Editorial - At last a political goon is brought to his knees

The shocking news of the ruling UPFA’s North-Western Provincial Council member forcing a female teacher to kneel before him and her students has set off crisis in the education sector, and is being seen as another sign that the rule of law is breaking down totally.




According to reports, PC member Ananda Sarath Kumara had allegedly stormed into the Navodhya Maha Vidyalaya at Nawagaththegama and forced the female teacher to kneel after abusing her in filthy language. This had been done because the teacher, who is in charge of discipline, had admonished the PC member’s daughter and other girls for wearing short skirts to the school.
The teacher had said she was afraid at first to make a complaint, but school teachers and students had told her to take action. So she made a complaint and the PC member has been remanded. Meanwhile, some political goons on motorcycles were alleged to have roared around her house at midnight on Friday.

" With the scrapping of the 17th Amendment and the Independent Police Commission, we have seen a politicisation of the Police "

Teachers’ unions have threatened to take action if political VIPs interfere to stop or influence the legal process against Mr. Kumara while the strongest reaction came from former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka, now the leader of the Democratic Party. He said at a meeting on Sunday that if he had the power he would break the legs of the PC member.

To diffuse the crisis, the SLFP yesterday decided to sack the councillor from the party. He was told to resign from the council and he did so while the party decided he would not be allowed to contest any election again. We commend the president and the party high command for this tough action, and we hope that similar action will be taken not only in any such cases that will happen in the future, but also in many that happened in the past and were covered up.
The appalling behaviour of the PC member in Anamaduwa is one of a series of incidents where the ruling party’s local council politicians are alleged to have violated the law with impunity, while the police were either afraid or unwilling to take action. For instance the Akuressa, Pradeshiya Sabha’s Deputy Chairman Munidasa Gamage had allegedly blocked a main road for three days so that he could have a day-and-night drunken bash for his daughter’s wedding. Schoolchildren and other people in this area were forced to stay at home because there was no transport for three days, and two journalists who tried to take pictures of this devilry were allegedly assaulted. The Akuressa Police are saying the PS Deputy Chairman had got permission for this wedding bash. If so, then action should also be taken against those who gave him permission to block a main road for three days.

With the scrapping of the 17th Amendment and the Independent Police Commission, we have seen a politicisation of the Police, a criminalisation of politics and a politicisation of crime. Some ruling party local council  politicians are known to be leaders of criminal gangs selling heroin and indulging in other vices. The UPFA local council members probably think they could and should do what their leaders are doing on a bigger and more blatant scale.
All this has led to a breakdown in law and order, serious damage to the Independent Judiciary and a plunder of public resources through corruption on an unprecedented scale. The Rajapaksa regime, while saying little and doing less about these political crimes and terror, appears to be wallowing in the glory given to it by stooges and sycophants. A minister said last Sunday on a TVshow - which is widely seen as a “pandan party" that the President should be crowned as the father of the nation.