A grand jury in the US last week indicted former President Donald Trump over an alleged hush money payment to a porn star before he became President. A few weeks earlier the current Prime Minister of England was fined by Traffic Police for not wearing a seatbelt. Can we in this country ever dream of hearing such news regarding any of our politicians, even though the list of allegations against their names is far more serious and continuously growing?
Take for instance the murder of prominent journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge, whose killers are still at large even 14 long years after the brutal killing. Governments have come and gone and some have even used his killing to win elections, promising a swift investigation, but in typical Sri Lankan style, politicians on either side of the political divide, though ferociously opposed to each other in public, are very much united in protecting themselves.
Even though it has been reported that the investigation into Wickrematunge’s murder had made significant progress, it appears that when it became clear that the killers had links to powerful politicians, every effort has been made by successive governments to stifle further investigation. Officers conducting the probe have been persecuted to the extent that the chief investigator had to flee the country for his safety. Another top cop involved in the probe was jailed on spurious charges and was eventually forced to retire. There are still concerns over his safety.
What of the Easter Sunday terror attacks? It was the Gotabaya Rajapaksa Government that benefitted the most from it politically and was elected to power on the promise of conducting a thorough investigation, but here again, what happened thereafter was the opposite. What is tragic is that even the incumbent President who promised to bring in Scotland Yard to assist in the investigation is turning a blind eye to what appears to be an elaborate cover-up by an unseen hand. Here again, another classic example of politicians covering each other’s back and to hell with the hundreds of innocent people who sacrificed their lives.
How else can one explain the tragi-comedy currently being enacted, where the Police had apparently conducted a third DNA test and ‘verified’ that Pulasthini Mahendren, also known as Sarah Jasmine, the wife of the leader of the suicide squad, had apparently died in an explosion at a safe house in Sainthamaruthu on 26 April 2019? Up until now, two previous DNA tests had confirmed that this individual was not among the 16 who had died in that explosion. While all 16 were identified within days of the explosion, how did it take four years for the cops to find out there was a 17th victim who happened to be Sarah Jasmine?
Two tests conducted previously confirmed that this individual was not among those killed. If the previous two tests were inaccurate, as they are made out to be, what makes this third test so conclusive? According to the Presidential Commission of Inquiry report, Sarah Jasmine is a key witness and there is no evidence to suggest her death anywhere. In fact, making a mockery of the latest Police discovery, a cop who is alleged to have assisted Sarah Jasmine to flee to India had been identified, arrested, and charged in court.
What is clear is that politicians will not hesitate to even slaughter a few hundred people and maim for life another few hundred in order to grab power. Unfortunately those claiming to be political foes will, at the end of the day, cover for each other and ensure no investigation ever threatens them. And this circus goes on while we the people are told that development and prosperity are just around the corner. Have patience and everything will be alright is the perennial mantra.
Well, for the record, no country on this planet has ever attained developed First World status by compromising on law and order. In fact, an independent law and order mechanism where each and every citizen is equal before the law has been an indispensable requirement for every country that has made it out of the Third World club. Therefore, one glance at what is happening in this country today should confirm the fact that we are still nowhere near to seeing the light.
Ever since the ’70s, the blatant interference of the political authority in law enforcement has only gone from bad to worse. Notwithstanding the feeble attempts every now and then to detach law enforcement from the clutches of the political authority via the so-called independent commissions, what is taking place today is confirmation that ‘independence’ is yet a pipe dream. Not only is law enforcement being used at the convenience of the political authority in power, but, worryingly enough, it appears that attempts are now being made to stifle individual liberties so that such actions will no longer be questioned.
It is in this light that much attention has been drawn to the new anti-terror legislation that has already been gazetted. For instance, as per the draft bill, any obstruction or interference in anything declared as an ‘essential service,’ supplies, infrastructure, or logistics facility will be construed as an act of terror. The punishment for such an offence will be a hefty 20 years in prison. With ‘terror’ being defined as such, the bill further states that either directly or indirectly encouraging or inducing one to commit such an act will be considered an offence. The bill also grants a Deputy Inspector General of Police the right to arbitrarily detain a citizen for up to three months for questioning. The draconian nature of the bill is further highlighted in Clause 20, which precludes the media from carrying anything that can be construed as in violation of the above mentioned definition.
Given the wide scope of the provisions in the proposed act, it would be impossible to even carry out a public protest as it can be construed as encouraging or inducing one to commit an offence under the new definition of terror. Therefore, it is the people of this country who will now have to shut up and sit while the politicians gang up to further plunder this nation.
This country has a history of getting a raw deal every time it wants to change something. Once upon a time, we thought it would be a good idea to get the Dutch to replace the Portuguese colonists, only to realise later that it was like exchanging ginger for chilli. Ever since independence, every elected government has promised to do better than the one it replaced, only for the people to find out that nothing has really changed – the repression and plunder simply continue in different guises.
While there is no debate on the urgent necessity to replace the 44-year-old Prevention of Terrorism Act that has been the tool of choice for the political authority to clamp down on personal liberties of the people, it is clear that the replacement is akin to exchanging ginger for chilli. It is also quite significant that the person introducing the bill is also the only remaining politician who voted for the one that is being replaced.