අල්ලස් කොමිසමේ හුස්ම හිරවීම
The President and two of the Bribery Commission’s members oppose Justice Minister W.J.M. Lokubandara’s proposals to change the commission’s membership. The editorial argues that filling independent commissions with retired judges and lawyers has failed and slights other professions, that both government and opposition want to control the commissions, and that the Constitutional Council has not appointed new members as the 17th Amendment requires. Commissioners need courage as well as learning, like Neville Samarakoon.
අල්ලස් හෝ දූෂණ චෝදනා විමර්ශන කොමිෂන් සභාවේ සභාපතිගේ ලිපිය සහ කර්තෘ සටහන
Replying to Ravaya’s article of 7 September 2003, Chairman S. Ananda Coomaraswamy rejects the charge of partisanship, saying files on several senior ministers of the current government were also closed for lack of evidence, that the Mangala Samaraweera decision was unanimous and followed a lengthy inquiry, and that the Supreme Court can review it. The editor’s note argues that ministers may not draw extra funds such as a Telecom credit card beyond legal allowances, and that review is meaningless without an independent Supreme Court.
ජාතික දේශපාලනයේ දි පාතාල ලෝකයට ලැබී තිබෙන වැදගත්කම
Following underworld figure ‘Bada Mahinda’ Godage’s confession to the CID, Ivan describes how Beddagane Sanjeewa, a presidential security officer blamed for Rohana Kumara’s murder, was killed on the orders of Dhammika Amarasinghe, with Tilanga Sumathipala also accused. Drawing on personal encounters, he outlines a repression apparatus of security officers and contract killers behind attacks on Lasantha Wickrematunga, Kumar Ponnambalam, Anoja Weerasinghe and others, and blames politicians and the media for letting Sri Lanka become ruled by hired killers.
ස්වාධීන කොමිසන් ක්‍රමය ගැන නැවත සලකා බැලිය යුතු ය
With the Police Commission collapsing after a member resigned in protest at another’s conduct, the editorial argues that independent commissions succeed only if their members have the courage to resist political pressure, a quality the Constitutional Council ignored in favour of education and experience. It notes that the Elections Commission remains unappointed because of the President’s objection to one nominee, that the Bribery and Judicial Service Commissions have not been reconstituted, and that the UNP has forgotten its promise to fix the 17th Amendment.
ආර්ථිකය, සාමය හා දේශපාලනය
The piece notes a buoyant economy under the ceasefire, with the share index above its 1994 peak, rising investment, exports and tourism, and a peace process continuing without major bloodshed. Politics, however, is stagnant: the independent commissions are collapsing and the committee on the judiciary has not met. It warns that Ranil Wickremesinghe is following his uncle J.R. Jayewardene’s path and Chandrika Kumaratunga her mother’s, risking a fractured SLFP, authoritarian rule and gains for the JVP. A final section discusses the health workers’ strike.
අපරාධකරුවන් රජ කරන රටක්
The editorial blames the collapse of law-enforcement institutions for the rise of violent crime, noting that suspects flee abroad on bail, that people linked to the killing of Satana editor Rohana Kumara and to Kumar Ponnambalam’s murder have fled or been mysteriously shot, and that Dhammika Amarasinghe, suspected of some 50 killings, enjoys freedom and a mobile phone in remand. It argues that human rights laws were introduced without modern investigative methods, leaving police lax, and calls on the Interior Minister to act.
තක්කඩින් රකින පත්තර සදාචාරය හා මහා භාරකාරයා
Replying to a Divaina article that portrayed Public Trustee Sarath Seneviratne as a pious Buddhist targeted by a Christian conspiracy, the piece insists Ravaya is non-religious and recalls how Divaina and other media shielded Lenin Ratnayake and Wack Silva. It traces Seneviratne’s career from a judicial inquiry at Gampaha to the Bribery Commission and the Public Trustee’s office, and lists alleged abuses: four official vehicles with extravagant repair bills, payments to his daughters’ school, and a Rs. 1.9 million commission on trust funds.
අල්ලස් දූෂණ, දේශපාලනය හා යුක්තිය පසිඳලීම
At a Transparency International seminar Ivan asked Bribery Commission chairman S. Ananda Coomaraswamy why the commission had cleared Mangala Samaraweera over a Rs. 500,000 credit card from a state body. He contrasts the commission with former commissioner Neelum Gamage, who resisted pressure from President Wijetunga over Wack Silva, and argues that politicians enriched by corruption will never accept an independent commission. A second section criticises the legal community’s belated alarm at Mark Fernando’s early retirement and describes the decay of the judiciary under Sarath N. Silva.
Bribery, Corruption and Politics
In this article, Victor Ivan highlights the systemic political corruption in Sri Lanka and the ineffectiveness of the Commission of Inquiry into Bribery or Corruption. Recounting an exchange at a Transparency International seminar, Ivan criticizes the Commission’s Chairman for protecting a former minister accused of misusing state funds via a credit card, arguing that the Commission acts as a shield for corrupt politicians rather than a deterrent. The author contends that bribery and corruption have become the very foundation of Sri Lankan politics and political funding. Because both major political parties depend on illegal wealth generation and crony capitalism for their survival, neither President Chandrika Kumaratunga nor Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe genuinely wants an independent Bribery Commission, as true accountability would result in many politicians facing imprisonment.
යුක්තිය පසිඳලන ආයතන ක්‍රමයේ බිඳවැටීම
Ivan likens the judiciary to a cancer patient: the President planted the disease by appointing a corrupt Chief Justice and the present government has let it spread. Further sections mark Mark Fernando’s early retirement and his rulings on presidential immunity, a petition by 22 professionals asking the Tyronne Fernando select committee to hear the charges against Sarath N. Silva, rising Muslim unrest in the East and the demand for Muslim police recruits, and a presidential commission on crime that ignores presidents’ own use of criminals.