Sunday Times 2
Law and disorder in Sri Lanka
The bulk of the Sri Lankan people, by which I mean those we refer to as the common man/woman, in other words, the non or under-privileged majority, are increasingly worried that the quality of the stewardship granted temporally by them to the present regime, from their viewpoint, has been steadily deteriorating. This, is also the considered opinion of this advanced octogenarian; a retired public servant who has no political axe to grind, is a non-party man, with no pro-LTTE leanings and is deeply interested in his country; a patriot whose prime loyalty is to the land and its sovereign people and not to any particular governing party whatever its hue.
Even the most ardent supporter of the present regime will not have the nerve to deny that in recent times increasing lawlessness and disorder have been spreading rapidly and running unhindered, throughout our land. Corruption in high places is rampant, in spite of repeated highly critical and condemnatory reports by supposedly responsible state bodies such as the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Auditor General’s Department — institutions which have been reduced to mere emasculated regulatory bodies.
The incidence of serious crime — large scale theft, sometimes in broad daylight and in the close vicinity of a police station; abductions and assault; attacks on non-Buddhist worshippers and places of worship; intimidation of witnesses to criminal acts; extortion and forcible acquisition of other peoples’ lands; rape, sometimes gang rape; and even murder — are on the increase.
One of the worst aspects of this grave lawlessness is that in many instances the lawbreakers are allowed to go ahead unheeded, by sycophantic, corrupt and gutless police officers, under the influence of and in the grip of powerful ruling party politicians. Those conscientious, bold and honest officers who attempt to apprehend offenders, in the name of law and order and to protect the under-privileged victims of such unlawful acts, find themselves transferred overnight, with the Police Chief having the gall to actually maintain that these were routine transfers!
I wish to comment on three recent incidents which make people repeatedly ask questions regarding the health of the nation. Unfortunately, the Government without looking seriously and without bias and prejudice into these reported matters, often daubs those alert media watch-dogs, who are only performing their required public duty of keeping the people informed of important matters of public interest, as traitors and even LTTE agents or supporters; thus whipping up emotional public reactions against them. The three incidents are: The Grandpass issue, the terror in Deraniyagala and the Weliweriya shooting.
Grandpass
The Daily Mirror of Wednesday August 14 carried a prominent article written by a powerful and often spot-lighted Minister Champika Ranawaka, entitled “The Truth about Grandpass”. The Minister went into the buildup to the problem and the final solution in great detail; but failed to speak about the actual problem that required a solution. This problem, in these days of increasing lawlessness, is what most concerns the average citizen. Namely, the unsavoury problem of the violent attack on non-Buddhist worshippers and places of worship.
Credible reports from both Sinhalese and Muslims of the area indicate that:
1. There had been a planned, premeditated attack by an unruly Sinhala mob on Muslim worshippers and places of worship.
2. The mob, gathered in the precincts of a temple, were encouraged and urged on by some misguided monks who by doing so ripped to shreds the venerated yellow robe, trod upon the words of the Buddha, an internationally acclaimed man of peace, tolerance and goodwill, and brought into disrepute the religion and culture of Buddhism prevalent in Sri Lanka; a culture which is the one undisputed thing we can be justifiably proud of claiming to nurture.
3. The attack was accompanied by the pealing of temple bells.
4. Police on duty to protect worshippers and places of worship looked on nonchalantly, if not gleefully; some even encouraging the mob.
5. When, after sometime, a group of Muslims gathered and faced the mob to protect their places of worship and themselves, the mob retreated under police protection. An inactive police force was suddenly galvanised into action!
6. Calm and order were restored only after the STF arrived on the scene. Today, the latter are the only section of the forces of law and order which still retain the confidence of the people.
Unfortunately, from the point of view of the Government’s clear responsibility to ensure that every citizen has the constitutionally guaranteed right to practice his own religion without hindrance, this Minister, without roundly condemning the unlawful and violent behavior of the mob, actually condoned this violence on the grounds that anti-Muslim demonstrations and violence occurred in all parts of the world and were much worse in certain developed countries. The Minister, without admitting that there was and is anti-Muslim violence here, said in defence of Sri Lanka, that it is worse elsewhere; clearly confirming that such violence did occur and was bad, here!
The problem about the Minister’s story, ‘The Truth about Grandpass’ is that in keeping with accepted best legal practice, particularly when addressing the Court of the People, he has not revealed ‘the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth’. The people expect a better performance from a responsible Minister.
Deraniyagala
Here, an unbridled reign of terror, unleashed by gangs led by two war lords, petty kings, enjoying the strong patronage and protection of powerful and unscrupulous government politicians and with the connivance and complicity of self-seeking police officers, held the villagers in the firm, continuous grip of speechless terror.
The villagers, particularly in two villages, dared not complain of the intimidation, threats, abductions, assaults, rapes and even murder that occurred in their villages, out of fear of reprisals from the perpetrators who received information, from collaborating police officers, regarding the complaints and identifying the complainants. In most instances, complaints from the victims were not entertained and the victims threatened by the police; so-called guardians of the law.
The affected, hapless villagers complained that this terror unleashed by Sinhala people on other Sinhala people matched, if not exceeded, the brutality of the LTTE. The people were stunned and perturbed that while their government from which they expected so much, and which was prepared to fight to a finish those Tamil terrorists — a minority of young men and women who challenged the authority of the state — here, when Sinhala terrorists took the law into their own hands, thereby openly challenging the authority of the State, this same government looked on apparently helplessly. The people asked (in whispers, for obvious reasons) why? Is it because this all-powerful Government is unable to deal with these Sinhala terrorists? Is it afraid of them? Is it indebted to them in some inexplicable manner? Surely, the people have every right to ask.
Weliweriya
While in Deraniyagala, private, undisciplined goon squads ran amok, here in Weliweriya, according to numerous highly credible reports, the perpetrators of terror were supposedly combat trained, disciplined officers of the official state armed services. These army officers shot, to kill, on non-combatants engaged in a peaceful protest: thus treating with the utmost contempt the constitutionally guaranteed right of every citizen to engage in peaceful protest.
The rulers, once trusted without reservation and enjoying a level of popular support never received by any of its predecessors, living in cloud-cuckoo land and assuming that they still enjoy that level of public support they once did, continue to do nothing or little to combat this increasing and widespread lawlessness; a lawlessness now even infecting the supposedly disciplined armed services.
Why, the common people who suffer the most in such a climate, ask, is this government from which we expected so much so indifferent to our troubles and the danger to the nation of this increasing lawlessness and disorder? Why do we have to be victims of injustice by perpetrators of grave crimes who are allowed to roam the land and act with almost diplomatic immunity? Why this indifference to lawlessness by this President and the Government which we with great expectations elected to office? Besides, this same Government spends so much time, energy and money, in beautifying Colombo, encouraging the building of luxury hotels on prime land, providing pleasure parks etc, to attract foreign tourists to make Sri Lanka a tourist paradise.
Everyone appreciates a beautiful Colombo, in fact all cities in Sri Lanka should, if possible, be made beautiful. But surely, the Government’s first priority should be to ensure that we, the non-privileged and under-privileged ordinary folk, do not have to live in the hell this Paradise Isle is being turned into?
Does it not occur to this all powerful President that this money could be spent on more worthwhile causes, making life less difficult for the non and under privileged, by providing them and their children with adequate nutritious, though inexpensive, foods, a sound education, good inexpensive health care? Why not spend that money, particularly when many economists say the Government is cash-strapped, on improving schools and hospitals throughout the land?
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