Columns

Aficionados of Groucho Marx, that hilariously witty comedian, might recall that he once threatened to horsewhip somebody- if he had a horse, that is.  President Sirisena is no jester, not even when he was in the court of Medamulana Mahinda. Moreover he is probably not as acquainted with horses as he is with asses having spent most of his life in politics and associated with many.

So when heard he of ga-ga eyed girls throwing themselves at a passing Spanish singer and bespoiling our traditional behavioral norms the presidential guardian of our long established cultural values advocated the use of a primitive instrument of torture against those importers of western imperialistic acculturation, he was not joking.

The sight of a frenzied female in a moment of ecstatic delight hugging the singer on stage causing what somebody once called the anatomical juxtaposition of two orbicularis oris muscles into a state of contraction shocked him to his conservative core.
When a local lassie, in a momentary gesture of cultural enlightenment, sought to imitate those damsels proportioned for abundant lactation depicted for the delectation of King Kasappa shed a western accoutrement even she did not escape condemnation.

But the most severe presidential upbraiding was reserved not at that initial distasteful departure from our cultural values but for the organizers of the event who President Sirisena announced should be given a taste of the “madu walge” (stingray tail) as meted out to offenders in the distant past.

Had President Sirisena advocated the use of more painful practices of the Spanish Inquisition Iglesias would surely avoid even overflying Sri Lanka on his way to more tolerant Asian capitals. It is striking, however, that the president did not think it fitter and legitimate to use this ancient technological asset against those who blatantly violate the laws of his country particularly those who are entrusted with the duty of upholding the law.

But for decades our khaki-clad brigades have violated laws, brutalized society and behaved with such repugnance that the citizenry has lost all respect for the Police in general. To relate the numerous instances of police misconduct, partiality, brutality and corruption in recent years would take more space than this newspaper could provide.

Suffice therefore to refer to the first serious case in 2016 which exemplifies what is abominable about the culture of impunity that is embedded in the psyche of our police.  That is the case of the young man in Embilipitiya who died in extremely suspicious circumstances. Its ramifications extend far beyond the conflicting stories relating to what happened which is now under magisterial inquiry.

It might take some time before the actual circumstances surrounding the death are revealed, if at all. While that death is tragic like any death under such circumstances, what is abhorrent from a public perspective is the high-handed action of the Police in confiscating the notebooks of the journalists who covered the magisterial inquiry, unknown to the magistrate one presumes.

The Sri Lanka Editors’ Guild quite rightly protested strongly over this brazen act. Clearly the sergeant attached to the Magistrate’s court did not act on his own volition but on instructions from senior Police officers to take the notebooks into his custody. That loquacious Police spokesman who himself had turned up at the magisterial inquiry according to reports, and who is said to be a lawyer has still not given a public explanation concerning the relevant law under which the notebooks used to record the proceedings were forcibly taken by the police.

The Editors’ Guild said that when the notebooks were eventually returned the relevant pages containing the notes had been removed. This raises a very fundamental issue. If the police version of what happened that night at Embilipitiya is true why did the police take extreme steps to prevent news reports of the proceedings being published?

If the Police were confident they could establish the veracity of their version of events surely it is to the advantage of the Police to have the proceedings reported in an attempt to calm feelings of public outrage.

While the controversial circumstances in which the young man died would continue to haunt many, the manner in which the police have manhandled the media – and not for the first time either- begs the question whether the Police acted lawfully by forcibly preventing the media from performing its legitimate function.

At the presidential election and even recently Maithripala Sirisena pledged to restore media freedom. So has Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Yet the conduct of the police in unlawfully and unjustifiably harassing journalists performing their duties is tantamount to slaps to the faces of the president and prime minister. They cannot and should not be allowed to get away with such brazen behaviour.

It is vital to trace the chain of command that led to the court sergeant’s unseemly and unlawful conduct. It is for the authorities inquiring into the disgraceful happenings in Embilipitiya to ascertain who gave the orders and take punitive action against them.
The unsavoury conduct of the Sri Lanka police has been commented on over the years. The unholy nexus between politicians and the Police whereby they feed on each other for individual benefit has brought both into public opprobrium.

This symbiotic relationship which has led to corruption, Police brutality, investigative inaction and cover-ups needs to be ended. The impunity under which the police operate today can be ended or curtailed, only if there is a strong public complaints system which is able to demonstrate independence and openness at every stage of inquiry.

Embilipitiya is only a small tip of the iceberg. The media has previously cited numerous instances where confessions have been forced out of suspects in custody using methods that are best known to the Police. How often have we read of persons held in police custody conveniently committing suicide or dying in mysterious circumstances?

Very senior Police officers have been accused of serious crimes while some are still under investigation. In the last five years or more, the public has been treated to a number of instances in which so-called notorious “underworld” characters have been shot and killed or otherwise died when they were escorted under Police custody to sites where arms or loot were supposedly hidden.

The similarity of these stories that now and then make the news is remarkable. The only difference seems to be the locale and the name of the victim. Only the combined literary efforts of an Aesop and Munchausen could have bettered the Sri Lanka Police. Perhaps the Police could consider publishing these tales as an anthology of fiction in time for the next literary festival in Galle.

This is of course not to condemn the entire Police force. There are honest and impartial officers who have done commendable work. But there are those whose pursuit of power, patronage and intrinsic corruption have blotted the escutcheon of the Police as an independent and impartial enforcer of the law.

One wonders whether the National Police Commission has enough collective will to clean our own Augean stables. Simply transferring Police officers is the easy way out. Strong punitive action is the answer. A starting point would be to have a mandatory category of offences such as deaths, assaults causing serious injury, corruption and forced confessions, which should be investigated rigorously and impartially.

Will the Police Commission or any other body be up to it or will we as usual resort to smoke and mirrors to save the guilty?