Editorial

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The Sri Lankan journalists, in their perennial penurious circumstances do not have a million rupees to trap the Sri Lankan political and defence establishment's hierarchy, the way the Internet journalists in neighbouring India have done. 

The Indian journalists have shown how corrupt political leaders, ruling party officials and army officers can be. 

Not a single defence establishment official has been held accountable for the myriad of frauds that have been exposed in our fraud-prone cocoons of power in the defence sector. All these deals were considered above board and squeaky clean, we wager. 

It is with some sense of satisfaction that we note Minister Batty Weerakoon has been prompted ( we daresay by us) to get the Bribery and Corruption Commission going, after its notoriously enforced recess. (See Sunday Times editorial of three weeks back.) 

In the past, notably during the tenure of President J R Jayewardene, there were at least some knee-jerk efforts with the objective of tackling bribery and corruption in top places.

A Cabinet Minister and his Secretary were removed after the press reported certain tender irregularities. The sequel to that however was that they were brought back a few months later. It is also recalled that Member of Parliament Anura Daniel was shown the door for alleged smuggling of gold bars on behalf of a Mudalali, as was an MP from Eastern Province for accepting a refrigerator. 

Even such cursory nods at maintaining a semblance of probity in the State sector are not attempted by this dispensation of the People's Alliance.

The record of the PA on the contrary seems to have been one of rewarding graft with an incentive. A person whose private companies were raided and investigated by Customs Fraud, (investigations are still underway) was subsequently appointed to the directorate of the National Airline, and the National Securities Exchange. 

Another private arms mogul, a conspicuous one at that, who was called a 'komis kaaka' by the Commander in Chief herself, was later seen funding the election campaigns of several of the President's Ministers of Cabinet. Others who solicited government Ministers for scholarships for their children, and who are now under investigation for abuse of power, are in the forefront of the drive to "eradicate bribery and corruption in Sri Lanka.'' 

But, that notwithstanding, we commend the Minister of Justice Batty Weerakoon for at least making some start in an effort to rein in the unchecked circus of corruption that goes on in the state sector of this country. 

It will be a Herculean task to erase such a mess. But, what's necessary is to clean up the stables, so that incrementally perhaps, this nation will cease to be identified as one with a government that is one of the most corrupt in the Asian continent.
 

The Political Column

Editorial/ Opinion Contents