The revolution inaugurated on January 8 through the ballot has to continue:

Dismantling the Mafia state in Sri Lanka

by Kumar Rupasinghe

The inauguration of Maithripala Sirisena as the President of Sri Lanka, promising a 100-day program to abolish the Executive Presidential system, and promulgate a Freedom of Information Act among other things, gave rise to expectations that all this will pave the way for a more transparent society where citizens will be protected by the law. Would it be wrong to say that Sri Lanka experienced its mini Arab Spring a few months ago?

Recent revelations have brought to light many manifestations of a Criminal State, following information coming from the officials and public. Pic courtesy: Youtube.com

Large numbers of people rallied, held demonstrations and agitated to overthrow President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who had assumed the status of the uncrowned King of Sri Lanka. Our Arab Spring was successful and the people overthrew the King through the ballot!

However, it is important that we learn the lessons from the experiences of the Arab Spring in the Middle East, where over a short period of time despotic regimes have again gained control of most states. The lesson to be learnt from the failure of the Arab Spring is that the people relaxed, stopped the demonstrations and went home. But, the counter revolution took place which restored the Mafiosi in many countries.

The lesson that follows from this experience is that the revolution which was inaugurated through the ballot has to be continued, and the politically conscious people of this country should be ever vigilant!

Enrich

To achieve this objective, President Maithripala Sirisena must dismantle the Mafia state in Sri Lanka. It is important that we take note that in 1958, the former Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike was assassinated by a bhikkhu at the behest of the local Mafia when the Prime Minister refused to give shipping concessions to a company owned by another bhikkhu!

In Mafia states, government officials enrich themselves and their families and friends while exploiting the money, muscle, political influence, and global connections of criminal syndicates to cement and expand their own power. Indeed, top positions in some of the world's most profitable illicit enterprises are no longer filled only by professional criminals; they now include senior government officials, legislators, spy chiefs, heads of police departments, military officers, and, in some extreme cases, heads of state or their family members.

Money Laundering occurs when proceeds from crime can be easily concealed. Problems arise, however, when the criminal wishes to spend his ill gotten gains without the fear of having to reveal the original source. Thanks to the ingenuity of the Mafia, this problem has been solved through "Money Laundering".I hope that the theoretical basis of a Mafia state will be a useful concept for study and elaboration. What is now required is to dismantle the criminal character of the state in all its manifestations.

Criminal State

My purpose in this essay is to examine the evolution of the state in Sri Lanka as a Criminal State, where over time the state has become a vehicle for plunder and pillage, where it has become a vehicle for money laundering and facilitating narco-trafficking and other insidious crimes.

A good definition of a Criminal State is yet to be found in literature although it is acknowledged that significant numbers of States in the world are Criminal States. I, therefore, will use my own definition. A criminal state is one which manipulates the law of the land for the purpose of plunder and uses criminal behaviour to achieve its objectives.

In previous articles, I have used the concept of a "defective state" to characterize the evolution of the state in Sri Lanka. A defective state evolves with patron - client relationships, where electoral politics enhance and strengthen the patron - client relationship between the ruler and the ruled. Patronage is dispensed through the evolution of state-centric development structure with the state becoming the principled patron of the population.

Through this system, the state sector expands inexorably, where all appointments are through the patronage of the President and the Ministers and MPs. Over time, the entire system is corrupt to the core.

Corruption is all pervasive in Sri Lanka, whether it is within the State system or in business. Transactions, whether it is for providing a job, or a contract for construction, or any other business, require a bribe or a commission. With the transition to a Presidential system not accountable to Parliament, the conditions were set for the evolution of a Criminal State.

Narco-trafficking

With the advent of the war, the LTTE, with its own practice of criminal behaviour, expanded inexorably. The litany of the crimes which were committed from using civilians as hostages and as a human shield, to the use of suicide squads, conscripting children and, developing a massive organization for narco- trafficking to money laundering are, today, the subject of an inquiry by the United Nations Human Rights Council.

In combatting the terror machine of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the State developed its own methods of combatting terrorism, such as extra-judicial killings, and, through the Prevention of Terrorism Act, many arbitrary actions were committed. Recent revelations after the Presidential elections, have brought to light many manifestations of a Criminal State.

Robbery

The Mafia State in Sri Lanka has the following features:-

1. Robbery of State resources: From anecdotal evidence, it is clear that there has been a massive robbery of state resources. They range from the abuse of funds used for election purposes, to the use of state funds for the appropriation of the former ruling party.

2. The narco-trafficking Mafia: It is a well known fact that Sri Lanka is a transit hub for narco- trafficking. A well researched book by Robert Kaplan, called Monsoon, which has a chapter on Sri Lanka, suggests that Sri Lanka has become a central link in a chain of narco-trafficking, starting from Afghanistan, to Pakistan, through India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand to Burma. It is well known that customs officers are powerless when they are ordered to release stocks of heroin from the customs office. It is also well known that the narco Mafiosi were well connected to the previous regime.

3. Money laundering: It is also well known that money laundering is a daily occurrence in the country. It is alleged that Malaysian and Indian black money is transited through the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

4. Money deposits in foreign countries: The current investigation on foreign deposits have unveiled how large sums of ill gotten gains have been transferred illegally. Snippets of information that come to us demonstrate that Seychelles is one of the hubs to which this money initially flows. It is also alleged that money is stored in banks in Uganda and South Africa and other offshore sites in the world. The Government of India took quick action to confiscate Indian money deposited abroad and to bring them back to the country.

5. Land frauds: The scale and extent of land frauds is immense. Citizen's lands and houses have been appropriated by the Mafia and people thrown to the streets. The Mafia has ways and means to change the land titles in the Land Registry, and the citizen has no chance to regain their land. In the North the scale and extent of appropriation of land from citizens is huge. These lands are appropriated for building golf courses, hotels, airports and for the use of the military. Citizens have no means of reclaiming their land or obtaining compensation. A similar situation exists in the South.

Politicians

Dismantling a Criminal State will not be easy when corrupt practices remain a norm in Sri Lanka. It starts with the politicians, who argue that they have to find large sums of money for the elections and as a result have to earn the money for the next elections. Thus the MP uses his powers of patronage for illicit bribes.

This happens from the local government level to the Ministers, Prime Minister and the Presidency. Corruption is all pervasive within the state sector where citizens have to bribe their way to get things done. The Judiciary is also seemingly seriously corrupt at various levels. Even Chief Justices and ordinary Judges are suspected of soliciting bribes for a friendly dispensation. This is also true of the Police force. The Stock Exchange was seized by the Mafia. It would seem that the Mafia has penetrated the entire system.

In dismantling the corrupt system, a systematic analysis of the nature of the Criminal State and its scale and extent will have to be undertaken. When establishing Commissions of inquiry into money laundering, hedge fund frauds, narco-trafficking and other criminal acts, financial experts who have a knowledge of these subjects are required and international assistance will have to be sought. In tracing the bank deposits which are held in off-shore banks, the assistance of the United States and other governments of destination countries, Interpol and computer experts will be needed.

In any case, the citizens of the country should remain vigilant and establish their own watchdog committees to ensure that Justice is seen to be done.