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Though Shangri La , a name synonymous with an earthly paradise or a mythical  Himalayan utopia, the event at the five-star luxury hotel in Colombo last Wednesday, with all movers and shakers of the government, was less grandiose.

To the glitter of crystal chandeliers and music from a group that played traditional music with a Violin, Tabla, flute and Seraphina at the Grand Ballroom, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, entertained members of the government parliamentary group to dinner. As one of his aides explained, it was a traditional event last Wednesday, as Finance Minister, to thank the MPs for taking part in the 21-day budget debate. Though the opposition was not there, the privileged invitees were the six MPs from the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) led by Rauff Hakeem and the All-Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) led by Rishad Bathiuddin.

They had defied their party whip and voted in favour of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution which enhanced the powers of the President. It was passed in Parliament on October 22 with 156 voting in favour and 65 against. During a speech in Parliament this week, SLMC leader Hakeem sounded a warning to these MPs not to vote for the budget saying there would-be consequences. Instead, they kept away though the budget was passed with 151 voting in favour and 54 against. The two parties are members of the Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) which has demanded disciplinary action against the six. The tussle goes on.

Premier Rajapaksa arrived a little early at Shangri La and greeted the MPs. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who shared a table with the Premier, spent over two hours. Both went around from table to table greeting MPs and there was plenty of light-hearted banter. Like the traditional music, the food too was local. There were no barbeques or stations serving carved meat. It was rice, fried rice, noodles, and a variety of curries including Chicken and Fish. The dinner began soon after the cocktails ended.

On Thursday night, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena hosted a dinner for all MPs at his official residence in Battaramulla. Tents were put up in the garden and there were an estimated 300 guests since family members of MPs, and parliament staff were also invited. The SJB members kept away from the dinner after appealing to Speaker Abeywardena to cancel the dinner because of the raging COVID-19 epidemic. SJB General Secretary Ranjith Maddumabandara told the Sunday Times, “The Government has issued health guidelines and urged the people to follow them. It prohibits the gathering of large crowds. We were of the view that the money spent for such events could have helped feed people who are severely affected by lockdowns and other measures against COVID-19. We strongly believe that should have been the right thing to do.” However, taking part from the Opposition benches were members of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) including its leader, Rajavarothayam Sampanthan.

On the same night as the Speaker’s dinner (Thursday), however, SJB MPs, barring a handful, took part in a dinner hosted by their leader Sajith Premadasa. So much for their love to feed the poor.

It was held at the Access Towers located at Union Place. That is the headquarters of the Access group of companies whose chairman is Sumal Perera. Earlier, a booking was made at the Grand Monarch restaurant in Thalawathugoda but was later cancelled.

Charitha Herath, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), told the Sunday Times “the dinner hosted by the Speaker is a time-honoured tradition. When a budget is presented, the Finance Ministers host a tea party. Similarly, the Speaker hosts a dinner for all those in Parliament. It was done this time in keeping with all the health guidelines. The tents were far apart.”

The Speaker’s dinner was also traditionally Sri Lankan with hoppers and string hoppers being a main part of the menu. Thrown in were also a variety of barbeques. Here again, the dinner followed cocktails. A band was in attendance. Among the vocalists were a Parliament staffer, Dayasiri Jayasekera (General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and Kurunegala District MP) and Diana Gamage, the SJB National List MP who joined government ranks.

With those events, the curtain came down on Parliament sessions for 2020, a troubled year for mankind worldwide. Nevertheless, since his election in November, last year, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa saw a Parliament that made him more powerful than his predecessor. Powers enjoyed by the Prime Minister’s office and the Cabinet are now with him. He could, using his executive and constitutional powers, appoint any person to government offices at his sole discretion. There is much more.

President Rajapaksa has completed just over a year in office. There were widespread expectations from the public who voted for his government with an overwhelming two-thirds majority. These expectations, no doubt, were heavily fuelled by the disgust for the previous Yahapalana regime where corruption was high and misrule in various areas were blatant. They made world news with the scandalous Central Bank bond racket. Law and order were at its lowest ebb as the Easter Sunday massacres demonstrated. The intelligence services were neglected with most resources being diverted to watch political opponents. One case of a politician was glaring. A sleuth “planted” in his system to watch him turned traitor and the case was blown. All because a sergeant involved was livid over not receiving his promotion.

Only a year has passed in President Rajapaksa’s term of office of five years. In any appraisal of the twelve months, one misfortune he has to face unexpectedly has cost him dearly. That is the COVID-19 pandemic, just three months after he assumed office. As is well known now, the health measures adopted were very professionally managed until the major explosion of coronavirus cases at the Brandix garments factory in Minuwangoda. This was acknowledged in Parliament by Sudarshani Fernandopulle, the new State Minister for COVID-19 Prevention. She disclosed in Parliament that the coronavirus had spread to Brandix workers from Ukrainians but did not elaborate. That the deadly virus spread from there to the fish market complex in Peliyagoda is all too well known.

A fine thread that runs through all these developments, which have caused a high degree of public distrust, is the lack of accountability. Instead of dealing with those responsible, the issue was enveloped by the deadly silence. Official news releases now refer only to the “Peliyagoda cluster” and the “Prisons cluster” once again. This is at a time when some health experts opine that there is now a community spread.

Some officials claimed that the “Brandix cluster” was no more but did not explain how this came about. A Criminal Investigation Department (CID) investigation into the outbreak at Brandix has been carried out. The fact that little is known about this issue, exacerbated by the reality that the garments firm supported the ruling party, has led to serious doubts in the public mind. This has not been fair by Brandix either, since it is hard hit with a decline in export orders that contribute to the overall economy and foreign exchange earnings for the country. Yet, the ground zero reality is that the government’s image has suffered very much more than the garment’s manufacturer on an issue of huge public importance.

The matter is also resonating elsewhere raising even more accountability issues. Dhammika Bandara from Kegalle, who is not a registered ayurvedic physician, has been a worker at construction sites. He is also known to be practising at a ‘devale’ located in a house at Udamagama between Kegalle and Mawanella. He claimed he had formulated a secret potion which could be the answer to COVID-19. This is at a time when some of the world’s leading pharmaceutical giants took over 18 months to research, run through detailed trials and produced vaccines.

Bandara and his concoction became known countrywide after the publicity he received during a call on Health Minister Pavithra Wanniaratchchi. The lady minister sampled a dose of the potion in front of television and still cameras – a move which gave the public the impression that she has endorsed the all-important cure for the COVID-19 pandemic. This was not her first time. Earlier, she was photographed and filmed dropping cloth covered clay pots, standing on bridges, into rivers. This was on the advice of faith healer Eliyantha White.

Little wonder, thousands turned up at Bandara’s house. Some said small bottles were being given free whilst a large sized bottleful was Rs 6,000. Before saying what followed, it is important to note the reason why such large crowds turned up. It highlighted the desperation of the people to go for whatever they were made to believe in to seek a quick remedy. Is this not an acknowledgement that they were no longer looking to the government? Is it not because the ongoing anti-COVID-19 campaign, the way it is handled now, created a wide credibility gap between the government and the people?

The bustling crowds, who did not abide by the health guidelines, became a concern for district authorities. District Secretary Mahinda S. Weerasuriya hurriedly summoned a meeting of health officials and the Police to discuss the matter. They decided that Bandara should be called upon to immediately stop the distribution of his secret potion. He did but the demand for his secret potion kept rising.

If it were ironic that a man could produce a cocktail of honey, herbs, and spices, (he says some are a secret), and just distribute it as a miracle cure for COVID-19, there is more. Health Minister Wanniarachchi, who is at the forefront of the official anti-COVID-19 campaign has lent the secret potion her tacit acceptance or approval when she publicly took a dose of it. Sad enough, a politician helped bottles of the potion find their way into the office of Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena. Photographs and news releases of the event were sent to the media. It showed MPs drinking, one off the bottle itself.

The foremost question is how a person who manufactures an untested potion gets away with little or no accountability. After all, another could come up with a similar potion and claim it could fight COVID-19? Is it not an insult to the intelligence of any knowledgeable Sri Lankan? Does not such action create the impression that Sri Lankans are fools? Surely there is an Ayurvedic Research Institute that could have first tested the secret potion. Even if government leaders fail to act, it is their image that suffers. This has added more public displeasure and the finger, right or wrong, points to President Rajapaksa.

Talking of accountability, another noteworthy episode took place in the sacred city of Anuradhapura just days ago. A Kandy district government parliamentarian had taken one too many. He had been stopped at a Police sentry point near the Ruwanweli Maha Seya. The man in a pair of shorts was so drunk he had staggered and was not cohesive. One version said he wanted to visit the most sacred precincts from which Gotabaya Rajapaksa took his oaths in November last year as President. The request, however, had been turned down. Another said, he had not wanted to be checked. Police in the area remained tight lipped. A senior officer in the area said the men were under orders not to talk about the incident.

Another most unexpected encounter for President Rajapaksa in his one-year term was again something beyond his direct control — the catastrophe at the Mahara prison. At a discussion at the Presidential Secretariat, he criticised the Government Analyst and the Attorney General’s Department for the overcrowding in prisons.

The fiasco has brought home to the government one cardinal lesson – not to allow the ministers to pass judgement on how major incidents occur even before they are investigated. At least three ministers – Wimal Weerawansa, Sarath Weerasekera and Ali Sabry – had different versions. Weerawansa said the only reason why the incidents occurred was because inmates had taken a “reverse pill” that roused them to draw blood of others. Weerasekera said prisoners were fired upon at their legs and hands. He said no one was shot dead. Sabry said the incidents occurred only because of a clash between two factions.

All three were wrong. They were oblivious to the fact that loose talk only reflects badly on President Rajapaksa and the government. Funny enough, they made those claims in the belief that they would help him. Moreover, in a sworn affidavit, A.D.L. Dilushani of Wattala said, “an officer of the Wattala Police alerted me on December 4 that my brother had been shot…. The police officer produced some pictures of my brother and allowed me to identify…” She says she went to the Ragama Hospital and identified the body from the tattoo marks on the chest. She said the Police disallowed her efforts to see the wounds on his head and body.

If the people believed the ministerial claims, they would now have to disbelieve them. The reason – the Justice Minister Sabry-appointed official committee to probe the catastrophe said that “the inmates had learned that a large number of remand prisoners were COVID-19 positive during the afternoon on the day the incident took place.” (i.e., November 29). The main reasons for the catastrophe spelt out by the Committee:

• “Due to overcrowding of the remand prison.
• “The inmates have been suffering from fever. They had become restless due to threats to their life and made demands regarding their safety. It started as a protest. It has been held in a stern way to draw the attention of the prison officers to obtain their demand as soon as possible.”

The five-member Committee was chaired by Sarojani Kusala Weerawardena (retired High Court Judge) and comprised U.R. de Silva (Chief Legal Advisor to the Justice Ministry), Rohana Hapugaswatte (Additional Secretary – Administration – Ministry of Justice), D.R.L. Ranaweera (retired Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police) and Gamini Jayasinghe (former Commissioner of Prisons).

Justice Minister Sabry tabled the Committee report in Parliament on Wednesday. It notes that it was only on the night of the incident, between 7 and 9 p.m. (on November 29) “that the inmates had shared a tablet identified as Diazepam and different kinds of medicine pills. Following that inmates have become violent towards themselves, behaved in an aggressive manner and started to attack each other with sticks and stones as well as weapons.”

Renowned medical journals describe Diazepam as a drug that is used to treat anxiety, alcohol withdrawal, and seizures. It is also used to relieve muscle spasms and to provide sedation before medical procedures. One account said “this medication works by calming the brain and nerves. Diazepam belongs to a class of drugs known as benzodiazepines.”

Here are significant edited highlights from the Committee report translated from Sinhala to English:

Observations on-site inspection

“The committee members on 9.00 am on December 03, 2020 visited the Mahara Prison and inspected from the main entrance, surrounding area, prison kitchen, storeroom, Library, office area of the Prison  Superintendent, Assistant Prison superintendent’s office, Chief Jailer’s office, prisoner registration office, stage area where the food is served for inmates, welfare building, area where musical instruments are held, industrial division, and the cells where convicted were placed, prison saloon, prison hospital and buildings housing remand prisoners.

“When inspecting the main gate area, there were wooden and steel poles tied together and left in the room where the scanner used to inspect goods is located. The rest of the buildings has been burned and damaged apart from the cells which hold convicted prisoners, areas where the remand prisoners are placed, prison kitchen and buildings besides the gates. Observations were made that both pieces of bricks and roof tiles were scattered on the floor. Three refrigerators believed to be kept in the kitchen had been burnt in the prison garden.

“Large amounts of leftover food were found at M 2 Remand cells. The oil used in the boiler placed near the kitchen had flowed towards the garden area.  In front of the building there was the slogan saying “Sirakaruwo Manushyayoya” (The prisoners are human beings). There was charred rubble along with wreckage. The prison hospital, the prison Superintendent’s office and the library were completely burned. Most of the documents in this building had been burned and had become whitish pile of ash.

“Observations have been made that there were large holes in the roofs of the buildings which housed remand prisoners.

Procedure followed

“The five members of the committee first met both convicted and remand prisoners. They heard brief accounts of the incident. Evidence was obtained from four inmates from M2 ward, two inmates from the L ward and one inmate from the P1 ward.

“After obtaining evidence, the witnesses were notified to be sent to the Research and Training Centre at the Welikada prison to allow them to testify without fear.   Apart from that, the committee ordered the prison Superintendent on the same day to gather information of all the remand inmates currently held at the prisons and the names of inmates who were to be bailed out from the relevant Magistrate Courts.

“During the second day (December 04, 2020), a convicted inmate and two remand prisoners and two officers were questioned at the Research and Training Centre. On the third day (December 05, 2020) The Chief Jailor and an officer who distributed drugs and was held captive by the prison inmates as well as medical doctor of the COVID Control Committee were called.

Evidence Analysis

“After analysing the evidence given by the witnesses, it was established that the incident had occurred on November 29, 2020 at around 3.30 pm in the evening. This was when food was distributed near M2 ward. The ward door remained open and inmates identified as Bolwatte Kumara, S.F Manju, Mahesh, Malinda, and Deve had jumped out and reached L ward shouting “ Lock down.” At that moment, the inmates complained that the food tasted like water.

“Meanwhile inmates identified as Sameera and Taniya had broken the padlock which locked the L ward. This ward was closed due to COVID-19, and inmates who were placed there had been told to not to venture out. Afterwards those inmates too had come out. They broke the locks at the other wards and allowed the inmates held in them to come out of their cells.  As the number of inmates increased, they had started to protest.

“The Mahara Prison housed a total of 2782 inmates; of them 2148 are in remand custody. The rest are convicted prisoners. It was revealed that the number of inmates was three times more than the prison’s capacity.

“It was also revealed that 112 inmates who were treated at Welikada Prison hospital for other ailments but tested negative for COVID-19 following PCR tests had been placed at another area at the Mahara prison. This was after a decision by the COVID Control Committee which was appointed to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Another group of inmates from Bogamabra prison too were held at the “Quarry” area which is located outside the prison.

“In addition, PCR tests were carried out on 1000 inmates on November 25, 2020 and November 27, 2020. The results of the tests came on the evening of November 28, 2020 and in the morning of November 29, 2020. It was revealed that 06 prison officials and 180 inmates were infected with the COVID-19 virus. This information had gone outside of the prison hospital and reached the prisoners. The prisoners were displeased and were afraid of the situation. Apart from that, another COVID positive patient was housed at L ward. There was also evidence that there were inmates suffering from fever at other wards including L ward. The prison hospital has given those prisoners Panadol tablets without checking their illness.

“As the locks and doors of the remand prison were broken down over 1000 inmates had come out from their cells and protested. Their primary demands were:

1.  As there was a delay in releasing already bailed inmates, the remand prison should no longer keep such inmates and allow them to return to their homes.

2.  To carry out PCR tests on all inmates and check for COVID-19 infection.

3.  To remove the COVID positive inmates from the Mahara prison

4.  To provide proper meals.

“The Chief Jailor and few officials had reached the area where the protest was taking palce. They wanted to tell the inmates that their requests would be heeded. However, the crowd had responded with hoots and begun to hurl stones and bricks at the officials. They were near the gate. The officials had retreated to ensure their safety as well as the safety of the property of their institution. From the evidence it was revealed that the prisoners had detained two officers serving at the prison hospital.

“Accordingly, the prison officers to control the conflict situation and to preserve people lives and property,

1.  Secured the two main gates of the prison by barricading them and making it impossible for the prison inmates to reach the gates. The gates were guarded to prevent them escaping.

2.  Teargassed the inmates.

3.  First shot in the air to warn the prisoners. Then they had used rubber bullets. They later used live bullets to shoot inmates to control the situation.

4.  To further ensure the safety, weapons in the armoury were removed and taken to an outside area.

5.  For extra security police Special Task Force personnel were called in

6.  The Fire Brigades was summoned to douse the fire.

“An inmate identified as “Bosa” had attacked another inmate named “Lahiru” with the support of his gang. They had retaliated. It was revealed these two inmates had a personal issue at the bathing area two days prior to the incident. There were many inmates who had such rivalry in separate wards but since they had come out of them, they have started to attack each other.

“The clash between the inmates had become violent and dangerous during night fall.  Several inmates had joined that clash. A group of them had received cuts, bruises, and other injuries. Some of them had fallen. Later they were taken to hospital. Meanwhile the prison officers also had shot from time to time. However, the STF had not done any shooting. People had also been killed.

“Once again during the evening on November 30 the inmates behaved in an aggressive manner by coming towards the inner gate. They shouted asking for water. At that point, the officers had shot them in order to control the situation. Due to that several inmates had been shot. The crisis remained until December 01, 2020.”

Whether the inmates were shot within a short distance can be concluded only after a post-mortem inquiry is held. At the moment the post-mortems have not been carried out. The committee has notified the authorities not to cremate or bury the bodies before conducting the post-mortems. The authorities too promised that they would not cremate or bury the bodies without a post-mortem inquiry. Whether the inmates were instigated into violent behaviour by using medicinal pills in an unnatural manner must be determined through an expert opinion. That would be determined in the final report.

Committee Observations

The committee after considering all the facts submitted until now, made observations that the following reasons led to the incident.

1.  There was no report on COVID-19 virus infection among the inmates of the Mahara prison before the incident. Yet, the inmates had learned that a large number of remand prisoners were COVID positive during the afternoon on the day the incident took place.

• Due to the overcrowding of the remand prison.
• The inmates had been suffering from fever, therefore due to the threat to their life the inmates had become restless and had made demands regarding their safety. It started as a fair protest. However, the protest had been held in a stern manner to get the attention of the prison officers to win their demand as soon as possible.

2.  Meanwhile different suspects who were members of gangs had used this opportunity to settle their personal scores. They had divided into gangs and had carried out vicious attacks.

3.  It was clearly observed that the inmates had burned the prison documents and prison property and had heavily damaged the prison buildings.

4.  At the moment when the prison clash took place the inmates were armed with sticks, stones, metal poles, machetes, and swords. The inmates had oil collected from the boiler and it was used to set fire to the buildings. However, the inmates did not have any firearms with them. The firearms were only at the custody of the prison officers. The committee also observed that the prison officers were the only ones who used firearms.

5.  The conflict had occurred during the evening of November 29, 2020 and had extended during the night and had gone on until the evening of November 30, 2020.  Some of the inmates had taken different kind of pills and taken part in vicious attacks following that. These observations had been made according to witness accounts.

6.  The water pipes had sustained damage. Water and food supply had been disrupted.

7.  The Criminal Investigation Department is carrying out the complete investigation.

8.  The identities of the 11 deceased are known. The Magistrate has ordered a post-mortem inquiry.

Committee recommendations

• The inmates can be released on bail after paying fines. PCR tests need to be conducted quickly in keeping with the Attorney General’s instructions to police. Then the COVID-19 positive inmates must be sent immediately to suitable treatment centres while the rest should be subjected to home quarantining. Immediate action should be taken to continuously supervise the home quarantined.
• Immediate steps must be taken to increase the numbers of prison officers in the Mahara Prison.
• A formal system must be created to provide prison inmates food and necessary equipment through welfare centres during the times when the visitors are not allowed to visit the prison. The food provided should be fit for consumption. The treatment of patients affected with ailments apart from COVID-19 must be quickly restored.
• The inmates must be provided with telephone facilities to connect with their families. The prison must quickly file motions and those who are unable to pay the bail need to be sent back home.
• A mechanism should be created to quickly release convicted prison inmates considering their term in prison. Priority must be given to elderly prisoners.
• The police investigations against inmates who damaged state property and carried out criminal activities must be held soon. The police should also obtain specialist reports and file cases against them. The committee cannot make an opinion on any revelation of careless actions of the officials from the investigations conducted. Therefore, it would focus on that issue when a full comprehensive report is submitted.

Last Tuesday, Wattala Magistrate Buddhika Sri Ragala heard a petition requesting that the bodies of the victims of the Mahara prison catastrophe be not cremated until the post-mortem inquiry by an expert panel was concluded. It was filed by lawyer Senaka Perera, who represents the Committee to Protect Rights of Prisoners.

The expert committee comprises Dr Sandun Wijewardena, (Specialist Chief Judicial Medical Officer, Colombo North Teaching Hospital, Ragama), Dr S.D. Channa Perera, (Specialist Judicial Medical Officer, Colombo South Teaching Hospital, Kalubowila), Jean Perera (from the College of Forensic Pathologists) and P.G. Madawala (Assistant Government Analyst).

State Counsel Nishara Jayaratne , who represented the Attorney General made a plea that since the eleven bodies had been infected with coronavirus, they  should be moved to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases. The Magistrate noted that since the bodies had become a matter related to a criminal investigation, the courts would make the necessary order at a future date. This is after the post-mortem reports, which would be confidential, are received by the court.

State Counsel Jayaratne told the Magistrate that the Attorney General had given “oral instructions to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID)” to ascertain (1) whether any external parties were involved and who is to be blamed if the incident occurred as a result of a conspiracy. (2) When the revolt took place, at what point the shooting took place. Did they violated individual rights, or is it a murder?

It is clear that for the government, some of the most embarrassing setbacks have been aggravated by the lack of accountability. This, no doubt, should be an issue of high priority for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa not only to put things right but also to establish the people’s trust in his government. That is sadly eroding and eroding fast.