Underworld characters seem to rule the roost

Our present government leaders are not tainted with the same corrupt brush. The country expects they will crack down not only on corrupt villains and drug lords

For instance after a US underworld figure Sam Giancana, was subpoenaed to appear before the ‘Church Committee on Assassinations in 1975’, Giancana was found murdered at home; killed with a wound at the back of his head, and five bullet holes around his mouth. A message, and warning to others not to talk.

So closely connected was Giancana to US political circles, according to some sources he and the Mafia were involved in helping elect one candidate contesting the US presidential election in the 1960s.

In our country, since January of this year nineteen (19) shooting incidents were reported between January and 05 March. Twelve of these according to police media spokesman, were linked to organised criminal gangs. Then we had the outrageous killing of an underworld leader -Ganemulla Sanjeewa- in the Well of Court itself.

The killing while Court was in session, was a message to us citizens, that drug lords and gangsters -not the forces of law and order were beginning to take control. Our new government looks on helplessly, as underworld gangs wage war on each other for a bigger slice of the narcotics trade and distribution in our country.

Our President -in office for scarcely five months- promised to bring the criminals to heel within a short space of time. Unfortunately he has not been able to fulfill this pledge and people are left feeling he is not equal to the task.

Making our president feel more sheepish, has been the fact that all his intelligence services, his security services and diverse police departments have not been able to discover the whereabouts of former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennekoon who is evading arrest. 

The Additional Solicitor General has accused the former IGP of operating a paramilitary unit and aiding and abetting in a killing. Making a bad situation worse, is the fact that our security forces have as yet not been able to trace the whereabouts of the female partner of the suspect involved in the court-room killing.

Not surprisingly, speculation that organised crimes are being linked to law enforcement agencies with alleged political support is gaining traction among ordinary people in the country. The charge being raised is, that these criminal elements could not acquire weapons and operate with impunity unless they have political backing as well. .

A former Minister in late president J.R Jayawardene’s government in a recent interview with this paper, admitted that open economic policies opened the door to corruption. That period was also famous for political patronage paid to underworld characters. 

The then President’s freeing a convicted rapist and subsequently bestowing on him the title of Justice of Peace is one such case in point. Since then all governments have made use of criminal elements and provided them with a sense of impunity. It is not surprising that today our police force and intelligence services are unable to even detect the whereabouts of a person as well-known as the ex-IGP.

Our present government leaders are not tainted with the same corrupt brush. The country expects they will crack down not only on corrupt villains and drug lords. We as a country have gone through three periods where ordinary citizens were made to disappear from the streets. Many young persons irrespective of whether they were Sinhalese or Tamil faced torture and cruel death.

The Mother’s of the Disappeared have been campaigning over the years for justice for their children. The numbers of the disappeared, whether they be at the hands of the state or armed militants run into several thousands. Stories abound of many who surrendered themselves going missing. They have never been heard of since. 

Today corrupt persons still roam freely. Underworld characters seem to rule the roost. It is up to our new and still uncorrupted rulers to ensure that the people who voted them into power did not cast their vote in vain.