A change in governance and the need to stop hate speech

Corruption has permeated all levels of Lankan society. Corrupt practice rules from top political leaders to the lowly peons in government departments. Officials and politicians who have been involved in corruption have been either given presidential pardons or have escaped to foreign lands.

In a particular instance an individual from the SLPP was convicted of killing an opposition political activist. Courts handed down a death sentence. Then his party won the election and a decision was taken to allow that individual to conduct his parliamentary duties.

But the winds of change seem to be blowing over Lanka. Just weeks ago two sons of a very powerful ex-president of this country were indicted with corruption charges. Investigations have been re-opened into the killing of well-known Rugby player Wasim Thajudeen and the Easter Sunday bombings where at least 250 persons were killed. Crimes of corruption by powerful parliamentarians too are being pursued.

The new regime recently made public the extravagant sums of money used by past presidents during their travels overseas. Our ‘ever popular president’ who wished to extend his term in office but was thrown out by popular vote, spent Rs. 3,572 million in public funds for foreign travel between 2010 and 2014. The President of the Yahapalana regime spent Rs. 384 million during his term during 2015 - 2019, while the president who abandoned his country used Rs. 126 million during his short two year stint in office.

Our non-elected president who took over in 2023 spent a lavish Rs 543 million on foreign visits for his little over year in office during 2023 - 2024.

In addition, the government revealed the quantum of compensation paid to friends, relatives and soothsayers of past presidents whose houses came under attack during the ‘Aragalaya’.

With regards to the Easter Sunday carnage, the Attorney General informed the Supreme Court a sum of ‘Rs. 245 million from funds obtained as per Court’s verdict delivered by a 7-bench led by the Chief Justice had been paid to the victims’. 

This compensation would amount to a little more or less than a million rupees per victim who died or were injured in the attacks. Compare this to a revelation made by the Chief Government Whip on Thursday. According to Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, a whopping sum of rupees twenty eight million was paid to an ex-president’s astrologer who’s Devale (place of worship) was destroyed during the’Aragalaya’. 

Slowly but surely the new government is beginning to fulfil some of its pre-election promises regarding bringing to book those who robbed the country.

Through its 2025 - 2026 budget, government has also promised a bag full of nutritious food to lower income groups to ease the weight the IMF agreement has unfairly placed on their shoulders. 

Government has also promised to crack down hard on groups or persons who attempt to disrupt communal harmony in the country. In fact President Dissanayake has reiterated this position on several occasions. But it seems rabble rousers are out to test the President’s will.

Earlier this month the leader of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) Gnanasara Thero, who is widely accused of inciting inter-communal violence and was sentenced to nine months in prison for insulting Islam and inciting religious hatred was released on bail.  

Already he has begun setting the stage for another round of rabble rousing. At a media briefing, he said he had informed Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith about the Easter Sunday attacks well in advance of the attack. According to him it fell on deaf ears. 

The Cardinal’s spokesperson said that Gnanasara Thero’s claims were false and dismissed the claims. He added, such baseless claims could exacerbate racial and religious extremism, leading to unnecessary tension and insecurity in the country.

If our country is to ever develop to its full potential, communalists and rabble rousers must be stopped in their tracks. The law needs to be strictly enforced.  Will our new President live up to his promise of taking down preachers of hate speech? Only time will tell.