How long will this new trend for exposure of the corrupt and taking action against them prevail, is a question emerging with importance, in the context of the long delay in the process of implementing a key policy of the Yahapalanaya changes ushered in with the defeat of Mahinda Rajapaksa in January 2015.
It appears the new rousing of the largely silent forces in government and civil society taken place after the events leading to the resignation of Ravi Karunanayake from the Cabinet of Ministers, is moving faster than a new political culture, of those tainted in the politics of power bowing out with some speed, if not entirely voluntarily.
The calls for new or special courts to fight corruption, and the repeated assurances from the government that more than 80 files on corrupt and fraudulent politics and governance held by the Attorney General will be brought out for action, gives a major satisfaction to those with a commitment to fight corruption in the country. Yet, the bothersome issue is whether this new mood will also wind up like the initial moves in the Yahapalanaya strategy, which saw a whole lot of highly publicized remand detentions, bringing a measure of undeserving glory to many suspects, be pushed under the dirty layers of government; amid major allegations of specially organised and manipulated tactics within government to let the crooks of the past regime go free.
The public protest held at the Vihara Maha Devi Park on August 15, calling for speedy government action on constitutional changes and the fight against corruption, organised by Puravesi Balaya and the National Movement for a Just Society, significantly displayed the public mood seeking action on major pledges of Common Candidate Maithripala Sirisena in the January 2015 Presidential Poll, and the campaign for the August 2015 General Election. The presence of two ministers – Mangala Samarawerera and Rajitha Senaratne - at this event, persons with closer links to the UNP, showed to some extent that the government’s awareness of the public mood and call for action. What this event showed was the necessity to keep to the promises given to the people in the campaign of the Common Candidate Maithripala Sirisena to defeat Mahinda Rajapaksa. The issues are certainly being re-kindled and the call for action against corruption and fraud, whether it is to do with the Rajapaksa family or others of that corrupt period, is certainly gathering new strength.
New focus
If Ravi Karunanayake was the focus of the fight against corruption in the past weeks, the new personality of political controversy is the Minister of Justice and Buddha Sasana Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, whose recent comment about opposition to the Hambantota Port deal with the Chinese, and what is seen as delays caused by him in bringing the crooks of the Rajapaksa Regime to justice with speed.
In a significant move the Working Committee and Parliamentary Group of the UNP meeting at Siri Kotha on Thursday (17) unanimously adopted a resolution stating lack of confidence in the conduct of Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, on his failure in duties as the Minister of Justice to bring in new laws to tackle bribery and corruption as promised by the United National Front’s manifesto; failure to bring legislation to provide for criminally earned moneys to be returned to the relevant agencies; prolonged delay in hearing of criminal cases; and that his conduct had brought the government and the United National Party into disrepute. While Rajapakshe was present at this meeting and rejected these charges he has been given time till later this month for a formal response.
The issue of his comments on the Hambantota Port deal is an aspect of collective responsibility of a Cabinet Minister. Rajapakshe says what he told the Lankadeepa was his personal view, and not a criticism of the Cabinet decision. That apart, the issue of delays in justice, especially the failure to bring in new legislation to meet current demands to fight for justice is certainly not one that can be easily ignored or forgotten. These charges by the UNP members themselves are a significant echo of the very angry charges that President Sirisena made, nearly two months ago, about figures in the UNP delaying the fight against the corruption of the Rajapaksas.
One will recall that Minister Rajapakshe had expressed statements about not wanting to take action against Gotabhaya Rajapaksa on the Avant Garde case and other related issues. There have also been indications of his not wanting to expedite the judicial process in the fight against corruption. While he argues about present laws not providing for setting up special courts for this purpose, there is no record of his moves to recommend Trials-at-Bar in more High Courts and such measures within the prevailing legal system to carry on the fight against corruption. There is also the possibility of having Presidential Commissions with penal powers, which were not the subject of discussion promoted by those responsible for carrying out the judicial process in the country.
It is significant the UNP members have ignored the opposition of the Asgiri Sangha Sabhava to any No Faith motion against the Minister of Justice and Buddha Sasana. They have also certainly taken note of the Joint Opposition’s support for Minister Rajapakshe, whom MR says is from the same village and therefore calls for his support – not because of his innocence of the charges. Such folksy attraction on issues of corruption is a rising trend among the Rajapaksas!
As Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe completes celebration of his 40 years in Parliament, marked by a major photographic exhibition at the BMICH, the Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe dispute will certainly be a major political issue for him, dealing with the wider issue of the SLFP - UNP relations, when the two parties compete two years of a coalition of unity. Even if he is able to persuade his members to push back any major fight with Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, it can only be a delaying tactic, with the issue fast emerging as a fight with the Joint Opposition, as well as the SLFP.
The support the Minister of Justice and Buddha Sasana gives to the new High Court procedures, including the Trails-at-Bar, and the speeding up of activity in the Attorney General’s Department on these issues, by providing any necessary staff and facilities to that department, will be a means of settling this issue. But it will also have to deal with a much wider public demand for speedy justice against the Rajapaksas, and all those who were corrupt in that regime, as well as those more than tainted with corruption in this government, too.
The public will not just want to see a quick chain of cases of corruption. They will need to see a good record of effective prosecutions, with the judiciary able to act with speed in bringing the guilty to justice, and not a means of escape for the crooks through weak prosecutions. It is much more than a battle of political wits that will be required to show the government’s determination, if any, in winning this a battle, and the wider political debate of the future strategies for the country.
Delay in PC polls
The Cabinet has given approval to the 20th Amendment to the Constitution that involves delays to the Provincial Council polls. The prevailing political developments, including the SLFP Ministerial Group’s disagreement to delaying PC polls due to be held later this year, and the wider public protest seen at Vihara Maha Devi Park on Tuesday (15), the Government will need to go for a slower change, not delaying the polls this year. The opposition of the TNA and JVP too, to any delay in the expected PC polls, would mean the absence of a 2/3 majority for the necessary constitutional change.
The Government will thus have to look at bringing new legislation that will not delay any upcoming polls, but enable changes in the future, hopefully, without the need for any referendum.
What is more important is not to go ahead with any plans to give the right to decide on future polling dates to Parliament, which will certainly make it a serious constitutional debate, with much public opposition and a referendum, too. The politics of Parliament do not make it the best place to fix dates for any major polls.
Farce in action
Farce is often the stuff of comedy, as we saw people chant “Mother of the Nation” when Shiranthi Rajapaksa came to make a statement at the CID, about a vehicle allegedly involved in the murder of a sportsman. Apparently this new national mother did not know Sinhala to read her own statement!
But farce moved into uniform, when the IGP was seen threateningly holding a police employee by the collar, allegedly for not doing the morning meditation. The question arises whether the IGP got into this mood after his own meditation, and does his method of Police Meditation raise anger and not help build calm? 
Former Minister Ravi Karunanayake Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe
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