By Harini Amarasuriya One of the most prominent slogans the current Government, and particularly, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, used during election campaigns was “one country, one law”. At first glance, the sentiments behind this slogan are perfectly acceptable. After all, what’s not to like about a promise to implement the law equally for all in the […]
By Harini Amarasuriya
One of the most prominent slogans the current Government, and particularly, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, used during election campaigns was “one country, one law”. At first glance, the sentiments behind this slogan are perfectly acceptable. After all, what’s not to like about a promise to implement the law equally for all in the country?
As we all know, the law does not apply equally in most instances – privilege triumphs justice each time, and any effort to make the law equitable in its implementation is certainly most laudatory. Except, when this regime touts “one country, one law”, it is not talking about equality before the law for all; rather, the entire campaign for “one country, one law” emerged from a very pointed, anti-Muslim position.
The work that went into propagating this slogan has a long history. Ever since the end of the war in 2009, there was a steady and systematic spread of anti-Muslim sentiment in the country. It started with the anti-Halal campaign. Sinhala-Buddhist nationalist groups protested what they claimed was the imposition of the practice of Halal on non-Muslims. Sinhalese were being force-fed Halal products, claimed these groups, as if Halal was some sort of poisonous substance. This campaign took off to such an extent that rather than advertising or labelling Halal food products (as was the norm), some started advertising the fact that products were not Halal. Consumers would check if the shops sold non-Halal products before purchasing any food. There were calls for boycotting shops and restaurants that sold Halal products.
Then came another “revelation”. Apparently, Muslims did not use helmets when using motorcycles – and while the rest of the country were fined for not using helmets, Muslims were getting away with violating this law scot-free, it was claimed. To top it all off, Muslim women insisted on wearing “offensive clothing”, going against “accepted” cultural norms and traditions. This clothing was a “security threat” no less, as they “prevented” the Police from carrying out their law enforcement duties effectively. It did not matter that there had never been any incident involving burka or hijab-clad women, or men pretending to be women, for that matter, as it was claimed, causing havoc in the country, yet this too became another “example” of Muslims doing their own thing in contravention of the accepted practices and laws of the rest of the country. It is worth remembering that one of the first directives after the Easter Sunday bombings was to ban the burka. The fact that the bombers were all male, looked completely ordinary, and wore clothes that did not set them apart in any way was totally immaterial to the directive that banned the burka.
Muslim personal laws were then taken up as the most pernicious example of Muslim otherness. It was claimed that Muslims were all engaged in bigamy, marrying underage women, and, worse of all, having their own courts. Self-proclaimed law experts warned that Sharia law was being practised in this country, enabling Muslims to escape laws that affected others. It was pointed out that even a university was contemplating teaching Sharia law – a supposed sure indication of the long-term plan of the Muslim community to impose Sharia law on everybody. Suddenly, groups and individuals that had considered women’s rights as a prime example of western imperialism were clamouring for Muslim women’s rights.
Ironically, women’s groups in Sri Lanka, led by Muslim women’s groups in particular, had been campaigning for reform of the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA) for decades. Careful research had gone into building a case for reform, yet, at each point, reform attempts were blocked. Male political leaders from every ethnicity were united in dismissing the claims made by women’s groups. As always, the concerns of women were brushed aside in the interests of patriarchal power games. In fact, the resistance to MMDA reforms from lawmakers provide us with a copy-book case study of the pervasiveness of patriarchal values in Sri Lankan politics.
This was the context within which the “one country, one law” campaign emerged. In other words, it was primarily informed by carefully produced and maintained anti-Muslim sentiments that created an image of a community that ignored common law, lived by its own rules, and was stealthily trying to impose its own rituals and practices on the rest of the country as part of a global Islamic project. Lack of respect for the general law was seen as the most obvious example of Muslim otherness and therefore had to be dealt with summarily. If there is any doubt as to the intent behind this campaign and slogan, the appointment of Galagodaththe Gnanasara Thera as the Chair of the Presidential Task Force appointed to report on the “one country, one law” initiative should settle the matter. Gnanasara Thera was a prime mover behind propagating anti-Muslim sentiments. His views, rhetoric, and actions have been divisive and inflammatory. He has been named in numerous reports and accounts for inciting violence. Let us also not forget that it was a presidential pardon that freed him from a prison sentence for contempt of court on four different counts. Even for a government whose actions are becoming increasingly inexplicable, the appointment of such a person to lead a task force on legal reform is mind-boggling, to say the least.
However, it would be a mistake to dismiss these actions as simply ridiculous. There is a level of arrogance and lack of concern for even an appearance of doing what is right that is highly dangerous. What is most diabolical about this regime is the way in which it is subverting much-needed reform agendas for its own ends. For instance, no one argues about the importance of promoting organic farming and reducing the use of harmful pesticides from entering our food and ecosystems; yet, what the Government is doing today has consequences beyond placing the livelihoods of farmers and food security of a nation at risk. It has also damaged the organic farming movement, which was gradually developing in the country, by making a mockery of the entire exercise. Legitimate concerns have been raised that the organic agriculture policy is a ploy to drive people away from farming lands.
Also, the MMDA reforms are long overdue and women’s voices on this issue have been explicit. Similarly, there is no argument of the need to ensure that everybody is equal before the law. We have far too many examples of how unfairly the law works in this country. Whether it is how the Police implement traffic laws or the deeper, structural inequalities in the Judiciary, there is much work to be done to make sure that the law works without discrimination.
Every government in power did its best to bend the rules to further its own interests, to protect its allies, and to harass its opponents. The current regime has taken this practice to another level, if the speed with which cases against the Rajapaksa family and its allies are being dismissed is anything to go by. Today, we have the Attorney General (AG) withdrawing cases filed by his own department, citing technical reasons. In fact, some of the cases that have been withdrawn were filed when the current Chief Justice was heading the AG’s office. How will these actions build confidence in the system of justice and the Judiciary in this country? This whole exercise stinks of perversion of justice and the erosion of the independence of the Judiciary.
For some time now, prisoners at the Welikada Prison have been protesting on this very issue, demanding a review of their cases. Family members of prisoners have been talking to me and presumably to other politicians, asking very pertinent questions: Why is it that only cases that are filed against the rich and powerful seem to be flawed and therefore withdrawn or dismissed? Couldn’t mistakes have been made in other cases as well? If Duminda Silva can be given a presidential pardon because there are questions regarding his trial, why not others? These are valid questions to which there are no valid answers – simply further proof that the law and the system of justice do not function equally in this country.
However, this renewal of interest in “one country, one law”, especially when the Ministry of Justice is apparently in the process of reforming many laws, needs to be understood in the broader context of what this regime is trying to do to revitalise itself.
The President’s recent statements admitting to having disappointed those who brought him to power and pledging to fulfil their aspirations soon, followed by the appointment of the Presidential Task Force chaired by Gnanasara Thera, is a clear indication that the regime is resorting to what worked most effectively in the past for them to regain popularity: Invoking and inciting racism. President Rajapaksa’s entire election campaign and slogans – discipline, one country, one law, national security, saving the nation, a strong leader, etc. – were all premised on a single strategy: Arousing the most fundamental fear among Sinhala-Buddhists of imminent threat and persecution. Sinhala-Buddhists have often been referred to as a “majority with a minority mindset”.
There are historical conditions through which this fear has been produced and maintained. Our colonial experience as well as the post-Independence nation-building project has been one of exclusion and discrimination. Colonial history was one of exploitation and persecution, and independence was supposed to rectify those. What is left out of mainstream renderings of history is how the political elite in this country continually benefitted from divisions based on language, religion, ethnicity, and class, while promising redress for grievances carefully cultivated on those same divisions. Grievances were nurtured and maintained, and redressing those grievances became the basis on which different groups (particularly, Sinhala-Buddhists) were going to be led to promised land. All those who have led this country up to this point have used this method for capturing and holding onto power. President Rajapaksa and his cohort, for all their rhetoric of “being different”, are treading a well-worn path in Sri Lankan politics.
However, we are today at a point where many chickens are coming home to roost. The chaos and crisis that we are facing today on multiple fronts is a result of decades of self-interested and selfish political choices that have essentially been about holding onto power at any cost. People have become and are becoming wise to this – if the chatter on social media as well as on the streets is anything to go by, politicians are being held up to far more scrutiny and treated with far more scepticism than before. This is exactly what is required today – for leaders to be brought down from their lofty heights and images of grandeur, infallibility, and heroism, and seen for what they really are.
Coming out of this crisis requires leaders who have demonstrated their connection to the people they represent – not through relationships of patronage (which the Rajapaksas have developed to a fine art), but through relationships of mutual respect and reciprocity. If this regime thinks that resorting to the tired old tactics of whipping up racism and catering to the worst human instincts within us will work again, they are doomed to fail. In fact, as citizens, it is essential that we ensure that they fail. It is only then that we can begin to rebuild this country based on the recognition of all that brings us together rather than that which divides us.
1. ගුරු විදුහල්පති වෘත්තීය අරගලය නිසා මාර්ගගත අධ්යාපනය හෝ නොලැබීම හේතුවෙන් දරුවන්ගේ අධ්යාපනය පසුබෑමකට ලක් වීම ඔබ දකින්නේ කෙසේද? “වසර දෙකක සිට දරුවන්ගේ අධ්යාපනය අඩාළ වුණා. කොවිඩ් වයිරසය පැතිරීමත් සමඟ පාසල් වසාදැම්මත් දරුවන්ට උගන්වන්න රජයට කිසිදු සැලසුමක් තිබුණේ නැහැ. මාර්ගගත අධ්යාපනයත් ගුරුවරුන් විසින් ආරම්භ කරන ලද්දක් මිසක; රජය පහසුකම් ලබාදී ආරම්භ කරන ලද දෙයක් නොවෙයි. මාර්ගගත අධ්යාපන ක්රමයට […]
“වසර දෙකක සිට දරුවන්ගේ අධ්යාපනය අඩාළ වුණා. කොවිඩ් වයිරසය පැතිරීමත් සමඟ පාසල් වසාදැම්මත් දරුවන්ට උගන්වන්න රජයට කිසිදු සැලසුමක් තිබුණේ නැහැ. මාර්ගගත අධ්යාපනයත් ගුරුවරුන් විසින් ආරම්භ කරන ලද්දක් මිසක; රජය පහසුකම් ලබාදී ආරම්භ කරන ලද දෙයක් නොවෙයි. මාර්ගගත අධ්යාපන ක්රමයට අවශ්ය පහසුකම් ගුරුවරුන්ට හෝ දරුවන්ට තිබුණේ නැති නිසා ඒ අධ්යාපනය සාර්ථකයි කියලා අපිට හිතන්න බැහැ. අපිට හිතන්න තියන දේ තමයි, දරුවන්ගෙන් අතිබහුතරයකට අධ්යාපනය ඇණ හිටියා කියන කරුණ. මේ ඇත්ත භාර අරගෙන තමයි අපිට ඉදිරියට යන්න වෙන්නේ. අධ්යාපනය අඩාළ වූ කාලය ගැන ආණ්ඩුව වගකිව යුතුයි. ඒ අතරම විශාල කාලයක් තිස්සේ නොවිසඳුණු ගුරු අරගලය ආවා. ඒ අරගලය ආරම්භ වන අවස්ථාවෙත් පාසල් වසාදමා තිබුණේ. ඒ නිසා ගුරු අරගලය නිසා අධ්යාපනයට පාඩුවක් වුණේ නැහැ. වෘත්තිය සමිති නායකත්වය අත්අඩංගුවට ගැනීමත් සමඟයි ස්වේච්ඡාවෙන් ආරම්භ කළ මාර්ගගත අධ්යාපන කටයුතුත් නතර කිරීමට ගුරුවරුන් තීරණය කළේ. දරුවන්ට අධ්යාපනය ලබාදීමට ක්රමවේදයක් සැලසුම් කිරීම අත්යවශ්යයි. ඒ හැර වෙනත් විකල්ප නැහැ. සාමාන්ය පෙළ සහ උසස්පෙළ පන්තිවලට විශේෂ අවධානය යෙදවිය යුතුයි . කොවිඩ් තවම ඉවර වෙලා නැහැ ; ඒ තත්ත්වයත් හිතට අරගෙනයි මේ දේවල් කළ යුතු වන්නේ; සංචාරක ව්යාපාරය විවෘත කර තිිබෙන නිසා කොවිඩ් තවම පවතිනවා කියන අදහසින් අධ්යාපනය කෙසේ පවත්වාගෙන යා යුතු ද කියා සැලසුම් කළ යුතුයි. ගුරුඅරගලයත් සමඟ ආණ්ඩුව දැනට අරන් තියන ක්රියාමාර්ග නම් හරියන්නේ නැහැ.. ගුරු අරගලයට සාකච්ඡා මාර්ගයෙන් හොඳ විසඳුමක් ලබාදීම අත්යවශ්යයි”
“ගුරුවරුන්ට පාසල ආරම්භ කිරීම පිළිබඳව කිසිදු ගැටලුවක් තිබුණේ නැහැ. ඒ අය ඉල්ලන්නේ ඒ අයගේ සාධාරණ ඉල්ලීමයි. වෘත්තිය සමිති තීරණය කර තිබෙනවා, 25 වනවිට රාජකාරියට යන්න. 23, 24 පමණයි; ඒ අය වැඩවර්ජනයක් කරන්නේ. ගුරුවරුන්ගේ ඉල්ලීම් වෙනුවෙන් කටයුතු කරන අතරම දරුවන් වෙනුවෙන් පාසල් ආරම්භ කිරීමට ආණ්ඩුව කටයුතු කළ යුතුයි”
“ගුරුවරුන්ගේ ප්රශ්නය විසඳගන්න රටේ ආර්ථික තත්ත්වය විසඳගන්න කුරු බලා ඉන්න බැහැ. ගුරුවරුන් අවුරුදු 23ක් මේ ප්රශ්න සමඟ හිටියා. මෙතැනදී වැදගත් වන්නේ ප්රමුඛතාවයි. රටේ අනෙක් දේවල්ද දරුවන්ගේ අධ්යාපනය ද ප්රමුඛ වන්නේ කියා සලකා බැලිය යුතුයි. දරුවන්ගේ ගුණාත්මක භාවය රඳා පතින්නේ ගුරුවරුන් මතයි. ඔවුන් අධෛර්යමත්ව ඉන්නවා නම් අධ්යාපනය සාර්ථක වෙන්නේ කොහොමද? හොඳම කුසලතා සහ සුදුසුකම් තිබෙන අය නැතිනම් අපිට ගුරු වෘත්තියේ ගුණාත්මක භාවය ඉහළ දාන්න බැහැ . පසුගිය 2011- 2012 විශ්වවිද්යාල ගුරුඅරගලය පිටුපස තිබුණු ප්රධාන කාරණාවක් නම් සුදුසුම පිරිස විශ්වවිද්යාල තුළ රඳවාගන්නට අවශ්ය නම් ඊට හොඳ වැටුපක් අවශ්ය බවයි . ගුරුවරුන්ටත් ඒ අදාළ වෘත්තිමය ඇගැයීම් ලබා දිය යුතුයි. එය වැටුපෙන් පමණක් කරන්න අපහසුයි. සේවය ඇගැයීම වැනි දේවල් කළ යුතුයි. මේ පවතින ආණ්ඩුවේ වාමාශික පක්ෂ කිහිපයක් ඉන්නවා. වෘත්තිය සමිති ක්රියාකාරින් රැසක් ඉන්න පක්ෂයක එහෙම දේශපාලන ව්යාපාරයක් මේ වගේ ගුරුවෘත්තිය අරගලයකදී හැසිරිම කිසිසේත් අනුමත කරන්න බැහැ. මේ විදිහට වෘත්තිය සමිති සමඟ හැප්පෙන එක සහ මර්දනය කිරීම ඉතාමත් කනගාටුදායකයි.”
“ගුරුවරුන් ස්වේච්ඡාවෙන් කරපු මාර්ගගත අධ්යාපනයෙන් ඉවත් වුණා. මාර්ගගත ක්රමය ඒ අයට රජය පැවරූ රාජකාරියක් නොවෙයි. වැටුප් අරගලය සම්බන්ධයෙන් ඒ අයගේ ගැටලු සමාජයට ඉදිරිපත් කිරීමට දීර්ඝ කාලයක් කටයුතු කළා. ආණ්ඩුව විවේචනය කරන සියලු දෙනා කඩාකප්පල්කාරීන් කියලයි මේ ආණ්ඩුව කියන්නේ.. මේ ගුරු වර්ජනය ඇතුළෙත් බහුතරයක් ඉන්නේ මේ ආණ්ඩුවට ඡන්දය දුන්න පිරිසක්. මොන පක්ෂයකටවත් බලහත්කාරයෙන් මිනිසුන් අරගලවලට ගේන්න බැහැ. වෘත්තිය හෝ වෙනත් ගැටලු නොතිබුණා නම් ගුරුවරයා අරගල කරන්නේ නැහැ. ඒ අයගේ නොවිසඳුණු ගැටලු තිබෙනවා. ගුරුවරුන් කියන්නේ විපක්ෂවලට හිතුණ ගමන් පාරට බස්සන්න පුළුවන් අය නොවෙයි. ඒ අය පාරට බැස්සේ දේශපාලනයකින් තොරව සාධාරණ ඉල්ලිම් රැසක් දිනා ගන්න. වෘත්තිය සමිති හැටියට සාමජිකයන්ගේ ඉල්ලීම්වලට ඇහුම්කන් නොදී වෘත්තිය සමිති ව්යාපාර මෙහෙයවීම වරදක්. ඒ නිසා වෘත්තිය සමිති නායකත්වය මේ වෙනුවෙන් පෙනී සිටිනවා. ප්රශ්න නිර්මාණය කරන්න වෘත්තිය සමිති ව්යාපාරයකටවත් දේශපාලන පක්ෂයකටවත් බැහැ. ජනතාව එවැනි ක්රියාමාර්ගවලට යොමුවෙන්නේ ඒ අයගේ අයිතිවාසිකම් අහිමි වූ විටයි”
“වෘත්තිය සමිති ඉන්නේ ආණ්ඩුව සතුටු කරන්න නොවෙයි. සාමාජිකයන්ගේ සාධාරණ ඉල්ලීම වෙනුවෙන් පෙනී සිටීමයි වෘත්තිය සමිති නායකත්වයේ වගකීම. වෘත්තිය සමිති ව්යාපාර කියන්නේ ප්රජාත්රාන්තික ව්යුහයක් තුළ නීතියෙන් පිළිගත් ආරක්ෂා වූ සංවිධානයන්. ඒ අය සමඟ ගනුදෙනු කිරීම ආණ්ඩුවේ වගකීමක්. නිහඬව නොසිට ආණ්ඩු වෘත්තිකයන්ගේ ප්රශ්න විසඳිය යුතුයි.”
By Harini Amarasuriya Recently, a friend shared with me an advertisement from a migration consultancy service. The advertisement simply said: “We have 6.9 million reasons for you to migrate to Canada”. Now, that’s quite a bold statement to make, I thought to myself. Yet, it’s indicative of a certain shift in the current mood among […]
By Harini Amarasuriya
Recently, a friend shared with me an advertisement from a migration consultancy service. The advertisement simply said: “We have 6.9 million reasons for you to migrate to Canada”. Now, that’s quite a bold statement to make, I thought to myself. Yet, it’s indicative of a certain shift in the current mood among people. Recently, we have seen images of long queues outside the passport office.
Migration consultants have reported a dramatic increase in the number of inquiries and applications. My former colleagues from the university sector say that the number of reference letters they are writing for students seeking placements and jobs abroad have increased. All this suggests a sense of despair and hopelessness, especially among young people, about the future prospects of this country.
This is in marked contrast with the waves of enthusiasm that swept the country immediately after the last Presidential and General Elections or the frenetic support the SLPP mobilised during the election campaign. Although the Government would like to blame the COVID-19 pandemic for all the woes the country is grappling with, this is simply not correct. Certainly, neither the farmer protests nor the teachers’ protests are due to COVID-19; the first is a consequence of a stupendously ignorant policy decision and the latter is a result of years of neglect exacerbated by an arrogant if not clumsy response to trade union action.
The long lines at the passport office are not a result of a single issue, but driven mostly by a lack of faith and trust that the political leadership in this country are capable of finding solutions for the multiple crises the country is facing. The majority who are seeking to migrate are taking a huge leap of faith. Many are leaving without proper assurances about jobs, security, shelter or support networks. Anti-migrant sentiments are strong across the world as people seek scapegoats to blame for their ills. The fact that people are still willing to face these risks – often alone and in unfamiliar places – speaks volumes for their sense of disillusionment about their own country.
Sri Lanka is a country that seeks to solve problems through commissions: There have been multiple commissions of inquiry, investigation, public representations etc., all searching for answers, people’s views and providing analysis and lofty recommendations. I myself have been on some commissions and fact-seeking committees. I have also read many commission reports. What is glaringly obvious in a majority of these reports is the sense of injustice that citizens feel with regard to the State and its operations.
While most citizens expect the State and the elected Government to mediate on their behalf, to ensure their wellbeing and protection, in their experience, Governments have historically failed to deliver. This has led to increasing mistrust in institutions of the State as well as of politics. This is most eloquently stated in the Presidential Commission on Youth, established in 1990, soon after the UNP-led beeshanaya period. In Chapter 1 of the report, the commissioners say: “The oral and written representations made to the Commission indicated virtual unanimity that politicisation and perceptions about the abuse of political power are some of the main causes of youth unrest in contemporary Sri Lanka.”
The National Human Development Report of 2014, discussing the results of a youth survey conducted in 2013, states that an alarming 89 per cent of those surveyed said they had little trust in political parties compared with 47 per cent in a similar survey in 1999. The Report of the Public Representations Committee on Constitutional Reform in 2016 (of which I too was a member) in its introduction says: “We have failed in the task of building confidence in the organs of the State, in the rule of the law and in each other.
We are once again faced with the task of attempting to atone for past mistakes. Let us therefore not waste this opportunity.” The contents and sentiments expressed in these different reports are distressingly similar. Citizens are consulted, and come before various committees and commissions to share their views, stories and experiences and plead for justice. All the reports suggest that citizens feel marginalised and excluded from power and from the organs of power. Discrimination and exclusion is experienced through a range of factors: age, language, class, status, ethnicity, religion, gender. Many of the reports suggest remedies. All the reports urge the Government to act and to act fast – calls for State and political reforms, reconciliation mechanisms, restoring justice, rule of law, independence of State institutions are common refrains in almost all these reports.
It was the Youth Commission of 1990 that first recommended Independent Commissions to restore trust in the system of governance and to ensure justice and fair play. It is ironic that 31 years on, one of the members of that Commission, Prof G.L. Peiris, as a Cabinet Minister, oversaw the repeal and weakening of those Independent Commissions when he defended and voted for the 20th Amendment to the Constitution.
But this has been our history; this is the cycle that is repeated over and over again. If our leaders have been consistent in anything, it has been to promise the Earth, the moon and the stars before gaining power and to kick the very people who brought them to power in their teeth, and consolidate their power and that of their allies through any means. Is it a wonder then, that the passport office is besieged by disillusioned citizens seeking to flee what they see as a hopeless situation? At the same time, shouldn’t citizens take some responsibility for the situation in which we are now? For all of our leaders were elected democratically and Governments were formed constitutionally.
Arguably, Constitutions, laws and elections have been manipulated to the advantage of those in power, yet – at the end of the day, citizens have also voted for the Governments in power. In some cases, overwhelmingly, like for the current regime. Many people who contact us now, talk about being misled, of being fooled. As much as we hold up politicians for critique, should we also not interrogate our own impulses that propelled those we now criticise, to power? Some of these impulses have been less than laudatory if we are honest with ourselves: Like our propensity to subscribe to racist tropes or our inclinations to safeguard our own at any cost – be it our own in terms of family, caste, class, or even school.
This has meant that the same circles of power have existed for decades, with some superficial changes to provide an illusion of difference. And so we have come to where we are now – a point where especially the young, are ready to give up. And anyone who has the means is talking about leaving the country. But surely, we can do better than this? Thousands of young people sacrificed their lives for this country at several points in our modern history – because they believed in the possibility of transformation. We do not want any more lives lost in the search for change – but we do need to fight. Not with weapons, but with our minds and our hearts. We need to be able to see beyond the noise and the spectacle – and to get to the crux of the matter: That more than seven decades after independence, we have still not been able to free ourselves.
As lawyers of the National People’s Power, we have made the public aware, whenever the rule of law is threatened. At the moment, a special process is taking place that affects the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary. Every week or two, the Rajapaksa family or a close associate who is blessed […]
As lawyers of the National People’s Power, we have made the public aware, whenever the rule of law is threatened. At the moment, a special process is taking place that affects the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary. Every week or two, the Rajapaksa family or a close associate who is blessed by that family is acquitted and released. The Attorney General’s withdrawal of such indictments should be discussed in the country. The Attorney General withdrew several indictments including the cases of Basil Rajapaksa, Johnston Fernando and the Minister of Agriculture. What is this process? Is the Attorney General’s Department allowed to do this?
There are several institutions where the public can complain about a crime. Complaints can be made to the police, the CID, and the Bribery Commission. If the complaints made to these places are to be continued by an indictment and the investigating officers of the respective institutions will submit a summary report to the Attorney General’s Department. A junior officer of this department uses it and sends a report to a higher official. If further details are required, the investigating officers can be called in to rectify the shortcomings. The senior investigating officer can further discuss the indictment with higher officials. Further, deficiencies will be addressed and the file is sent to the Head of the Crime Division of the Attorney General’s Department. The Head of the Criminal Procedure Division, the Senior Investigating Officer and the Attorney General will discuss further issues in the indictment. If there is any problem, the lower officials are called and faults are corrected.
The indictment will be sent to the High Court through a discussion between them after filing a summary report, referring to a junior officer and a supervising officer in the Attorney General’s Department, and then handing it over to the Attorney General. The relevant charges are read out in the High Court first. If there are any problems before reading the indictments filed in the High Court, the judge will send them back to the Attorney General’s Department. In such a case the investigating officers will make the relevant corrections again. The indictment is then presented in the High Court and the question is whether he is guilty or not. If such a case is suddenly withdrawn from the Attorney General’s Department, there must be a reason for it. How much public money has been spent on this?
If the indictment created in this manner is withdrawn with a single stroke of the pen, there is a problem. We responsibly say that the Attorney General cannot withdraw indictments at any time. It can not be withdrawn without a special reason. When the present government came to power it presented the “Vistas of Prosperity” manifesto. This manifesto states that the law is for social fairness. It states, “The legal system in a country is the foundation of a civilised society and it should operate to ensure the well-being of its people. The concept of rule of law aims to build a civilised society. As such, a democratic government should never interfere with the rule of law. Our government shall always be dedicated to protecting the rule of law and shall not allow anyone to challenge it.”
Also, on page 71 of this manifesto, “ Only one set of laws should apply to the entire country and the ruler as well as all citizens should abide by the rule of law. All should be equal before the law and as long as they abide by the rule of law, citizens need not be afraid of law enforcement agencies or law enforcement officers. An environment will be created where law enforcement agencies and law enforcement officers shall also be subjected to the rule of law.” This is what has been stated. They have told us very clearly. But now the policy statement is being set aside and is going the other way. He also brought the Kekille Commission to free his obedient disciples. The report of this commission has acquitted a large number of cases of the Rajapaksa family, cabinet members and friends. Also can make a prediction on the next case to be released. The Kekille Commission report has recommended that the controversial Malwana property case be acquitted. The Commission’s recommendation is significant in the case of Thiru Kumar Nadesan as the plaintiff under case number 1968/2020. “Upul Kumara Ramawickrema should be prosecuted for making a false complaint under B8864 / 15 against the plaintiff and Mr Basil Rajapaksa, disciplinary action should be taken against the police officers Gunawardena and Ranasinghe, the case baring number 26/2017 of the Gampaha High Court should be withdrawn and the accused should be acquitted and released” was stated.
If the Attorney General’s Department acts in this manner, a significant problem would be created. There is no basis for Withdrawals. The speciality is that the indictments in these withdrawal cases have been signed by the then Chief Justice who is now the Attorney General. There is a big problem here. There are narrow personal political motives behind these withdrawals. Even if these cases are withdrawn, the cases of the common people will not be withdrawn. The Attorney General’s Department is withdrawing cases of politicians connected to the government in a hurry. The President and the Attorney General are directly responsible for withdrawing these cases. When the new Attorney General was appointed we thought the law would be enforced properly. But now criminals, the robbers who stole public money are coming out of court saying “Tata bye” in the mid-daytime. Attorney General, We are very disappointed.
We see how the gentlemen who got voted to uphold the rule of law by presenting policy statements are acting now. In the same manner, the abrupt conversion to organic fertilizer has become a real mess, the proceedings in the Attorney General’s Department will become a total mess. We use to like the current Attorney General. But we are very disappointed now. We invite the people of the country to join the legal team of the National People’s Power against this situation. We will not give up this fight until the rule of law is re-established. We will keep moving forward while educating the people.
We see that the Hon. Attorney General is being responsible and accountable not to the people of Sri Lanka but the government. Filing indictments is not the same as filing charges in an ordinary magistrate’s court. Indictments have more weight even in the literal sense of the word. It is clear that the seriousness of the offence and the process leading up to it is more serious than filing a case in a lower court. The charges filed in this manner involve a breach of criminal trust in the Penal Code. The legal principles of the allegations in the Penal Code on which these charges were filed by the then-Attorney General do not change when a new Attorney General is appointed under a new government. Was how the Attorney General and the relevant panel of lawyers acted at the time of filing the indictment wrong? Was the investigation erroneous? Have they committed an offence? The fact that the accused who are now being released were remanded further aggravates the situation. Therefore, there is no explanation for the withdrawal of the indictment.
This shows that indictments filed by one government will be withdrawn by the next. Will the indictments now being filed be withdrawn by the next government? This suggests that the rule of law is in a state of disarray. It is a serious matter for people to lose faith in the rule of law. What to do if a situation arises where the judiciary will be demanded that the indictments of the general public should also be withdrawn? Have the indictments of non-politicians been withdrawn? Some allegations have been made even after investigations by presidential commissions. The Presidential Commission appoints persons with special expertise in the relevant subjects. According to their observations, the Attorney General will file indictments. A group of three High Court judges are appointed to hear certain indictments. Even such charge sheets have been withdrawn. In this sense, there is something wrong somewhere. When one is right, the other must be wrong. Isn’t it required to find where the fault is with the withdrawal of the indictment? Does the definition of law change for politicians?
Withdrawing indictments – which were done wasting time and money – in this manner, will erode the public confidence in the law. There is anarchy in such a place. The day people lose faith in the law, the loud-mouthed politicians will not have any say. Society should have the accountability of responsible officials. But after the 20th Amendment, they only think about securing their next promotion. This is where accountability is lost. With the law remaining unchanged, indictments cannot be withdrawn in this manner. In addition to the mistakes made by ordinary people, neglecting the duties that professionals are supposed to do is a very serious mistake. This situation is more serious than the accusations levelled by the indictment. It is also wrong to file an indictment without evidence under duress. Withdrawing indictments with evidence is extremely wrong. There is a separate discussion on financial crimes in particular. If the law is broken in this manner during the change of government a serious situation would arise. If a case filed by one Attorney General alleging indictment is withdrawn under another Attorney General, the reasons for it must be presented. It is extremely serious to use intelligence to create things that are not within the legal framework and also to destroy things that are within the legal framework.
The main issue today is the withdrawal of a number of indictments pending in various High Courts. There is a general opinion in our country that the legal network does not work against certain individuals. These are serious crimes. There are occasions when the Attorney General appoints a Senior Bar Council to re-examine a relevant investigation file. They analyze all relevant information and align all information, instructions and data to ensure there aren’t any discrepancies. Only then will an indictment be prepared or not. Such investigations are usually conducted under the direct supervision of the Attorney General. The vast majority of the cases we are talking about today are those that have been investigated in such a process. People do not know the basis on which such an indictment is withdrawn. However, it is a serious situation that an institution that claims to protect the fundamental rights of the people has not been given an explanation in this regard. They have both responsibility and accountability for the people. If the people do not see the responsibility and accountability in a decision taken by the Attorney General, there is a serious problem there.
Relevant information regarding criminal cases in Sri Lanka is given in the Criminal Procedure Code No. 15 of 1979. This Code contains all the provisions relating to the early filing of a case in a Magistrate Court or a High Court. The Attorney General has the power to withdraw indictments with the concurrence of the High Court Judge. There is also the possibility of withdrawing an accusation. But it needs to be clarified on what reasons this discretion is being exercised. Discretionary power cannot be exercised arbitrarily or illegally. What is the next step for victims of unreasonable withdrawal after a complaint regarding harassment of citizens of the country has become an indictment after a lengthy process? Such is the situation concerning the release of Karannagoda. He could be a former Navy Commander. But who can explain the aggrieved party about this situation? If the people of the country lose faith in the judiciary and the law enforcement agencies, the whole society will suffer a great collapse. People will think, ‘It is useless to go to court.’
There are several facets to a reasonable view of a matter. The judiciary has the power to rule on justice. But what happens if people mistrust this system? There is no point in spending a lot of money and maintaining systems that break down. If there is any reason for the withdrawal of indictments, the public has a right to know where the fault is. There have been some cases in which the Witnesses withdrew because of poor memory. Such things can be accepted. In such a case, the Witnesses may be changed. However, such incidents cannot be accepted after the change of governments without any mention of any shortcomings in the investigations. The change of government does not change the investigative record of the indictment or any other evidence. Phone numbers and other data cannot be changed. In short, the facts stated in the charge sheet will not change with the change of government. If so, when political power changes, crime cannot be a crime.
Looking at all this, we are also required to say something very responsibly. As the people of this country, we must unite to bring a new amendment to the Penal Code, the Public Property Act or any other law. “Sri Lankan criminal law or any other law does not apply to politicians in power” – must be applied. The clauses in the apartheid constitution of South Africa amazed us. They were very revolting. But that was the law of the land at that time. A law like the one in South Africa should be passed stating that criminal law does not apply to politicians in this country. Instead, investigations that waste public money which even involves trips abroad should be stopped. If the Attorney General’s Department, which had filed its own case, says next time that the indictment will be withdrawn, there is no need to file such a case in the first place. If there is a clause that no case will be filed against the politicians of our country, we too can be free of this. They too can live in freedom. We have to go for such a discussion. Or the rule of law should be established in a proper manner by spending national wealth. Or we must stop wasting public money.
There have been cases filed by the Commission to Investigate Bribery and Corruption and the Attorney General’s Department in recent times. Out of these two, the Bribery Commission dropped the cases due to technical issues. The Commission withdrew stating that the relevant cases had not been filed with the signatures of all three Commissioners. But there is a possibility of re-assigning those cases as well. There is also a possibility of re-assigning cases withdrawn by the Attorney General’s Department. The life of those cases does not end on the issue of withdrawal. The public is waiting to see when the cases withdrawn by the Bribery Commission will be re-filed. The same is true of the Attorney General’s Department.
“ළමා රක්ෂණය වෙනුවෙන් තැන තැන නීති ප්රතිසංස්කරණ වෙනුවට පරිපූර්ණ ප්රතිසංස්කරණයක් අවශ්ය යැයි ජාතික ජන බලවේගයේ පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්රිනි, ආචාර්ය හරිනි අමරසූරිය පැවැසුවාය. වැඩිදුරටත් කතා කළ මන්ත්රිවරිය මෙසේද පැවැසුවාය. “ළමා රක්ෂණය සම්බන්ධ නීති සංශෝධනය කරද්දී වැදගත් වෙන්නේ පොඩි පොඩි වෙනස්කම් කිරීම පමණක් නොවේ. මේ නෛතික ප්රතිසංස්කරණ කිරීම ඉතා වැදගත්. ළමා රක්ෂණ ආයතන ඉතා අපහසුතාවයෙන් කටයුතු කරන බව […]
“ළමා රක්ෂණය වෙනුවෙන් තැන තැන නීති ප්රතිසංස්කරණ වෙනුවට පරිපූර්ණ ප්රතිසංස්කරණයක් අවශ්ය යැයි ජාතික ජන බලවේගයේ පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්රිනි, ආචාර්ය හරිනි අමරසූරිය පැවැසුවාය. වැඩිදුරටත් කතා කළ මන්ත්රිවරිය මෙසේද පැවැසුවාය. “ළමා රක්ෂණය සම්බන්ධ නීති සංශෝධනය කරද්දී වැදගත් වෙන්නේ පොඩි පොඩි වෙනස්කම් කිරීම පමණක් නොවේ. මේ නෛතික ප්රතිසංස්කරණ කිරීම ඉතා වැදගත්. ළමා රක්ෂණ ආයතන ඉතා අපහසුතාවයෙන් කටයුතු කරන බව පේනවා. විශේෂයෙන්ම ඒවාට මූල්ය හා ප්රතිපාදන වෙන් කිරීමටත් අවශ්ය නීති සම්පාදනය හා සංශෝධනය කිරීමේදී නීති එකිනෙක ගැටීම හා ක්රියාත්මක කරද්දී පවතින ගැටලු ගැන අපි නිවැරදිව සොයා බැලිය යුතුයි. මේ ආයතනවල සම්පත් දිනාගැනීමට දශක ගණනක් මිනිස්සු සටන් කර තිබෙනවා. මා දැඩි ලෙස ඉල්ලා සිටිනවා මෙවන් නීති හැටියට පමණක් නොවේ, නීති ක්රියාත්මක කර ගැනීමේදීද විශේෂ සැලකිල්ල යොමු කළ යුතු බව.වහාම මේ ආයතන සඳහා ප්රමාණවත් මුදල් වෙන් කළ යුතු බවත් මා සඳහන් කරනවා. විශේෂයෙන්ම මේ සම්බන්ධයෙන් නියාමන යාන්ත්රණයද සමාලෝචනයක් කළ යුතුයි. ළමයින්ගේ නඩුවල විශාල ප්රමාදයකුත් තිබෙනවා. ළමයින් පුනරුත්ථාපන ක්රියාවලියේදී විශේෂ අඩුපාඩු තිබෙනවා. උපදේශන ක්රියාවලිය අනිවාර්යෙන්ම ශක්තිමත් කළ යුතුයි. තැනින් තැන ප්රතිසංස්කරණ වෙනුවට පරිපූර්ණ ප්රතිසංස්කරණයක් අවශ්ය බවට මා යෝජනා කර සිටිනවා.”
Samanmalee Gunasinghe, Secretary – Women For Rights We have to bring to the attention of the rulers of this country the problems faced by women in our country due to the increase in prices of goods. Less than two years after the present government came to power, all promises made during elections, especially to women, […]
We have to bring to the attention of the rulers of this country the problems faced by women in our country due to the increase in prices of goods. Less than two years after the present government came to power, all promises made during elections, especially to women, have been broken. However, with the Prime Minister role, the presidency, 2/3 supermajority, and the 20th Amendment, more powers were given to the President and many more powers were obtained under the state of emergency. They came to power promising to solve the economic and social problems faced by women. Although they got the votes of the women and the men of this country, in a short time it has been made clear that this group cannot build our country let alone solve the smallest of issues in the village. The President of our country knows the names of rice traders and sugar traders better than the Prime Minister. People are now suffering and unable to cope.
There have been queues for vaccinations recently. Also, there were queues to get relief money like for the Samurdhi. And there were more new queues in every village. It was said that the country was developing at a rocket speed but it was taken back to the era of queues. The women had to wait in queues to buy two kilos of sugar, a packet of milk powder, gas, and rice for cheap prices. But the leaders of our country flew overseas. In the meantime, the majority of the women had to line up. This is the economic prosperity that has been created. The government hid behind gas, rice and sugar moguls. As a result, those companies increased gas prices by 84% for the first time in the history of Sri Lanka. Increasing the price of gas will increase the price from the plain-tea to everything. How much gets charged for transportation, surcharges, etc.? Meanwhile, the increase in gas prices has become an unbearable pressure.
What do they expect for the women to burn for the stove? There are no forests because the country was taken to a concrete age. Our house, on the other hand, is limited to a few perches. There are large crowds of people in flats. Is it possible to make a wood stove in these flats? What do you put in the stove to start a fire? The vistas of prosperity? Or the recently revealed Pandora Papers? How to afford a gas cylinder after the 84% increase in gas prices? There is a new queue of women looking for kerosene stoves. The lowest kerosene stove was at Rs.500. It has been increased to Rs. 950 by the time people went to buy in the evening. What can you do when you ask for a price in the morning and then go out in the evening only to find out that the price has been increased? The kerosene stove which was Rs. 1500 is now Rs. 4500. Ministers and the Prime Minister do not look into this. The prices are increased without restrictions. Although they promised to rebuild the economy at rocket speed, now the kitchen is also affected. What do women do now to cook for their children at least one meal a day?
However, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has issued a very interesting press release on inflation. “Inflation based on the Colombo Consumer Price Index has come down by 5.7% in September 2021”, the announcement states. Gentlemen who issue these announcements need to go and see whether the prices of goods have decreased or increased, whether the rupee has depreciated or appreciated. Prime Minister and Ministers must go to the shops. Isn’t the dhal that was reduced to 60 rupees by this government now 260? It is clear how inflation has increased when the Rs. 5,000 note is not worth even Rs. 100. Although the officials who issue press releases and the Secretary to the Treasury do not know, the shopkeepers and our mothers are aware of the increase in prices. Therefore, we urge you to stop deceiving people like this now.
Has the huge amount of debt accumulated in our country been used for development? Has It been invested? A large number has been stolen. The crisis has been exacerbated to the point that there is a lack of dollars to buy essential food items. Women need to be aware of this. Women need to think about why they have not been able to build the country even after borrowing trillions. The real problem is that the corrupt leaders who ruled the country have stolen money. They cannot strengthen the economy. Prices of goods cannot be reduced. According to the Pandora Papers, 35 billion rupees has been deposited undisclosed. This is just one thing. People become indebted and poor. Women’s economy has collapsed and there is no way to give milk to a child. But the economy of the country’s leaders is growing. Women need to understand this problem better. About 295,000 migrant workers bring dollars to this country annually. Of these, only 90,000 are skilled workers.
The majority of the remaining 205,000 are women. They are women in the Middle East. They make $ 7 billion a year. This $ 7 billion is the money our women send from abroad cleaning the roads or working as housemaids. There is no way to get the milk powder from the port because the rulers stole this money. There is no way to unload the sugar ship. If this theft is not stopped there is no way to build the country. We want to tell the women that now it is enough appointing leaders who steal from your vote. Be aware of this immediately and let others know. In fact, women should be the first to turn to the path of developing the country. Women in this country need to form a government that can build their families, feed their children and build a better future for their children. These leaders are not trying to take our women towards progress in the 21st century, they are trying to confine women again to the hearthstones. You must stand up against this regime. Only then can this society be changed. We invite you to take a political decision for that.
The most basic wish of women is to eat three meals a day and live happily with their children. They voted to achieve these primary goals. When the Presidential election came and immense fear was created and the slogan ‘We want a country to live in even if there is no food’ was chanted. This government that came to power using these methods are now hurting the people while selling national resources, plunging the country into indebtedness, evading taxes, plundering unlimited wealth. There is no country now and nothing to eat too. At one point the price of rice is stated by a rice mill owner. Another time, gas prices are set by companies. Also, the prices of flour and milk powder are increased by the companies. Sri Lanka has become an economy controlled by company owners and mill owners. There is no need for a government to allow the people to be robbed in this manner. Consumer authority is not needed. We do not need a consumer ministry or a minister. But the ministers tell the people to be prepared to two meals a day if they can’t afford to eat three. Minister Lasantha Alagiyawanna and MP Sagara Kariyawasam made this statement.
The rulers of every party that has ruled this country up to now have made deals with company owners and mill owners and pocketed the commissions and dragged the people down from their mat. If the country is facing an economic recession due to a pandemic, the government needs to provide some relief to the people. But what this government is doing is telling the people to be patient in order to fill the profits of the businessmen. Therefore, this is not a people’s government at all. This government is working to make working women return to picking coconut leaves and firewood. During this period we can see a government that is failing to maintain the living standards of the citizens. Urban women are engaged in various extra income activities. But with the increase in gas prices, it all falls apart. In a situation where the income sources of the people have not been boosted, the prices of goods are increasing rapidly. We know that there is a pandemic. But we see that the racketeering businessmen are acting the way they want by having appointed a cabinet that has no general knowledge. Do the people and the families of the President, the Prime Minister and the MPs and ministers think about the country while telling the people to not think about their stomachs? Wasteful spending has not stopped yet. As a country in a difficult situation, we continue to incur unsustainable wasteful spending.
Wages have not increased for the private sector and the public sector. There is no good market for manufacturers’ goods. Meanwhile, Rs. 71,000 million has been allocated for provincial council politicians to spend on future elections under the pretext of development activities. Various types of loans are used to develop infrastructure. This money has been allocated to rob the upcoming election. A government that pursues wasteful measures that are not priorities and that do not benefit the people priority cannot solve the problems of the people. The government that cannot solve the problems of education has the money to rob the vote. Billions will be spent to consolidate their power in the forthcoming elections. This raises the question of whether people are still tolerant. Chemical fertilizers called organic fertilizers are imported. Potassium chloride fertilizer is imported and called organic fertilizer. What are these jokes? When potassium chloride is named as organic fertilizer, the salt we use tomorrow may become organic salt. The government cannot provide the elements needed for cultivation. Because of this, various measures are taken to deceive the people with magic, fraud and deception.
Women make up 52% of Sri Lanka’s population and 58% of the electorate. This government led by Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected by a majority of women. We emphasize that the day is not far away when this government will be ousted by the same women due to dire circumstances it has inflicted on them and the children in the last two years. The increase in the prices of milk powder, gas, rice, flour and sugar is putting immense pressure on the people. People in the plantation areas in particular depend on flour products for at least two meals a day. A loaf of bread costs 65 rupees. The bun is 50 rupees. Plain Tea is 30 rupees. How can people survive? When so much is spent on food, there is no money to spend on children’s education, housing, and other daily necessities. Meanwhile, there is talk of increasing fuel prices. This can put the people in more trouble. Therefore, we ask the government to stop wasteful and unnecessary spending now. Stop using their power and harassing people for maintaining power. We demand that they stop playing with people’s lives. We also invite you to rally to save the lives of our children. We should not suffer like this from the rulers who put us in power. The people can kick them out just as they put them in power. I emphasize that this is the time for women, in particular, to come forward.
We have fallen into this trap due to the actions of the present government and the previous governments. Once again, these two parties are trying to seize power. The resources of the country are used for that. We tell the people that these two are one. Instead of rulers who make decisions to use power for themselves, a group of people who make decisions on behalf of the people should be brought to power. Also, a country cannot be built by individual heroism. We have to work together to choose the right program. Let’s choose the right course of action. We tell the people that they do not have to suffer for 5 years by giving power back to another exploitative gang.
People wanted ‘a country even if there is no food’. People always voted thinking the previous administration was good. But they were not good either. It is only because of the bad consequences of that regime that such a severe regime was formed. We need to see this whole picture. The previous regime came to power saying they would bring the thievery and the thuggery to justice but failed at that. As such, the frauds, corruption and thefts of this government will not be caught by the next government of the same category. So we say don’t look back. We ask you to make the right decision for the future.
