Hulftsdorp Hill

10th May 1998

Constabulary of thugs and goons

By Mudliyar

When the Special Airborne Force (SABF) was commissioned by the Sri Lanka Air Force as a Commando Unit, it was soon known among the rank and file as a "no problem group." It was known that they had extraordinary powers to act arbitrarily, and some members of the Commando Unit were regarded as the private squad of the hierarchy. When the LTTE attacked the Kolonnawa Oil Installation, one Air Force Officer and five airmen from the Sri Lanka Air Force were killed.

A Court of Inquiry headed by Air Commodore Ajith Jayasekera inquired into the incident. There were some startling revelations. The inquiry identified the six who were killed as being from the notorious SABF. They had absolutely no business to be there on that date. No one admitted that anyone gave orders to the SABF to be present at Kolonnawa when the LTTE attacked the installations.

When democracy blossoms, the rulers often forget that they are elected for a specific period. If the elected do not have sufficient experience, they soon feel they are elected forever.

As long as they are in power, some would not feel comfortable without private constabulary trained only to shoot, kill, terrorise and torment their opponents.

These squads believe that they have, by working for their political masters, the right and the license to act as they please

When the goon squad realizes that the Rule of Law would overcome the Rule of the Goon, and sanity and sensibility would prevail over anarchy it would be too late for them.

What happened in the case of the attempted murder and/or abduction of Iqbal Athas, the foremost war correspondent and an internationally reputed journalist, is the clearest example of how short lived acts of terrorism would be in a democratic society.

When the searchlight was directed at the suspects, some accomplices spilled the beans. The policy was to prevent Mr. Athas from writing about the massive corruption that has engulfed the unfortunate war we are fighting with the LTTE. Anyone who knows the inside story of the massive, arms deals that are done virtually with common regularity, would answer, we would win the war only if we defeat the corruption of the corrupt officials of the Armed Forces.

When the suspects in the Mr. Athas case were produced in Court, the Counsel who appeared for the accused, said that though the incident took place on the 12th February, 1998, the Police had taken nearly three months to arrest the suspects, and thereby diminished the value of the identification parade.

The arrest, made by Mr. Palitha Perera, Assistant Superintendent of Police of the CID, of two Commissioned Officers of the Sri Lanka Air Force, sent shock waves around the country and confirmed the earlier belief that a special hit squad of the Air Force was chosen to muzzle and gag Mr. Athas.

Mr. Athas for the last few years had carried out a systematic campaign against the corrupt war moguls in the military who had made the war the biggest industry in Sri Lanka. The corruption is as tall as some of the skyscrapers that have sprouted in the metropolis.

He was the first to inform the public of Sri Lanka about the loss of a ship destined to Colombo, loaded with lethal mortars which was subsequently found in the hands of the LTTE. When this was first revealed, the Deputy Minister of Defence came before Parliament and denied it.

At the moment our Forces are being pounded with the mortars which were virtually gifted to them by the Sri Lankan Government.

The other most shocking revelation made known to the public through a superb effort of investigative journalism was the shady helicopter deal where the Sri Lankan Government bought from Ukraine, helicopters which had ended their life span.

He also exposed the fact that the team who proceeded to the Ukraine had noted the serial numbers of the helicopters to ensure that those very helicopters would be delivered without substituting old machines for them. When the helicopters arrived in Sri Lanka they did not tally with the serial numbers, but against the wishes of some Air Force officers, the old unserviceable rickety helicopters were delivered to the Air Force.

The sincere desire of the President to end the war is well known. If there is one matter where the President is consistent, it is her desire to end the war.

If anyone who is knowledgeable about the manner in which we have been fighting the war without an end in sight is asked, he would say that one of the most important reasons why we cannot win the war is due to the corruption with regard to arms deals. The war has become the biggest industry by which billions could be made.

Only the Mafia makes less money than the arms dealers and War Lords in this country. Exposure of this massive corruption to the public was a grave threat to their existence.

On the 12th of February, 1998, more than ten armed men in in civvies entered Mr. Athas' house and pointed a pistol at Mr. Athas, and the only fact that saved Mr. Athas was that the gang saw another armed vehicle coming towards the house, thus preventing the abduction and murder of Mr. Athas.

The unfortunate fate that befell on Richard de Zoysa would have fallen on Mr. Athas if not for some extraneous incident, which Mr. Athas describes as divine intervention.

After Mr. Athas appealed to the President, the ball started rolling. After months of slumber the Police and the CID got into action.

On the 5th of May, 1998, two suspects were produced before the Gangodawila Magistrate, and he directed Mr. Robert Perera the seniormost practitioner of the Gangodawila Courts to conduct an identification parade. Mr. Athas identified one suspect, and his wife, the second witness identified the other suspect.

It was later revealed that the suspects were from the Sri Lanka Air Force. The 1st suspect was later identified as Sqn Ldr Rukman Herath who has worked mainly as a security officer for the former Air Force Commander, Air Marshal Oliver Ranasinghe.

Mr. Oliver Ranasinghe recently retired from the Sri Lanka Air Force. Until his retirement the 1st suspect had travelled in the front seat of the Commander's vehicle and carried his cell phone. The 2nd accused, Flt. Lt. Prasanna Sujiva Kannangara is the Officer-in-Charge of the Special Airborne Force which was the Commando Unit of the Air Force.

When this attempted abduction took place, forces of evil in uniform had forced their way into the residence of the journalist, Mr. Mangala Samaraweera the Minister in charge of Media, condemned the action of the dark forces, and reiterated the Government's position to protect the journalists from harassment.

It was inevitable that the Minister and the others were referring to the earlier incident of the killing of Richard de Zoysa, which virtually broke the back of the UNP Government. He stated that the Government was committed to the protection of mediamen, whereas the Deputy Minister of Defence, General Anuruddha Ratwatte dismissed the complaint as an "occupational hazard" faced by journalists. It was obvious to any intelligent person that there was division in the Cabinet, on this incident.

The question that was posed by the Magistrate to the CID, was why the police did not file any report immediately after the event in Court on this matter as they do not have the muscle or the teeth to investigate a complaint where the suspicion was always directed at the Forces.

If not for the agitation of international agencies like the Committee to Protect Journalists, Reports Sans Frontiers, International Center Against Censorship. Article 19 and other non governmental organizations, who rallied round Mr. Athas to protect his freedom, it could reasonably be assumed that no arrests would have been made.

A wag said it was Mr. Bill Richardson who did the trick. The government was extending the rope trick so that others would feel that there is an impartial investigation.

It is important to note the manner in which the CID acted on this issue.

On the one hand the CID would have been ordered to carry out an impartial investigation and produce the suspects in Court; on the other hand there would have been pressure from other quarters, to soft pedal the whole issue.

If the CID did not have any information that these two suspects were involved in this crime, it would not have taken them into custody and produced them in Court. But then did they act within the law when they produced them straight to Court for an identification parade.

Did these suspects have special privileges over any other suspects? It must be noted that a suspect who is to be identified at an identification parade is produced before a Magistrate is kept in a vehicle outside the premises of the Court and a remand order is obtained from the Magistrate with the direction to the Superintendent of Prisons commanding him to keep the suspects in seclusion and produce the suspects to Court taking all possible precautions to prevent his person being seen by anyone.

It is a matter of accepted practice that suspects are remanded for a number of days for the purpose of identification.

The lawyers appearing for the defence reprimanded the CID for having brought them to Court in a vehicle belonging to the CID. It is obvious that the CID did this and bent the rules to prevent the suspects being remanded prior to the identification parade.

If the CID followed the normal procedure and saw to it that justice was equally meted out to a Squadron Leader or any other person, then they would not have got into this difficulty. I believe the CID expected all the witnesses to fail to identify the accused in an incident which happened a few moths ago. But Iqbal Athas being a senior journalist was so shocked with the incident that he had a lasting impression of the person who came into the premises and drew his gun and pointed it to his head. Therefore he was able to identify one suspect, and the household staff were not able to identify any one of them.

The magistrate ordered a full report to be filed on the May 8 and on that day he would decide whether to remand the suspects any further. What shocked most independent lawyers was the submission made by the CID to Court. They said that the investigations in relation to the incident and in relation to the suspects are not over, they have to arrest other suspects involved in the crime and had to obtain certain documents from the Air force, but did not object to bail.

This is indicative of the manner which the CID had been pressurised. By whom is the most important question.If anyone traces the practice adopted by any agency investigating crime, they would in most circumstances move for remanding of the suspects. Remanding of the suspects pending the conclusion of the investigation had been the dominant practice, its for the defence to make out a case and obtain bail from court for the suspects.

Even for theft of coconuts court remand suspects for 14 days. The application by the CID was as baffling and as mysterious as the attempted abduction and murder of Mr. Iqbal Athas.

The intention of the government is again being questioned by independent people. There could be a sham investigation and arrest in order to obtain some reprieve from the mounting criticism from international agencies not to mention Mr. Bill Richardson special representative of Mr. Bill Clinton.

Similarly what has the Government done to deal with the incidents where members of other such squads probably under the protection of other super officials committed similar crimes. It is important for us to remember the several incidents of a similar nature that happened after this Government came into to power.

In February 1995, the Editor of the Sunday Leader, Mr. Lasantha Wickramatunga and his wife Reine Wickramatunga, a senior journalist, were set upon by goons and thugs and their car was damaged. Not a single arrest was made. We do not know what progress the Police has made in the course of their investigation.

In June 1995, on the day before the funeral of Mrs. Beatrice Kumaratunga, after the President left the funeral house at Narahenpita, security forces assaulted Mr Sarath Kongahage and his wife and damaged his vehicle and robbed the T 56 rifle from his personal bodyguard assigned to him by the MSD. A complaint was made to the Kirillapone Police and Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe went to the Police Station immediately after the incident.

The Kirillapone Police have failed to arrest any one up to date. A few months later Mr. Sarath Kongahage's restaurant was severely damaged by armed men in mufti who carried T 56 rifles and were looking for Mr. Kongahage. Mr. Kongahage escaped by the skin of his teeth. The damage to his restaurant was over a million rupees.

Though the neighbours called the police not a single patrol car came to the scene of offence till the assailants left the place. Duplication Road was blocked by two vehicles parked across the road when the operation was being carried out. A report was filed and not a single arrest has since been made.

The fact that the Police have not recorded the statements of important witnesses who had been present at the scenes of offence and have shown a blind eye to these incidents is presumptive evidence that some agencies of the Government were aware of these acts of terror or even endorsed them.

Sri Lanka is surely drifting towards a Latin American Banana Republic where murder and mayhem are the rule and the Rule of Law is the exception. Yet we are grateful that at least in this case some action has been taken to prevent the forces of evil from taking the law into their own hands.

Though the manner in which the suspects were produced to court without obtaining a remand order from the Magistrate and then not objecting for bail when the investigations were not over leaves the whole matter under a dark cloud. But if the investigations are not hampered by other superiors, the CID is quite capable of arresting all the suspects and their superior officers who were responsible for this dastardly crime.

We would expect the Court to pass judgement according to the evidence, but there is a long way to achieve this. Otherwise, if proper investigations were not carried out, the government would be indicted by the people at the next elections.

It is by internationalizing and exposing the elements of terror to human rights lobbies outside the country, that the people of this country could expect politicians to act within the law.

The action of the President augurs well, and would be an object lesson to any member of a goon squad employed by any Government agency, not to carry out any illegal orders emanating from even the most senior politician or an officer in the Department.

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