from lawyers who should instead set an example in discipline and dignified conduct. Among these hooligan Lawyers was , infamous Gamlath Arachchi the notorious crook in the judicial sphere who was sacked from his post as a judge for taking bribe from Thilanga Sumathipala Govt. M .P. on a fictitious motion .Another potty nitwit lawyer , Mahesh Katulanda alias Baluganda who earlier on threatened Lawyers alleging that they were passing information to Lanka e news was also among these shameless lawyers who were disgracing the profession and voluntarily degrading themselves. This Mahesh Baluganda while he was an UNP Organizer for Mahara appointed by Ranil Wickremesinghe somersaulted to the MaRa camp ostensibly to strengthen MaRa’s both hands (not one) after taking bribe using both his own hands.
In any event , before the large crowd of Lawyers for justice and independent judiciary , the small group of pro MaRa Lilliputian lawyers who screamed and misbehaved paled into oblivion.

One outcome of the meeting was , Anoma Gunatileke who was exposed by Lanka e news in connection with her conspiracy in support of MaRa tendered her resignation from her post.

Those pro MaRa Lilliputian lawyers who were fetched to Colombo from remote places were after the meeting not provided with transport to get back to their destinations because the Rajapakses were disappointed and infuriated following their failure to achieve the nefarious objectives of the Rajapakses using these unscrupulous nitwits and nincompoops. Consequently these MaRa backed black coated sharks were seen roaming all over aimlessly like the sharks in the sea looking for preys. One Lawyer who saw these pro MaRa lawyers running in all directions commented ‘ these poor fellows are roaming like Rocket Rohitha’s satellite that is yet to be launched ’

Ali Baba And The Forty Thieves: From Where Do Sri Lanka’s Problems Emanate?

By Emil van der Poorten -December 15, 2012

Emil van der Poorten

I have, during the time I have written for this and other publications sought to differentiate between problems and symptoms, the deliberate refusal to make this differentiation being one of those things that bedevil and bemuse those of us who try to observe and comment on affairs Sri Lankan.

I think that, rather than pursue this futile exercise, this Sunday I will revert to what I did many moons ago in Montage magazine and seek to trace some of the more vexatious issues facing the people of this country to their source.

Let’s join the dots and see where they take us, shall we?

In the matter of the disappearance of law and order and their replacement with a dog-eat-dog, devil-take-the-hindmost culture where do our dots take us, assuming of course that they have not been picked up by 21^st century scavengers much like the bread crumbs that Snow White left behind her in a different age!

We have several members of our legislatures who have had charges for capital offenses either held in abeyance or, worse still, dropped completely. I believe, in fact, that there are at least two members of our national legislature who were charged with capital offenses who have not so much as had to make a court appearance for several years now.

Why is this and who is providing them with this kind of protection?

We have had massive frauds, running into billions of rupees where there has been no investigation done or, as in the case of the largest of these in Sri Lanka’s history, the issue disappeared completely from public view, never to be heard about again. This is the scam where a huge sum of money was “refunded” to businesses and individuals who had not paid it in the first instance!

Why did this happen and who gave the orders to drop the investigation?

In last week’s column, I referred to justice ignored and justice delayed in the matter of horrendous murders and rapes.

Who is responsible for the sins of omission and commission in these instances?

The invasion of the Dambulla Mosque and the threat to the Hindu Kovil near it were matters of religious persecution without precedent in this country.

Why has nothing been done about these matters and who has given orders that this inactivity should prevail?

There has been a scandalous explosion in “treasure hunting” and there has been no progress made in apprehending the thieves who are robbing national archaeological treasures or destroying them at will. Anecdotal evidence suggests, very strongly, that these are not “rogue elements” of the security forces but those with a significant level of “protection” from those wielding power in this country.

Particularly given the mammoth security forces still in uniform in this country, why haven’t at least some of them been deployed to apprehend and bring to justice those causing irreparable cultural damage to Sri Lanka?

The response to every new scandal, such as at the Stock Exchange has been to keep hiring new heads, presumably in the hope of finding one who will, rather than act in an honest, ethical and competent fashion, dance to the tune of the powerful manipulators of that body and countenance the misappropriation of public funds from such as the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF), Employees’ Trust Fund (ETF) and the National Savings Bank (NSB). Who was responsible for the appointment of Mr. Karunaratne (and for his resignation) and who placed Nalaka Godahewa in his place and has thereby placed the seal of approval on the misuse of public funds inclusive of Mr. Godahewa’s absolute rejection of the term “mafia” that Mr. Karunaratne used to describe manipulators of the CSE?

Who is responsible for appointments to the various national sports organizations which seem to do little but promote individuals with Royal connections, hand out lucrative broadcasting contracts to private companies led by some of those handing out the contracts to begin with and, in a variety of other ways, damaging the reputation and the future of Sri Lanka sport and those who participate in it?

Who has placed the seal of approval on the “sporting extravaganzas” that Sri Lanka has indulged in? Who okayed the delegation of baila dancers and ladies in waiting (for what, you might ask) who went to the Caribbean for the vote on who was to get the Commonwealth Games when every mother’s son knew it was going to be the Gold Coast in Australia? Why was Sri Lanka Cricket bankrupted in order to build and maintain the Hambanthota Stadium, resulting in our players not being paid for months on end? As for Sri Lanka staging the Asian version of the Monaco Grand Prix, at night no less, let’s just leave the question and the Lambhorginis parked for now.

Who was responsible for Roshan Goonetilleke getting an “extension” of his term as President of the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union when his singular achievement was presiding over a violence-filled season which peaked when a player discharged an assault rifle on the field? Rest assured that mine is not the only voice of criticism of this man’s tenure. On assuming office, his successor stated very simply that Goonetilleke’s reign was a lesson in how NOT to run a sports body! In fairness to Mr. G., however, it might well have been that he was too pre-occupied building a holiday home in a World Heritage Site to give rugby his undivided attention.

It seems that everything from the passage of the single worst piece of legislation in the history of this nation – the 18^th Amendment to the Constitution – to the attempt to impeach the Chief Justice has been rushed through at breakneck speed in order to satisfy the Ruling Family in this country.

How about even a minimal sense of urgency being applied to stem the wholesale destruction of the Miracle of Asia and its very fabric? Or is that like asking Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves to take an oath of poverty?

The constitution and the president’s conscience

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Is the Constitution or the President’s conscience paramount in deciding the notion of legality in Sri Lanka?

Abandoning the courts�and the law books

A person’s conscience is of course, variable. A Presidential conscience cannot certainly be any different. In contrast, the very core of the concept known as the Rule of Law is its fixed application to all, the powerful and the powerless, a Chief Justice and a common criminal. If we are to be a country governed by the conscience of whichever Head of State who is in office at a particular time, then we may as well abandon our courts, our law books and our self respect as a people bound by the law.

These matters spring immediately to mind in the wake of President Mahinda Rajapaksa exerting his considerable thespian talents this week to claim that, despite the government driven impeachment process finding Sri Lanka’s Chief Justice culpable on certain charges, he would act ‘according to his conscience’ and appoint an ‘independent committee’ to further inquire into the findings handed down by a majority of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC).

Undeterred and unsurprisingly, his detractors promptly argued that this signified a Presidential double-take and an admission that the PSC process, driven by his own government, was flawed. These gleeful reactions then led to the sorry sight of the President tying himself up in proverbial knots in trying to explain in one breath that he had all confidence in his Select Committee members whilst saying that the proposal of a further inquiry was mere ‘procedure’, whatever that meant.

Legal justice required and�not executive mercy

But before we venture to address this rider regarding an ‘independent committee’, certain important questions need to be examined. And we return to our original question as to what is paramount, the Constitution or the President’s conscience? As a wag shouted with pertinent purpose during the 2nd Special General Meeting of the membership of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka convened on Saturday December 15th unprecedentedly within two weeks of the last such Meeting, what needs to be shown is legal justice for the Chief Justice and not mercy from the executive. This is a crucial distinction that needs to be maintained at all costs

First and foremost, has the Chief Justice has been impeached in a manner that is constitutionally proper? To be clear, we are not talking here of the constitutional propriety of Members of Parliament inquiring into the misbehavior or incapacity of a superior court judge over which much hot air has been wasted since the beginning of this fracas. The issue is more basic and far simpler. It goes to the roots of a fair inquiry which underwrites all the rights that the Constitution guarantees us. A person is therefore innocent until proven guilty by an impartial inquiry before a competent body. These are fair trial and natural justice rights which in the context of the Sri Lankan law, have been expanded to span the entire breadth of the criminal, constitutional and administrative law spheres. For decades, the courts have themselves been applying these rights to all categories of persons, even common criminals. In particular, appointments to, and removal from public offices must be open, fair and accountable. As much as public officers can claim these rights, surely judicial officers of the superior courts are similarly entitled when impeachment motions are lodged against them? To argue to the contrary would be an absurdity.

Violation of all rights of due process

So let us examine as to whether the PSC process which found Sri Lanka’s Chief Justice culpable, satisfied these basic requirements. The PSC operated sans due and proper procedure, the majority of its members denied her the right to cross examine adverse witnesses and claimed that oral testimony would not be called, only to promptly go back on their word once the Chief Justice and her lawyers withdrew from the proceedings after being repeatedly insulted. They refused to allow her more time to answer allegations contained in a humongous bundle of documents handed over to her to which she was peremptorily ordered to respond within the next day.

This is quite apart from the vulgar abuse leveled against her by some government members of the PSC as detailed in a letter issued by the Chief Justice through her lawyers, copies of which were passed around at the BASL meeting this Saturday. Unconvincing denials by the Chairman of the PSC in that regard carry no credence. Even with the Chief Justice requesting that the hearings be held in public, this was not allowed. Up to now, the purported findings of the majority members of the PSC have not been furnished either to her or to the opposition minority members of the PSC who also walked out in protest.

Notwithstanding this excruciatingly painful spectacle which is undoubtedly without parallel in the Commonwealth, we had the Deputy Speaker of Parliament protesting that the Chief Justice had been afforded all facilities and had been even offered lunch at the House. To what depths of profound farce have we descended to? Are we expected to weigh the offer of a lunch as against the basic requirements of natural justice in the scales of equity?

Predictably the Chief Justice had no recourse but to issue letters through her lawyers to the general public, describing the humiliation that she had undergone and the indignities that she had been subjected to. It is unfortunate that President Mahinda Rajapaksa, in this week’s meeting with national editors, chose to rebuke the Chief Justice for making public statements under the quite mistaken impression that ‘she is a public servant’ (Daily Mirror, December 14th 2012). Yet the President, being a lawyer himself, should be quite aware that judicial officers are assuredly not public officers. In any event, his lawyers, assuming that they possess the necessary competence which is by no means a given, should surely advise him to that effect.

An unholy mess of the government’s doing

If the Government thought that they could wrap up the inquiry against the Chief Justice clothed in a garb of secrecy, frighten off independent commentary and generally enter into adverse findings without critique, it was sadly mistaken. Indeed, these clumsy attempts have led to far more opposition than it ever bargained for, ranging from the Congress of Religions to the heads of religious bodies and judicial bodies both here and in the Commonwealth.

Moreover, the activism displayed by Sri Lanka’s Provincial Bar Associations has been astounding. The President of the Bar demonstrated deft and highly commendable handling of the record numbers that turned up this Saturday, culminating in the passing of three resolutions including an unequivocal assertion that the Bar would not welcome a new Chief Justice if this unjust impeachment is proceeded with. Anti-impeachment contenders dominated the meeting to the extent that an opposition parliamentarian and signatory to the impeachment motion who tried to parrot the government line, found himself unable to proceed and was forced to retreat in vastly amusing disorder.

This shameful impeachment cannot be reversed through a supposed ‘independent committee’ appointed by the President. Indeed, given the circumstances, it is hard to believe that any person of erudition or integrity will agree to serve on it. The issue can only be resolved through strict adherence to a new inquiry process adhering to constitutional guarantees of fairness that the Chief Justice is entitled to, through amendment of the relevant Standing Orders if needs be.

It is this minimum that should prevail and not reliance on the President’s conscience, an uncertain force as this must undeniably be. Let us acknowledge this essential truth, even at this late juncture.