Stringent action needed against corrupt

bigwigs
2016-01-08
Yahapalanaya has more challenges to face in creating
national reconciliation
What the hell is going on ha..?
- With What?
With this government, what else..?
- Why? What is the issue?
They are not putting anyone (Of the former regime) behind bars no They are not
delivering what they said.
This was a conversation that I had earlier this week with a person whom I knew from
a Western Embassy. She (A Sri Lankan) had been a strong supporter of
this Yahapalana regime.
No wonder that many such Yahapalana supporters are repeatedly raising this
question for the past several months. Many noises on corruption were made, many
promises to get those involved behind bars were made on the election platforms, but
the desired deliverables are yet to be made.
When looking back, this is one of the major accusations against this new
government.
It was easier said than done.
In fact, the hopes of the people who voted for Maithripala Sirisena exactly a year
ago, were extensively high and managing those hopes became the biggest
challenge for both President Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe for
the past one year.
Whatever said on the electioneering platform, re-establishing democracy that had
been devastated for over a period of a decade could not be accomplished within
twelve months.
Apart from delivering the tough election promises President Sirisena had to face an
equally tough challenge of securing his command within his own party.
However, he has so far well managed to maintain his grip through granting rewards

and perks in winning loyalty but yet to reach a comfortable stand as the party leader.
Though many were critical of his way of handling UPFA nominations at the August
17 Parliamentary elections by granting contesting opportunity to his rival Rajapaksa
camp, President Sirisenas action has managed to confine the one-time most
powerful man to just being a Parliamentarian.

Nevertheless, Rajapaksa will continue to challenge him and create ripples from
within. This will certainly require more investment of time, energy and compromises
from President Sirisena that may sometimes distract him from his own promises of
Yahapalana.
A classic example of this phenomenon was the appointment of several defeated
candidates through the National List to Parliament, a tough decision he had to make
amidst many criticisms in a bid to strengthen his own grip within the party as well as
within the House.
Political reality is far from election pledges in such instances.
Nevertheless, it is extremely important that President Sirisena establishes his full
command within the SLFP ifYahapalanaya is to succeed in an environment of
political cohabitation. The January 8 regime brought a new culture of consensual
politics, at least for a limited period, but this virgin concept is yet to be grasped by
our politically savvy society in its true sense.
When it comes to corruption, the new government had a double challenge. The first
was to re-establish systems and institutions that fought against corruption as those

entities were either silenced or completely shut down.

The second was to take action against those corrupt individual big wigs as promised
during the electioneering campaign. True enough, the process against corrupt
individuals of the previous regime has been extensively slow due to many technical
reasons.
Deputy Minister Ajith Perera at a recent television talk show explained this situation
well and claimed that in some instances the process may take seven to ten years
given the nature of operations in law enforcement agencies.
This is when acting according to the Yahapalana principles. Otherwise putting
someone behind bars could easily be done as it happened during the previous
regime, he said.
Thus, it seems the government is sandwiched between two dilemmas and caught in
a paradox.
But, it has been successful in taking concrete measures through establishing
systems and strengthening institutions against corruption and misgovernance.
Though diluted to some extent due to heavy political bargaining within the House
predominantly due to the pressure by the Rajapaksa camp, the 19th Amendment
has been a significant achievement in correcting such mistakes and bringing the
country back on democratic track.
The autocratic system of governance was abolished peoples representation was
honoured. Even after year-long deliberations, the much awaited Right to Information
Act would see the light of day within a couple of months.
The recent waves of protests and the vociferous social media landscape prove the
fact that the freedom of expression has been ensured, though the traditional media
are yet to enjoy this golden opportunity.
These are cardinal steps in strengthening the basic rights of the citizen.
Re-building the image of Sri Lanka among its own international
peers would have been the toughest challenge of the year. The
country transformed itself from the pariah status to decency
both on policy as well as diplomacy. We had a foreign policy of
arrogance and non-engagement, while our key diplomats in
main global capitals were busy with their own businesses and drawing immense
benefits from government deals.
Cronies and kith-and-kin ran the Foreign Service for their own benefits at the

expense of poor tax payers and nobody was bothered.

Be that as it may, the Yahapalana regime has completed its first year in office amidst
many achievements and some failures. What has already been done is far from
necessities but those could be bold enough in marching forward on the path of good
governance.
As Nalaka Gunawardene rightly said in his recent columns, this is a process not a
set of individual activities. Expectations are still at their peak and managing them will
have to be done with extra care.
What is the biggest challenge that it would face in the coming years?
To my mind, it would be building national reconciliation through a credible process of
transitional justice. The nationwide process of consultation is now on drafting a new
Constitution that would further strengthen the reconciliation process.
In fact Constitutions are to meet the needs of the day. The 1972 Constitution was to
ensure true freedom of the country by establishing the Executive, Legislature and
Judiciary through independent mechanisms from the British Monarch, while the 1978
Constitution was to strengthen the executive for a sustainable economic
development of the country.
This strengthened executive system boomeranged and got into its worst practice for
the past two decades. Thus, the need of the day, mainly in a post-conflict
environment is to ensure national reconciliation and ethno-religious harmony.
Both President Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe seem to be committed
to this cause, but several antisocial elements are still trying to raise their ugly heads
through different brands.
One such movement is talking about Lion Bloodline (Sinha Le) these days. These
efforts should be nipped in the bud before they create another blood bath in this
country.
But, whatever said and done, people are still awaiting to see some errant former big
wigs getting punished without further delay. This will remain a challenging encounter
to the government, irrespective of any other achievement that it would make in the
future.
Posted by Thavam