Expose The Old Regime To Risk Its

Return by Ranga Kalansuriya

[68,000 of them were recovered. who paid

for them and who ordered them?]-19/01/2015
Our democratic spring could well be short lived
President Maithripala Sirisena has asked exiled journalists to return, promising an end
to attacks on media and the culture of impunity. The new media minister Gayantha
Karunathilaka echoed the same assurance when he assumed duties last week.
As of now, the new President has remained true to his promises; he has shown no
interest in personal aggrandisement and shown a flexibility unseen in his
predecessor- in the national question.
He appointed a civilian governor for the Northern Province; removed restrictions on
travel in the North and East by foreign passport holders, unblocked dissenting
websites and promised a fresh investigation into the assassination of Lasantha
Wickrematunge.
And he has gone an extra mile, shunning a second term and then, most unexpectedly,
telling his supporters and coterie of turncoats to remove cutouts and banners that they
have put up in his honour and to desist from doing that in the future.
That is a remarkable gesture of integrity, which not only his predecessor, Mahinda
Rajapaksa, but his mentor, Chandrika Kumaratunga were not capable of in their time.
President Sirisena could well be an accidental leader, but, he is surely representing
higher political values than most of his counterparts.
The regime of his predecessor thrived in a fear psychosis and conspiracy theories
which provided a justification of its military centric rule in the North and

authoritarianism in the South.

President Sirisena is gradually debunking those fallacies.
Under his presidency, Sri Lanka may be experiencing a democratic spring. But, I have
my fingers crossed: the days of new found optimism could well be short lived;
whatever the democratic reforms undertaken during the first 100 days of Sirisenas
Presidency risks being overturned.
Mahinda Rajapaksa may return with a vengeance. Exiled journalists and dissidents
that the new government is courting back would have to defend themselves from
marauding white vans, hired thugs and military intelligence units.
Tamils and Muslims who voted Sirisena to power in en-masse would pay a price for
their insubordination. Lake House and Rupavahini would resume singing paeans to
the Rajapaksas. Hudson Samarasinha would ruin your morning with his hate filled
slanderous commentary on the State radio.
Rajapaksa can still pose a formidable challenge should he contest (Which he would)
at the General Elections to be announced in three months.
He won the majority of Sinhalese votes on January 8 Presidential election; a feat he
can repeat.
He has handed the chairmanship of the SLFP over to Sirisena, but should Rajapaksa
get elected at the Parliamentary elections (And provided that the SLFP wins the most
number of seats) he would vie for the post of newly empowered Prime Minister and
retake the control of the party and the country.
He tried to make a comeback through a national list seat, but, had to give up on the
legal grounds (As only those who have been on the list can be appointed through the
National List)
The old regime robbed the countrys wealth, turned an entire nation into a familial
fiefdom and its key stakeholders officially sanctioned a series of attacks on dissidents.
Interestingly, in an interview with NDTV, young Namal Rajapaksa has justified the
dynastic rule of his father.
But, the thrust of the problem is that the indoctrination of the public under the old
regime is so intense, that still a sizeable segment of Sinhalese folks consider
Rajapaksa being their saviour.
This servile adulation is not uniquely Sri Lankan. Rajapaksa reminds me of Thaksin
Shinawatra, the former Thai Prime Minister, who nurtured a personality cult among the
countrys rural poor, through the provision of generous government subsidies, while
dismantling democracy in one of the few practising democracies in Asia.

Even after he was forced out in a bloodless military coup, after the rich and the elite
rose up against his regime, Thaskins party continued to win every election held since
then.
(His sister Yingluck, who was the last Prime Minister was also forced to step down last
year, after the Constitutional Court ruled that she had abused power)
The polarisation of the Thai society has now made democracy elusive under multiparty
elections.
The Sri Lankan electorate suffers from the same systemic defects that beset its Thai
counterpart. Rajapaksa would exploit those shortcomings. He and his cronies are
already complaining that Sirisena failed to obtain a majority from the Sinhalese voters.
Equally dangerously, the Rajapaksa regime has built and nurtured a deep State, which
is a combination of servile judiciary, a politicised military, all powerful intelligence
agencies, a coterie of wheeler-dealer media owners and newly rich racketeers, who
made their ill-gotten wealth thanks to the kleptocratic familial system.
When the Chief Justice himself is a member of the old regime, it places the new
administration in a tricky place.
When Chief Justice Mohan Peiris is seen in the Temple Trees in the wee hours of the
election-day, it raises concerns over his integrity, notwithstanding his very appointment
itself which was a mockery on judicial independence.
Now, he has been accused of being part of an attempt to illegally retain power after
Rajapaksa lost election. Only an independent investigation would reveal the truth
about those allegations, which the former President has however denied. Then, there
is the military of which higher echelons have been subjected to intense politicisation.
Former president Rajapaksa purged the military after Sarath Fonsekas electoral
challenge in 2010; two dozens of respected senior officers were sent on compulsory
retirement and the military, specially the senior ranks were subjected to politicisation. It
is interesting that the Army has not made an official comment on the allegations (Now
a complaint on the alleged plot has been lodged with the CID) that the ex-president
sought the military help to disrupt the counting of votes and retain power through extra
constitutional means.
The silence could be proof of the degree of confusion felt by the military top brass,
since the recent political changes.
There are also the Terrorist Investigating Division (TID), State Intelligence Service
(SIS) and separate intelligence arms of tri forces; all have been used to spy on and
terrorise political opponents, journalists and dissidents.
Military intelligence operatives were behind the repeated disruption of media

workshops in recent times.

Also, the cronies of the old regime continue to control the lions share of media in the
country. Those nobodies who became somebodies thanks to wheeler-dealing pose a
grave threat not only to free media, but also to the ambitious democratic project now
being undertaken by the new government.
In addition, there are newly rich businessmen, who made whopping billions of rupees
thanks to their connections with the Rajapaksas.
All those unsavory elements owe their existence to the old regime. They would come
in collision with democratic reforms.
There is only one practical way to meet this particular challenge: Expose the regime in
its gory detail.
The government should investigate white van abductions, killings of journalists,
dissidents, and ordinary Tamils and bring the perpetrators to justice. Under the old
regime, investigations into the disappearance of Prageeth Ekneligoda and the
assassination of Lasantha Wickrematunge were suspended on the orders of the
political leadership.
The former head of Military intelligence corps, who was sent to Eretria as Sri Lankas
counsel general there, was recalled during a military investigation into Lasanthas
killing and twelve soldiers of a special army unit were confined to the barrack before
the orders were issued to suspend the investigation.
Investigations into the disappearance of Ekneligoda were suspended, again on the
instructions from the political higher ups, after the police traced the last caller to
Prageeths cell phone to Batticaloa.
The new government should open fresh investigations and instruct the military top
brass, vast majority of whom have no involvement in those crimes, to cooperate.
Investigations, if conducted independently could well reveal the culpability of some,
who are partners of the current administration.
However, such an exposure and eventual legal action would have a cleansing effect
on the current administration. One should not have misgivings that only the Rajapaksa
brothers wielded monopoly in violence in the past.
Also, equally mind boggling is the extent of the alleged mega corruption and economic
malpractices, ranging from large scale cost inflation of mega infrastructure projects to
manipulation of the Colombo Stock Market.
The government rather than indulging in regular allegations should conduct an
independent investigation into those charges.

Several complaints against the key stakeholders of the old regime have now been
lodged with the Bribery Commission.
However, the present Bribery Commission, staffed with the cronies and stooges of the
old regime, including its chairman Jagath Balapatabendi, who himself is facing a
corruption charge, would not fit for this momentous task. The government would have
to set up a new independent commission and appoint qualified technical staff.
In the contemporary world history, when despots step down, they engage in extensive
bargaining to secure immunity for their past sins. Last week, President Rajapaksa
himself sought that he and his family be protected from investigations.
The new President assured that he would not indulge in a witch hunt, nor would he
interfere with investigating agencies.
However, when the time passes by, enthusiasm would also fade away. It is when those
seedy deals of immunity are entered into.
There again the question is about the political will to investigate those gruesome
economic crimes.
Sirisena has surprised millions of Sri Lankans by displaying a degree of personal
integrity unseen in contemporary Sri Lankan politics.
However, whether the UNP leadership has the same commitment to bring the robber
barons and modern day Ceausescues to justice is open to question. Ranil
Wickremesinge, a clean politician he may be, is a status quo player. He lacks political
will for decisive actions- which saw a previous UNP government being ousted in 2004
by a Constitutional Coup hatched by President Chandrika Kumaratunga.
That is why those of the JVP and JHUs Patali Champika Ranawaka and Ven.
Rathana Thera, whose commitment to good governance is a pleasant contrast to their
regressive standing on the national question, should lead the campaign to bring to
justice the robber barons who robbed billions of public money, earned by our women
who toiled in Arab households under near slave like conditions.
People who admire Rajapaksa for winning the war and putting in place mega
infrastructure projects, also ought to know about the billions of rupees of public funds
siphoned by the regime.
People deserve to know who the real owner(s) of the Dubai Marriott Hotel are. A
determined government can launch an independent international investigation, with
the assistance of international partners to trace billions of rupees taken out of Sri
Lanka and also to recover the nations wealth.
This government has no choice, but to push forward with a genuine independent

investigation into the crimes of the old regime. The exposure of the grime details of the
Rajapaksa regime would be an eye opener for some sections of the public, who are
still blinded by servile loyalty.
Mahinda Rajapaksa thrived in collective ignorance, that begets blind loyalty to the
regime. The new government should shock the public out of their compliancy.
If the government fails to do that, it would be at the expense of our new found
democracy.
Posted by Thavam