This week saw the return of hooligan politics to Parliament, reminding the public that despite the rosy recovery story painted by the Government, the foul culture of politics in Sri Lanka largely remains unchanged.  The State Minister of Water Supply Sanath Nishantha, who is no stranger to the use of violence inside and out of Parliament, was suspended on Tuesday (21) from the House for a period of two weeks due to his unruly behaviour inside the Chambers. Nishantha, who has had a colourful history, has snatched some documents from the hands of the Opposition leader, in an attempt to disrupt the speech.

The unruly behaviour came following the Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa raising questions in Parliament about the recent landmark judgement by the Supreme Court that the three of the Rajapaksa brothers, and a number of senior state officials were responsible for the economic crisis. The judgement, though unprecedented, stopped short of issuing penalties for those who were found to be responsible. Many had hoped that there would be strong penalties for the mismanagement and poor governance decisions which led Sri Lanka to suffer so much. However, the judgement may well open the door for more legal action in the future.

In his address, Premadasa mentioned that former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, former President, Prime Minister, and Finance Minister and incumbent Government Parliamentarian, attorney Mahinda Rajapaksa, former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, former Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Governors Ajith Nivard Cabraal and Prof. W.D. Lakshman, former Treasury and Finance Ministry Secretary S.R. Attygalle, former Presidential Secretary P.B. Jayasundara, and the CBSL’s Monetary Board members (with certain exceptions) continue to enjoy their privileges despite the Supreme Court’s 14 November judgement having held them accountable for the economic crisis.

The opposition leader questioned what the Government and Parliament were going to do about the judgement, which is an unprecedented one. He questioned the Government’s stance on the matter, the legal measures which the Government intends to implement against them and if the Government would recover the losses incurred by the State due to those found guilty in the Court’s judgement. He also called for the civil rights to be revoked of those in question.

While raising the matter in Parliament is good form for parliamentary democracy, does the Opposition Leader really believe that Parliament, in its current composition, will ever take the Rajapaksa political clan to task? How can a Parliament, where a strong majority is from the same Sri Lanka Podujana Party (SLPP) which idolised the Rajapaksas and stood silent while the likes of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Basil Rajapaksa, Ajith Nivard Cabraal, S.R. Attygalle and P.B. Jayasundara steered Sri Lanka towards bankruptcy and socio-economic turmoil, and will hold them accountable. What justice can anyone seek from a forum mastered by the acolytes of wrongdoers? After all, this very Government, minus Wickremesinghe, rubber-stamped almost every decision brought forward by the Gotabaya Rajapaksa Government.  Let’s be honest, while there is strong public sentiment supporting to hold them accountable, the political will to do so is woefully inadequate.

Further, given the transactional nature of the SLPP-Ranil Wickremesinghe political alliance, which may look fragile, but has endured thus far, can anyone really expect any action regarding the Supreme Court judgement? That would be wishful thinking. Until the next election and perhaps beyond, Wickremesinghe needs the SLPP, and vice versa. As such, at best, Premadasa may get a “Committee” aimed at buying time for his troubles of questioning accountability of the Rajapaksas and their cronies.  

While the Supreme Court judgement is certainly a step in the right direction, to hold the likes of Rajapaksa’s and their cronies to book, a change in the composition of Parliament, and a change in the political culture is required.