Mysterious culture of shotgun and summary justice

by Sarath WIJESINGHE

Citizens run to peace officers and the judiciary for Justice and fair play as the last resort to resolve disputes and for ensuring security of life, property, the members of the family and the future. When they find the institutions are either inefficient, incapable or corrupt the resulting position is disastrous.

This environment is an ideal breeding ground for a Mafia to thrive and to spread as a cancer. President Rajapaksa has successfully spearheaded the victory over terrorism with the strategy and leadership of the Defence Secretary who now has turned on the Underworld and Mafia in full swing for complete eradication of the cancerous underworld engulfed in the fabric of the society causing insecurity and fear to the citizen.

The gory pattern of violence topped by gangster killings by unknown/unidentified parties, group killings summery justice on the spot by the villagers and the victims on the roadside are dangerously rampant and chilling.

Few recent cases worth mentioning on this new but dangerous pattern of events. A suspect involved in the rape of a 6 year old girl was shot dead. A suspect of the Varsha Girl in Trincomalee was found dead. Kudu Manju was found dead in Talangama. The prime suspect of the triple murder of Horana was found dead in a rubber estate. Underworld characters Nisthar and Imtiyaz were found dead.

The prime suspect in the assassination of the former Chairman of the Southern Development was found dead in a ditch. Life has become so cheap as contract killings are common and are used to take revenge from the enemy or somebody you do not know for some reason.

Contract killers are cheap and easily available due to their addiction to drugs, crimes and want of cash in this open economy engulfed in fierce competition where social values have been suppressed by the modern "Rap Culture" which is ruining the youth.

There were plenty of more frightening and worrying incidents and we hope and wish there will be a control of the dangerous turn of events based on the timely actions and steps taken by the newly appointed Chief Justice giving confidence to the citizen on the Judiciary.

Responsibility is mainly on the police in combating this menace for which the public support, the strong backing of the civil society and the media are essential. Reporting of crime and sensational matters which affects the phychology of the young generation should be thought of in the wider context.

Reporting in certain Sinhala newspapers of killings, rape and crimes which attracts wide publicity is made "juicy" due to fierce competition among the publications.

Press Council

The Ministry of Information, the Media organisations and the Consumer Affairs Authority should take serious note of this aspect when reporting crime and other sensational news items, especially rape, murder, and crimes of unusual nature.

Inspector General of Police appears to be making genuine efforts to combat this main threat to the Nation.

But it is time for him to adopt a more innovative and effective mechanism instead of the outdated and traditional methods.It is true Justice Delayed is Justice Denied. What if there is no Justice at all due to the inefficiency of the institutions and no confidence in the judicial system. The new Chief Justice is working round the clock on this area and what is now required is the assistance of the Ministry of Justice and the Bar Association to the new Chief Justice to gain lost confidence and to achieve the end results.

Prison

The prison which is the most corrupt and breeding ground of the criminals comes under the Ministry of Justice and it is the responsibility of the Minister of Justice to give top priority to clean and revamp the institution as the "Lords of Crime" too operate their criminal activities from within the four walls of the prisons.

Criminals and gangsters could still nurture the system and it is the reality that they are shielded and protected by rich and powerful underworld masters and politicians. The book on unfinished struggle speaks of underworld connections to certain the judges and gross misuse of power. It is time the Ministry of Justice, Bar Association, the Civil Society, and the Judiciary work together with the other institutions to eradicate this menace threatening the peace and peaceful living of the citizen.

President Rajapaksa who is managing most of the matters single handed with his charm and far-sighted strategies with available limited resources as he is compelled to manage affairs with the network available at the time the Trusteeship was entrusted by the "Peoples" of the Nation. Now things have changed and there are new challenges that have emerged locally and internationally.

All this time the finger was aimed at the Security Forces and 'the White Van' and 'White Van culture' for abductions, disappearances and the Shot Gun Culture.

Today it has come to light that it is the Crime Lords generally backed by vociferous politicians who are the culprits. It is difficult to run the "Mafia, Drug, and Crime Kingdom" without direct and indirect support of the politicos.

This is where the efficiency and honesty of the police and the Security Forces play a major role in ensuring complete Justice, a concept of moral rightness on ethics, reasonability, natural law, fairness, religion and equality. Justice is associated with fairness.

This is applicable to the suspect and the prisoner as well as the litigant. Citizens must have the confidence of justice for them to be civic conscious.

The executive and the Judicatory cannot expect the citizen to be civic conscious without providing him the basic justice and fair play in social fabric which is complicated. It is the duty of the State to provide Due Process and Rule of Law to citizens which are the main pillars of the 'House' of Peace and Prosperity.

The writer is a Solicitor and Former Chairman of the Consumer Affairs Authority and Secretary, Bar Association of Sri Lanka.