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| Sunday, 1 February 2004 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Criminalizing law and order by H. L. D. Mahindapala Even a cursory glance at the published pictures of Dhammika Amarasinghe throws the mind back to Raymond Chandler's yankee underworld in which the ideal of the gangsters was to "live fast, die young and leave behind a good looking corpse." The problem with the Sri Lankan crime scene, however, is not so clear-cut as in the yankee gangland. Right now the criminal landscape is full of shadowy figures that it is rather difficult to identify the class from which they come. Conventional wisdom claims that criminals come from the lower classes. Let's take the case of Gonawila Sunil of Batalanda fame. He fits into the theory that crime has its origins in the lower depths of society. But that is a trite observation. The more intriguing aspect is his speedy social mobility that lifted him into the higher echelons of politics. In his day, it was acknowledged in whispers that he was a force to reckon with in the Ministry of Education. He brazenly displayed his power by cocking his legs up on desks of the Ministry. Of course, this must have been done when the Minister was not there. Nevertheless, Gonawila Sunil's rise to influence-peddling at highest political levels is a subject that has never bothered the moralists in the NGOs. Normally, these social scientists (they even have an association!) explore small people to explain the big picture. Exploring, for instance, the rise and fall of Gonawila Sunil, without pulling any punches, of course, can give us an insight not only into the underworld of crime but also the larger but hidden scene of a criminalized political system that is dependent on the underworld to eliminate rivals and silence the opposition. Safety net There is no "safety net" for those facing the wrath of a Gonawila Sunil or Dhammika Amarasinghe. Whatever their origins (Dhammika Amarasinghe's boyhood goal was to be a Catholic priest) they emerge as a powerful force only when they tag on to their patrons in politics or business. All the demarcation lines that are supposed to separate politics, business and crime - the ruling triumvirate - are blurred. All three are intertwined inextricably that it is just impossible to figure where one ends and the other begins. For instance, how does one distinguish between Gonawila Sunil and Narada Dissanayake, Taraka Dissanayake and Kanchana Wijesekera, the sons of Ministers S. B. Dissanayake, Mahinda Wijesekera? The ministerial offspring may not have killed anyone yet, or cocked their legs up in their fathers' ministries. But there can be no doubt in anyone's mind that the crimes of the sons are linked directly to their father's political clout. Why else would Dr. Jayalath Jayawardena's son, who bashed up a Cinnamon Garden's Policeman, brag saying that his father is a Minister! In the latest episode when the Dissanayake and the Wijesekera boys hammered the daylights out of Minister Kabeer Hasim's relatives with chains and baseball bats it established convincingly that there is no class distinction to crimes. It is a clear-cut case of "high class" attacking the "high class". The criminal activities of the "higher class" reached its peak when the Police who went to arrest the sons of Ministers found that they were not at home. Don't the fathers know where their sons are? If they don't what kind of fathers are they? In not presenting their sons to face the laws of the land aren't the fathers, the law-makers of the nation, joining as partners in the crimes of their sons? Is anybody safe from these violent youth let loose by their political fathers? Their violent behaviour is based solely on the knowledge that their father's political pull will pull them out of any crime they commit against anyone who crosses their path. Other fathers also have sons. Why don't they behave like the recidivist progeny of the Ministers? And, mark you, this is not the first time that political sons have committed crimes in their father's names. Their pattern of behaviour indicates clearly that the sons will never learn to behave unless the people decide to throw their fathers out of office. Since the fathers can't discipline their children it is obvious that the time has come for the people to discipline the fathers. A horrible death On top of all this, the ex-minister for Interior Affairs, John Amaratunga, had boasted to a reporter that when he was minister no one was shot in the courts. True! They didn't. And they didn't have to because the political criminals his government is dealing with went beyond killing one man inside a court. They established courts of their own in the north and the east with all the powers given by the UNF government to commit heinous crimes with impunity. Amaratunga washed his hands off saying that the LTTE had not established courts in the north and the east. As a good Christian Amaratunga knows that neither he nor his Church has excused Pontius Pilate for washing his hands after sitting in a court that sentenced innocent and unarmed Jesus to die a horrible death on the Cross. In fact, the church considers Pilate as a partner to the crime. So isn't Amaratunga doing a Pontius Pilate by letting the illegal courts he had helped set up under the UNF regime to abduct children, kill political rivals, violate the Ceasefire Agreement etc? When the courts established under his stewardship endorse or refuse to take note of such horrendous crimes what is the worth of his boast that no one was shot in courts when he was Minister of the Interior? Besides, the Jayawickrama report has passed a damning sentence on Amaratunga and his Prime Minister for being partners in "treacherous" crimes against the nation. As Minister of the Interior what action did he take to protect and prevents the deaths - nearly fifty, according to Indian newspaper reports - of those who were exposed by his actions. Assuming for a moment that there are grades in killing, which is the bigger crime? Is it Dhammika Amarasinghe being shot inside a court room or John Amaratunga exposing the defenders of the nation to the assassins of the LTTE? According to the Hindustan Times, the decision to dismantle the army unit housed in Millennium City was "on the insistence of the LTTE". Isn't this sufficient evidence to grade Dhammika Amarasinghe as an "angel" (without a halo or wings, of course) compared to the betrayal of the nation and the innocent lives sacrificed in attempting in vain to propitiate an insatiable Prabhakaran? By any standards, it is pretty obvious that the criminalization of the political process has reached unprecedented levels under the UNF government. "The number of killings in Sri Lanka increased by more than 100 last year in comparison to the previous year," one newspaper reported recently Why was John Amaratunga wasting his time dressing up as Pontius Pilate when all these killings were going on? The increase in the lawlessness points the finger directly to Amaratunga and his Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe. The Ceasefire Agreement has openly issued a licence (gratis!) to Prabhakaran and anyone else with a penchant for committing crimes to violate the laws of the nation with the blessings of the ruling elite. This process of criminalization was pinpointed by Dr. K. Vigneswaran, former Secretary of the North and East provincial council, when he stated bluntly that the "lawlessness and fascism in the North and the East (is) spilling over to the South," Although direct links between the LTTE and the Colombo underworld, he observes, were unearthed only recently, he maintains that such ties were prevalent. Investigations into a series of hijacking of luxury vehicles as recently as a month ago exposed the links. Who was in charge when this fascist culture of committing crimes with impunity was gathering momentum after the Ceasefire Agreement? Did not Amaratunga and his fellow-ministers stand up in Parliament and proclaim that the LTTEers were law-abiding citizens who had neither violated the CFA nor the laws of land by establishing parallel administrations? If the LTTE can violate the laws, kill political rivals, abduct children, impose kappan (also known as taxes) under the ceasefire agreement signed by the Prime Minster why can't Dhammika Amarasinghe and the sons of the Ministers in the Prime Minister's Cabinet commit similar or lesser crimes in the south? After all, in this day and age of maintaining equality and fundamental rights why shouldn't the southern criminals have the same rights as the northern criminals? International community Lawlessness reached unprecedented levels when Prabhakaran was given the unquestioned freedom to violate vital aspects of the Ceasefire Agreement (95%, according to the SLMM). The Prime Minister did not lift a finger to protect the laws of the land or its security when he had the army, navy and air force under his wing. Considering his dismal record, will law and order be any better if the President hands the Ministry of Defence to him? What is more, the international community - a co-signatory - too took a Nelsonian view of looking at things with only one eye. So when the international community (read the Norwegians) and the government join hands to let Prabhakaran get away "scot free" each time he violates international agreements why can't small fry like the Ministers' sons take the law into their hands? In short, violence in the north and the south is not going to go away in a hurry because those in politics and business believe that crime pays them good dividends. But those who invest in criminals cannot also maintain law and order. A glaring example is that of the UNF investing in the LTTE hoping that it would restore law and order. Result: LTTE has triumphed over law and order. Those who fail to preserve law and order forfeits the democratic mandate to rule. People give their mandate to the state hoping to get security in return. If those who claim to have the mandate cannot guarantee security even to a fellow-minister's relative then what life chances have the average citizen? Against this background, is there any point in handing over the Ministry of Defence to the Prime Minister when he can't even get his ministers' to hand over their sons to the Police? Has he shown any competency to defend the nation against the fascist regime of the north or his wild MPs' crashing into Police Stations and yanking out their "catchers"? When will "Mr. Clean" clean up the blood-stains in his war-torn nation? |
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