The drama regarding the prosecution of suspects over the murder of former Sunday Leader editor Lasantha Wickrematunge hit the headlines last week when Attorney General (AG) Parinda Ranasinghe (Jnr.) sent a letter to the Criminal Investigations Department saying the AG had no intention of pursuing further legal action against the three accused.
The letter was leaked to the media and all hell broke loose. How could the horrific killing of a public personality who was murdered in broad daylight in a high security zone by striking a sharp object through his face go unpunished? And that too under a government which campaigned on a pledge to investigate the killing?
The government’s initial response didn’t help. At least on social media several Jathika Jana Balavegaya (JJB) parliamentarians appeared to criticise those who found the AG’s decision dubious, even when the latter were prominent personalities who also endorsed the JJB coming to power. Cabinet Spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa was again found wanting: he merely offered the standard ‘the matter will be studied in detail’ response at the Cabinet media briefing.
The protest organised by journalists at the AG’s Department added insult to injury. Lal Wickrematunge, Lasantha’s brother, who met a senior official of the Department was told bluntly that the Department was not bound to answer to individuals and that he could go to courts to seek redress, if he wished. After all this, the general belief was that the government was either powerless to act or didn’t want to antagonise the AG.
That was not the case, however. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake was reportedly unhappy and summoned the AG as well as Police investigators for a discussion. That lasted over two hours where the AG reportedly stated that there was no evidence to secure a successful prosecution. Dissanayake was apparently not agreeable to this suggestion.
The AG’s stance merits further scrutiny. There were of course those who began accusing AG Ranasinghe of being ‘Ranil’s man’ because he was appointed by Ranil Wickremesinghe claiming he was carrying out the former President’s agenda. It must be said that Ranasinghe has a reputation of being apolitical in a largely politicised Department which is a very difficult thing to do. Therefore, he deserves the benefit of doubt.
Ranasinghe’s opinion maybe a measured legal opinion considering all the facts and facets of the case but if it is so, it totally discards the public impact such a decision will have in eroding faith in the judicial system, especially under a new government which has promised to restore that faith and credibility.
The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) did not help matters. They rushed in, writing a letter to Dissanayake to remind the President that “decisions of the Attorney General in criminal matters should not be reviewed by the political authorities” and asking Dissanayake to “to ensure that there is no unwarranted interference with the exercise of the powers of the Attorney General”. In effect, the BASL was telling Dissanayake to mind his own business.
This would have been appropriate had the BASL shouted from the rooftops when the AG’s Department cherry-picked prosecutions and acquittals during the Rajapaksa eras of Mahinda and Gotabaya. They didn’t. Their silence then is as deafening as the noise they make now.
Both Ranasinghe and the BASL appear to have forgotten- or disregarded- the fact that one of the main mandates of this government is to restore credibility of the political system in the country and one of the ways to do so is to hold those who are corrupt and criminal in past regimes accountable for their actions.
The government itself had mentioned a few emblematic cases and the Wickrematunge assassination is high on that list. By resisting the President’s intervention, both Ranasinghe and the BASL, whatever their motives, were in effect trying to stifle the mandate of the government. That was not a price the government was willing to pay- and rightly so.
Also, investigators who were aware of details of the Wickrematunge assassination were dumbfounded by the AG’s stance. There were many other options available to the AG. He could have asked the Police to furnish further evidence. Moreover, there was a mountain of circumstantial evidence that pointed towards some involvement of the suspects in Wickrematunge’s killing. In such a scenario, and in such a sensitive case, to play judge and jury and decide not to prosecute is at best foolhardy, at worst it could be diabolical.
The first hint of how the government would respond to the emerging crisis came when Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya responded to a question raised by Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leader Rauff Hakeem in Parliament. Everything possible will be done to ensure Wickrematunge’s killers will be brought to justice, she said, adding that fresh indictments could be served if needed. Amarasuriya was sensitive to refer to the letter written to her by Ahimsa, Lasantha Wickrematunge’s daughter who had called for Ranasinghe to be impeached.
It has since been announced that the government will expedite the setting up of an Independent Prosecutor’s Office to handle cases of this nature. This was in any event in the JJB’s election manifesto as it was noted that, at times, the AG’s office was faced with a conflict of interest when a public servant was charged with an offence in his official capacity. However, this announcement, just days after Dissanayake met the AG, meant that plans were being expedited to facilitate Wickrematunge’s case.
The events last week have left the reputation of Ranasinghe and the AG’s office in tatters with some even accusing the Department of still being in cahoots with the Rajapaksas. Its future actions, especially with prosecutions against Namal and Yoshitha Rajapaksa on the cards, will be put under the microscope and they will have to do a great deal better to restore any degree of credibility.
As for the government, it may have finally controlled the crisis but there is a lesson to be learnt: the JJB may have taken control of the government but they are yet to exert even an iota of authority on the bureaucracy- and that can be fatal if they do not address that soon.
