Undermining the rule of law - EDITORIAL

On October 16, President Sirisena donated a sum of rupees one million to the family of a police sergeant Sanath Gunawardana, who went berserk at the Thebuwana police station, pointed his T-56 assault rifle at OIC of the station and stormed out onto the public road endangering the lives of the public. It took officers of the STF to disarm the enraged police officer. During the ensuing struggle, the sergeant fired his weapon which fortunately did not harm members of the public who were in the vicinity.  He was arrested and interdicted from service and was in the immediate aftermath of the presidential ‘gift’ reinstated by the IGP. 

On what grounds did the president decide to publicly honour this non-commissioned officer who had publicly broken every rule in the police code of conduct? What prompted the Commander-in-Chief of the three armed forces and the police force to shame officers of a service he was the head by rewarding an act which amounted to worse than insubordination, endangering public life and damaging the moral of this essential service?  

What is worse was that the officer concerned has, by his own admission, had run-ins with the law on previous occasions too. He himself had admitted his role on firing on Muslim civillians at Kalutara in 1995, resulting in four civillian deaths. 

According to his account of that incident, the OIC of that station had ordered his officers to open fire on civillians. It was held in a court of law (again his admission) his claim was not accepted. So why did our Head of State decide to reward only this particular sergeant? It would appear the president has forgotten another of his pledges to the public during the presidential election campaign to let the law run its course without interference from politicians. 

It brings to mind the dark days of the President JR Jayawardene’s government when laws were twisted to accommodate his whims and fancies. An era where those who broke the law were openly feted and rewarded, as in the case of the violation of the fundamental rights of Ms. Vivienne Gunawardene by the Kollupitiya police. Ms. Goonerwardene and her husband Leslie who were senior members of the LSSP had complained of wrongful arrest and degrading treatment by the Kollupitiya Police. The court conceded wrongful arrest, but held that the degrading treatment alleged had not been proved. 

Making it clear that the law enforcement officers could act with impunity in matters protecting interests of politicians of the ruling party, JR’s government promptly promoted the guilty officer and paid the fine imposed on him. To add insult to injury, the JR government then organised protests outside the homes of the Judges who heard the case and gave verdicts detrimental to the government in power. JR Jayewardene cynically observed that Sri Lanka was a ‘five star democracy’ in which people have a right to protest even against Judges of the Supreme Courts. Sri Lanka does not need that type of ‘Five Star Democracy’.

Those who voted both the president and the present parliament into power voted for a change from the authoritarianism of the immediate past regime. They voted for a clean administration. They voted against the presidential form of government. People voted against the politicization of the armed services and the police force. They voted for a government which promised to bring down the cost-of-living and an end to authoritarianism. 

Sadly the regime of President Sirisena and his Prime Minister have not been able to deliver on the promises they gave the electorate. The promised clean administration has been castigated into the dustbins of history with the government being embroiled in the massive bond scam. The promised new Constitution is nothing but a distant dream... If at all. 

Despite bringing down the cost-of-living during its initial year in office, today the cost-of-living has rocketed way beyond the means of not only the working class, but the middle class as well. A positive step has been the implementation of the Right-to-Information Act a legacy of the government. 

The President’s recent attempt to sack the Boards of Directors of Bank of Ceylon, People’s Bank, the Board of Investment and claims of Indian involvement in attempts to assassinate him read like a chapter out of ‘Alice in Wonderland’