Columns

Dusk has fallen on the nation’s political landscape. And, in the twilight glow, the people can only see, hear and feel the last gasps of the coalition government as it desperately struggles to find the few remaining breaths available to it before it is accorded the last rites and receives a merciful end in death.

FUNERAL PARLEY: Mahinda and Ranil chit chat while Maithri looks askance, his eyes focused solely on Lester James’ pyre at the famed film director’s funeral held on Wednesday at Independence Square

Even as Maithripala took his oaths as President and Ranil as Prime Minister on January 9th 2015 at Independence Square; and officially tied the nuptial knot in fading light with dusk fast setting in, little would either have known that the coalition government they conceived in mutual triumph would deliver birth to a bastardized child: born black to white parents. And that neither the child, baptised Yahapalana, nor the mismatched shot-gun wedding would last for long,

Especially when a powerful suitor, though snubbed and scorned by the masses, stood patiently waiting in the wings, to bed, in lust, power again. Whilst Maithri-Ranil’s dove of peace and harmony, flapped its wings in serene midair, there soared high above the dove’s reach, the ominous vulture of prey who waits till the time’s ripe to swoop down and hungrily feed upon the rotting carcass below. And the vulture is a patient bird.

And, yet hope still springs eternal in Yahapalanaya founders’ milk bereft breasts. The bastard child must be kept alive at all costs, they think. To their drooping, sagging, withered breasts they still continue to draw the doomed child, attempt to suckle with their dried up teats in a bid to show the voyeuristic crowd with a flash of breasts that the milk still doth flow and all will be well and the best is yet to come. Even with repeated infusions of reshuffle injections.

Ranil Wickremesinghe, who celebrated forty years in politics last year and celebrated his 69th birthday on March 24th this year, it seems, still believes in miracles.

On Tuesday, May Day – well, not exactly May Day, for the Government was forced to postpone it to May 7th, due to a cockup when it came to deciding whether to celebrate Vesak in April or in May. And, to which gross blunder the Mahanayakes only awoke four days before the appointed, anointed date to announce their disagreement, busy as they would have been receiving the endless stream of pirikara bearing politicians coming to their temple chambers to seek blessings none can give, for Buddhism knows no external salvation but holds that one’s hand is one’s own refuge:

On May 1st, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, standing steadfast in his faith in the coalition government which had brought him to power, albeit playing second fiddle to President Sirisena’s saxophone blast, said: “We will implement a speedy development programme in the wake of today’s Cabinet reshuffle taking into consideration the message given to us by the people at the local government elections.” And that there were many who criticised it but none of them was able to come up with an alternative form of governance.

Apart from sounding more and more like the apothecary who once stood at a street corner selling his pills and shouted himself hoarse, saying “pills to avert an earthquake, pills to avert an earthquake” and, when asked by a passerby whether he really thought that taking the pill could avert an earthquake, replied, “No, but do you have an alternative?”, does Ranil Wickremesinghe honestly believe that there is no alternative to the present coalition government?

The coalition government was born out of necessity, the mother, as it is said, of all inventions: The necessary device that had to be invented at that time, three years ago, to topple the Rajapaksa regime. It was never meant to last the course. Things spawned off expediency hardly ever do. But why this leech like cling to a concept which has turned rotten even before its shelf life has expired?
Did the Maithri-Ranil duo of the coalition government have to wait three years to take into consideration the message given to them by the electorate at the local government elections just three months ago? That the coalition government has failed to honour the mandate the people so willingly thrust upon them in good faith: that promises given will be promises kept?

Only two pledges really mattered: Crackdown on Rajapaksa corruption and wage war on the economic front and bring down the cost of living. On both fronts, this coalition government has abysmally failed to deliver the goods.

On the corruption front, the much vaunted crackdown has abruptly ended. Instead of attacking the previous regime’s corrupt record and bringing to book as they vouched to do, this government has been pathetically reduced to defending their own.
Asked on Tuesday by the BBC Sinhala Service interviewer on the progress the Government has made in its corruption crackdown efforts, the President said that he would reject the accusations that there was an inordinate delay in fraud and corruption investigations against the political leaders of the former government. He said that investigations he had initiated with regard to the Treasury bond scam and PRECIFAC report were in progress.

True. How true. Very true. When corruption begins at home, when his own chief of staff is arrested for bribery as Dr. Mahanama was arrested this Thursday night at Taj Samudra Hotel’s car park allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs. 20 million from an Indian businessman, what better place to start the inquisition than from his own presidential office. And whilst the nation salutes his impartiality – something that never occurred during the halcyon days of the Rajapaksa rule where if it was one of their own it would be ‘shaped up’, the fact remains that Sirisena was not elected by the masses on that platform. To deal with in-house corruption goes without saying. The public expect nothing else. What was expected of him pre January 2015 was to bring those whom he charged on many a stage during his campaign days to be president, to face justice in the dock of the court.

And that, apart from a few insignificant cases, is still to materialise. The proudest boast remains the bond scam probe which happened under his own watch. In that respect, Sirisena deserves all credit on turning the torch upon him and his coalition first before switching the light on to shine upon and expose the mega rogues of the past.

And what’s afoot on the economic front? Despite the prime minister’s repeated assurances that the miracle is round the corner, what shocks do the masses suffer today? Doesn’t matter that the nation’s debt has crossed the trillion mark in debt. Doesn’t matter that corruption has cost the nation a similar amount. These, as election results have shown, are the last thing on the masses mind. What matters most is the stomach. And the sudden increase of the price of a kilo of onions and a kilo of potatoes by Rs 40 respectively; and an arbitrary increase of Rs 200 and more on gas to cook them in, does not digest well in the masses bowels.

It is this sad record of dismal economic performance coupled with the glaring lack of action on the corruption crackdown front that has condemned this coalition government beyond the pale of voter redemption.

But the malady is not endemic to the coalition government alone. It’s widespread. Within these last three years, it has infected every major political party in the land. So much so, to make the people lose faith in the entire political system and wish in vain for something new.

First take the coalition. Its only solution is to reshuffle the cabinet. To shuffle the much worn pack, for the second time this year – perhaps for the last time before its thrown to the bin- and to deal out different cards to the same old players seated around the cabinet table in the forlorn hope that the new deal will serve fool the masses that a Royal Flush is in the offing. Alas, the dealer is the same, the players around the table are the same, only the cards they hold in their hands are different. And to all sense and purpose the cards are but the same. For it makes no difference. As far as the public are concerned, it matters not one jot whether Amaraweera holds the Agricultural card or whether Duminda has been dealt with a waterworks two or whether Ranjith Madduma Bandara has received the same Ace as in previous play or whether Field Marshall Sarath Fonseka has become from war hero to game warden with his knave. Enough fooling the masses with card games. They are not that naïve like the knaves in the pack. Or the one the dealer is left holding. The joker. And to make matters worse, someone had to go and add the tag that this cabinet reshuffle was ‘scientifically’ done, implying there is a method to madness.

Take the main UNP. What does one see? Already, even though their leader Ranil survived the no-confidence motion brought against him, thanks to his party members who at that eleventh hour solidly stood by him, an unidentified gathering of whelps in Ranil’s pack have started to yelp and snarl, demanding Ranil’s blood; and have chosen Hirunika of all persons to be their chief megaphone.

And what does Hirunika, who just four years ago sat on Mahinda Mama’s lap and called him “my foster father, my appacchi,” and deserted her declared adopted political dad and hopped on to the winning side when the winds blew in Ranil’ and Maithri’s direction and the weathercock turned in their favour and pointed the way, and joined the UNP have to say now?

On Tuesday, Hirunika who faces a date in court in July over the criminal case of abducting a man, said: “We decided against attending these meetings because we feel that we have been taken for a ride again. We supported Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, when a no-faith motion was moved against him, because we believed that he would fulfil his pledge to carry out party reforms. But we are disappointed.”

Hirunika said the backbenchers had thought Wickremesinghe would step down as the party leader after defeating the no-confidence vote. “They wanted to appoint another committee. I stood up and said appointing another committee was not enough. Then, they appointed a politburo. There was no need to appoint another committee, because Ruwan Wijewardene committee had done a thorough study and come up with a wonderful report. The report recommends that party leaders be elected, but the leadership opposed this recommendation, claiming that there is no provision in the UNP constitution for such elections.”

Now take a look at the other partner in the coalition government, the SLFP whose patron saints Chandrika and Mahinda still remain on their pedestals, enshrined in the Darley Road party office. After Saint Mahinda turned Judas after breaking hoppers at a last convivial supper on November 18th with Maithripala, and after his ignominious election defeat went his own way without remorse, he has succeeded in gathering around him over fifty members of the old guard. And succeeded in harnessing to his chariot of fire, another sixteen more who, for the present still say they are on the fence, although all eyes know, they are bonded in chains to the Rajapaksa cart.

Take the official opposition: The TNA. Mindfully minding its own business. And only giving a little yap when something occurs to do with regard to their own minority Tamil interest. And as far as the rebel JVP faction is concerned, its leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake – no relation of SB – is quite happy spreading revolution abroad in Europe and in England and to occasionally lecture the Lankan populace that two and two is four and that four and four makes eight and not sixteen.

Oh, almost forget. Then there is Wimal Weerawansa the one man squad of his, what’s the name, NFF or something like that and that other chappie, the fellow who professes to have a conscience, whats his name, another one man band, the leader and sole member of the pristine pure party of the land – well their minds must be preoccupied of the criminal cases pending against them in courts.

Thus it’s no wonder that the newly dawned Sinhala New Year has put this nation’s politics in a pickle, or to say it in the vernacular, in a real accharu.

Sugandika blows the lid off judicial stench But gets off scot free when it comes to speeding fine Slip of a girl, Sugandika Fernando, an attorney at law with barely seven years’ experience in the corridors of court, took on the might of the legal establishment two weeks ago when she blew the lid off the judicial stench which she claimed she found fouling the pristine air of justice. In a 56-minute speech which went viral on the internet last week, a speech she made at an event held in Colombo’s Public Library Auditorium on April 10th , she kicked off her ‘Je Accuse’ by claiming she witnessed a judge drunk in his chambers with two other lawyers attending to him: one applying lime juice to his soles and the other busy applying the same to his head in a frantic bid to render him sober, fit enough to assume his seat on the judicial bench. But she did not stop at that. She listed out a whole wallop of malpractices both in and out of court. Take a look at the extraordinary claims she made: 1. An Additional District Judge arriving drunk for a session of the court during court vacation and having lime applied on his head and feet and given king coconut water to drink by lawyers and court officials in a bid to make him sober enough to sit on the bench. 2. The unbridled powers of the court Mudaliyar, who can delay cases at his whim and fancy to harass lawyers. 3. Inappropriate relations between judges and court officials under them. 4. Corrupt court officials releasing suspended licences. 5. A warrant issued by the Magistrate was recalled by the court Arachchi. 6. In illegal sand mining cases where the fine is Rs. 50,000 each, the court Mudaliyar sees to it that the case is dismissed after taking a bribe of Rs. 30,000 each thus depriving the government of revenue. 7. Lawyers give bribes to the various branches of the local police to obtain cases. 8. Lawyers routinely fraternise with the police and bribe them so as to obtain their cooperation to win cases. 9. In one instance, a politician who had fired twice in the air and hit someone on the head with his pistol, was granted bail by a Magistrate because a Deputy Solicitor General of the Attorney General’s Dept. had written to the courts, stating that the pistol had in this instance been used not as a firearm but as a blunt instrument. Bail could not be granted by the Magistrate if the offence had come under the Firearms Ordinance. 10. In an instance when one of her clients was arrested with a firearm which had neither been fired nor used as a blunt instrument, she, too, had been granted relief by the AG’s Dept. in keeping with the precedent at issue. 11. She received death threats for challenging the police and court officials. 12. Police officers show scant respect for young lawyers and in one instance when she went for an inquiry regarding a fraud involving Rs. 80,000, a police officer had tried to browbeat them into paying the Rs. 80,000 without any inquiry being held. 13. Judges can harass lawyers who do not humour them, by not granting relief and denying bail to clients in criminal cases or at times even by not granting divorces. 14. Lawyers obtain sexual bribes from the wives of the suspects they appear for. 15. Some female lawyers sleep with police officers to obtain cases. 16. Lawyers do not issue receipts to their clients when accepting fees so as to avoid paying income tax. 17. Some junior female lawyers are sexually harassed by some senior lawyers. 18. Some senior lawyers do not pay their apprentice lawyers anything and some junior lawyers get only a pittance from their seniors. 19. Some senior lawyers go with pots of curd and bottles of treacle to see bank managers to obtain notary work. 20. Some senior lawyers accept very low fees like Rs. 50 for illicit liquor related cases where the suspects merely plead guilty and are fined so as to undercut junior lawyers and to prevent them from building up a practice. A score of claims which invoked the wrath of the Bar Association to fall upon her head, serving only to catapult her from her obscure gown and grey existence to the summit of national prominence, claoked in silk. SUGANDHIKA: All smoke but where’s the fire? Bar Association President U. R. de Silva, PC, on Tuesday did not mince his words when he charged the Sugandika had gone beyond her brief. He accused her of causing unnecessary friction within the legal community and pursuing an agenda of her own. But, nonetheless, he expressed his readiness to discuss any grievance she may have, thus adding a possible credence to her claims. Though half-baked, inexperienced as she probably is, Sugandhika’s claims may possibly contain some iota of truth. But she made the vital mistake of making allegations in public without evidence to support her claims, which, as every lawyer worth his cloak and wig would and should know will not stand up in any court of the land. Unless, of course, the judge is not as sober as he should be and has to have his soles rubbed with lime juice before lording over the court. But that’s not the end of the story. In her fifty six minute marathon speech, she also claimed she had witnessed instances at the RMV courts where those found guilty of drink and driving are suspended from driving for six months by the presiding magistrate but a bribe of Rs 15,000 to the court clerk enables one to obtain the driving license free from any encumbrance. Or perhaps that’s how the law works in practice. Except that she did not produce any evidence, once again, to support her claim. Except her own testimony of the weird way the law works in practice. And this time it’s not hearsay but on court record. This week she, Sugandika Fernando, was caught speeding on the southern express highway travelling at the rate of 117 kilometres per hour. The police charged her with the offence of speeding. She pleaded guilty. The magistrate warned and discharged her. The reason given for not imposing a fine was that she was a lawyer. Thus she didn’t have to pay 15,000 bucks to the clerk to have her licence back, without a scratch on it. The legal profession closed ranks and set her scot free, without a blot on her book. Good for her. And good, too, for the grand old lady atop Hulftsdorp Hill, holding the weighted scales of justice when it comes to granting favours to one’s own kith.