• Claims such a lenient mechanism will enable recovery of stolen assets
• Forms a ‘People’s Accountability Movement’ under Karu J. to combat corruption

The newly formed “People’s Accountability Movement” headed by former Solicitor General and former Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) Director General (DG) Dilrukshi Dias Wickramasinghe, a sub-committee that falls under the National Movement for Social Justice (NMSJ) headed by former Speaker of Parliament Karu Jayasuriya, has proposed political amnesty be granted to individuals found guilty of bribery and corruption.

“As a professional who has worked in the field of bribery and corruption, I know it will take a long time to get this money back; it is not easy. Stolen asset recovery is not easy – it will take years to legally recover these funds and by the time we do, the damage will have taken place already. I invite everyone to join our cause to prevent bribery and corruption in this country with one voice and as one family. I suggest we grant political amnesty to those guilty of bribery and corruption, so anyone found guilty of this can return stolen funds to the Treasury or to be invested. We need to create a strong enough mechanism where we will give them a sufficient period to return the stolen funds and then subsequently take lenient measures against them. However, if they fail to do so, strict legal action will be taken against them,” she said.

She was addressing a media event held on International Anti-Corruption Day (9). 

She said she was basing this suggestion upon the “Hatred ceases not by hatred” policy advocated by former President J.R. Jayewardene in his speech at the 1951 San Francisco Peace Conference, where he referred to the Buddha’s teachings of peace, nonviolence, and compassion in the “Dhammapada”, in relation to reintegrating Japan to the international fold following its atrocities in World War 2. 

The PAM also proposed the formulation of a special set of laws effective from a certain date addressing bribery and corruption, containing sufficient punishment for those guilty of the same. 

“My second suggestion is that we create a special set of laws that will be effective from a certain date, perhaps from 1 January 2023. All our civil movements should come together for this cause so that the Government and all politicians will implement these laws and the judicial arm will take measures to enforce sufficient punishment to those guilty of corruption according to these laws,” said Wickramasinghe.

“In a campaign for a just society, under the chairmanship of former Speaker of Parliament Karu Jayasuriya, we have, in the last few months, installed a sub-committee to provide professional contributions to stand up against bribery and corruption. We, as professionals, will meet once every two weeks in order to contribute to the elimination of bribery and corruption in Sri Lanka. Through our meetings and discussions, we believe that, as a group, all of us, especially civil movements, have a role to play in order to restore our country. A bird needs two wings to fly. Likewise, to oppose bribery and corruption, we need two wings. 

“We also need to bring those involved in bribery and corruption to justice before a court; it is only then that we can create a balanced system. With the assistance of the judiciary, we have registered a new organisation to take legal action against large-scale bribery and corruption – the people’s accountability movement. The primary objective of this organisation is to minimise the damage done by bribery and corruption through the rule of law. We have taken measures to demand justice for social injustices in court. The secondary objective is prevention work. We have come together and we have made our professional contribution towards minimising corruption in several identified fields. 

“Corruption is like cancer. One person alone cannot fight this cancer because the effects of that one person will not be felt when corruption is at such a large scale. As civil movements and as professionals, let us unite; when we do unite, we can save our country from this cancer.”

Following former President Maithripala Sirisena’s public warning in October 2016 stating he would take action against the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID), and CIABOC for pursuing a political agenda, Wickramasinghe tendered her resignation as DG of CIABOC the same month. She was also interdicted from her duties as Solicitor General by the Public Services Commission with immediate effect in September 2019 following a leaked telephone conversation.