By Kassapa
One of the key pledges of the Jathika Jana Balavegaya (JJB) government, better known by its English acronym NPP, was to restore law and order in the country, undertaking that no one would be above the law. One year into its term, have they kept that promise? Most of the time they have or they have tried to but they have also spectacularly shot themselves in the foot in doing so.
Consider the events of last week. Hot on the heels of the deportation of Manudinu Padmasiri Perera, widely known as ‘Kehelbaddara Padmey’ and four others from Indonesia, authorities managed to nab Ishara Sewwandi who was wanted for allegedly co-ordinating the murder of Sanjeewa Kumara Samararathne, also known as Ganemulla Sanjeewa in February this year in a movie-style shooting in a packed courthouse in Hulftsdorp. She was detained in Nepal and deported to Colombo with several others, also wanted for alleged organised criminal activity.
The arrests in Indonesia and Nepal were no co-incidence. It was information gleaned from the suspects detained in Indonesia that led to investigators locating the whereabout of Sewwandi, who was the most wanted woman in the country for nearly eight months. That this was possible was due firstly to the efficiency and professionalism of the Police. Secondly, it was a clear indication that they were allowed to do their job without political interference, for which credit should go to the government.
However, after Sewwandi was brought back to the country, she was paraded before the cameras as she disembarked from the airport. Then, her photographs at various stages of the journey from Kathmandu to Colombo where she is seen smiling playfully at the cameras were circulated. Worse still, extracts of the dialogue she is supposed to have had with detectives who detained her- some of them straight out of a cheesy work of fiction- began appearing in the media. All this could only have happened with the co-operation of at least a section of the Police.
Apart from diminishing the importance of the arrest and the subsequent investigation, it also raises significant legal issues. Sewwandi was subsequently taken to locations which she is alleged to have frequented while she was on the run for eight months wrapped in a space suit type dress, so she could not be recognised. That is ostensibly to protect her identity for the purpose of a future identification parade. If Police are resorting to this now, why on earth did they parade her before the cameras when she was brought back to the country?
Next came the comments of outspoken NPP Parliamentarian Lakmali Hemachandra who also happens to be an Attorney-at-Law. Hemachandra was asked at a public event about a court order to evict a group of residents at Narahenpita. “Didn’t I tell you earlier not to implement the court order?”, she asks incredulously. Realising the faux pax, Deputy Minister Sunil Watagala who was seated beside her immediately goes into damage control mode saying, an alternative solution needs to be found “with all due respect to the court decision”.
It is not only what Hemchandra says but the tone, the arrogant manner and the body language with which she says it that is wrong. It conveys the message, “It doesn’t matter what the court decides, just do what I say” and she is a lawyer, to boot! Since the incident, it has been noted that, in the case in question, several individuals including a Buddhist monk and a school principal have been detained for aiding and abetting in ignoring the court order. Should Hemachandra be taken to task on this issue for contempt of court, she will have a tough time defending herself.
Last but certainly not least, this week saw the brazen murder of Weligama Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Lasantha Wickramasekara of the Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) while he was seated in his office. The Weligama Pradeshiya Sabha had been in the news earlier, because the SJB had managed to gain control of it, although the NPP was the single largest party in the council. Also, Wickramasekara had a chequered history, being known as ‘Midigama Lasa’, with alleged links to the underworld and being charged with several offences. Obviously, that in no way justifies his murder.
When SJB and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa raised this issue in Parliament shortly after the incident, Minister Ananda Wijepala’s response was shocking. He told Parliament that Wickramasekara’s killing was the result of gang warfare and that Wickramasekara had allegedly been involved in underworld activities and drug trafficking and was facing a number of court cases. Wickramasekara was a criminal first and an elected public representative next, Wijepala said.
How Wijepala solved the mystery of Wickramasekara’s murder within a matter of hours was not explained. In fact, he didn’t provide any details about that. We can safely conclude that he hasn’t. What he was implying was that since Wickramasekara had alleged underworld links, his murder didn’t seem to matter.
Even if one were to argue hypothetically that Wickramsekara’s killing was due to gang warfare in the underworld, that shouldn’t be something Wijepala, as Minister of Public Security, should be proud of because he is in effect admitting that neither he nor his government has any control over gangland killings. One cannot however expect any better from Wijepala who, when questioned in Parliament after the killing of Ganemulla Sanjeewa famously said that these incidents were “isolated incidents” and not a threat to national security.
So, overall, has law and order improved under the NPP? It must be acknowledged that it has. There is a growing sense that the Police is acting independently and impartially. So is the Commission Investigating Allegations of Bribery or Corruption. We haven’t heard of NPP politicians calling up Police officers to stifle investigations or release suspects. Moreover, the crackdown on organised crime continues, uncovering a comprehensive network and links to politicians of the previous regime.
On the flip side however, both the Police themselves and some NPP politicians remind us of the pithy Sinhala saying about producing seven pots of curd, only to add a little bit of cow dung into it. In the long run, that may well be their undoing.
