Unfinished War on Two Fronts
Posted on December 17th, 2013
Jay Deshabandu
Despite the fact that it is the policy in the “Mahinda Chintanya” to eradicate the drugs from our country, we see many more container loads of drugs coming to Sri-Lanka. This is not good news for everyone. According to many media news, the politicians are too involved in the drug trafficking in the country. Besides, they are also involved in other rackets such as evasions of tax income on grounds that are not legal.
It is unacceptable that a normal citizen has to pay duty when passing through customs for even a small thing like a used microwave oven when a secretary to the prime minister, acting on his own, according to him, to write a letter asking to reduce the tax, in this case the drug container, on the basis of an individual’s support to the prime minister.
Besides, the prime minister had let his secretary make decisions on his behalf him making many acting prime ministers for Sri-Lanka!
Does the government have this kind of favorable tax policy that reduces the tax for imported goods on party supporters? In my opinion, as a private independent citizen in this country, any government official should not write any letter asking to reduce the tax of any goods based on the person’s support or affliation for the government or any politician. In effect, this secretary has tried to prevent the tax income coming to the government. This is clear violation of evading tax without a legal justification. This violation is reason enough to arrest the secretary to the prime minister who is now entangled in the biggest drug shipment in the country.
If we as a country desire respect from other nations, and if politicians have any dignity left for themselves, it is essential that the law should be followed to the letter of the rule irrespective of the person who is committing the crime.
In this information driven age, politicians should learn that media is also in the electronic form which can span across the globe in seconds. When politicians are involved in criminal acts with impunity, we are very embarrassed to even keep the Sri Lankan identity. Personally, I am very embarrassed to show my passport when passing through immigration formalities in other countries thanks to the behavior of some corrupted leaders.
Unfortunately, as always, UNP is on the wrong side when it comes to Sri Lankan issues. Only a few members of the UNP party are saying something on this issue perhaps they may have also done the same thing when they were in power. The UNP under the leadership Mr. Ranil Wickramasinghe had stood against the country on many occasions; for example, making jokes on the military achievements in the past. I would like to ask from the leadership council of UNP, where are you at this time?
I hope the country can move forward in the right direction with the right leaders who can destroy the drug market in Sri Lanka, which is fast becoming a drug hub in South Asia.
I pray for a good leader who can take on the war on drugs as well as propaganda terrorists such as TNA politicians.
December 17th, 2013 at 3:16 pm
JAY !! Every Politician, Every Government Officer is CORRUPT to the core. Even the Prime Minister’s Office is tarnished. Sri Lanka is slowly and surely, walking towards DOOM. It is coming to the point of No Return.
December 17th, 2013 at 5:06 pm
Leaders must lead by example! PM and the President should come clean on this ASAP. It’s a shame for all Sri Lankans. All are waiting to see how the government responds to this issue.
December 18th, 2013 at 10:37 am
Come clean ? Huh ! How to come clean when they are actually dirty ? Only way is to punish the prosecuter.
December 18th, 2013 at 12:23 pm
Regret i post this the second time. My first post of this was on the wrong link/article.
It does however give a flavour of the nonchalance of our Govt Spokesman and Media Minister in trivialising a matter of great concern to Sri Lankans.
Perhaps, someone should explain and/or comment how Sri Lankans can gain the trust and respect of our elected law makers (sic)
Prime Minister, Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Jayaratne, will have to resign from his position, if he is found guilty of being involved in the case pertaining to the largest haul of heroin detected in South Asia, the government said yesterday.
“This is a very serious issue and the Prime Minister will have to take appropriate action at the appropriate time,” Government Spokesman and Media Minister, Keheliya Rambukwella, said at the weekly Cabinet news conference, held at the auditorium of the Media Ministry, yesterday.
The minister was responding euphemistically to a question from Ceylon Today as to what action the Prime Minister could take if he was found guilty, following repeated claims by him in Parliament and outside that, he could not comment as the issue was being probed, and that he would comment only when the investigations were over.
The gravity of the situation was also pointed out by this newspaper, given that Jayaratne is not only the second citizen of Sri Lanka, but specifically he is also the Minister of Buddha Sasana, and in a country whose Constitution gives pride of place to Buddhists and Buddhism, and whether he was or not, morally obliged to resign under the circumstances. Asked by Ceylon Today, whether he and the government feel that the Prime Minister should resign under those circumstances, Rambukwella said, that all these questions would be recorded and aired over television in the night! “I cannot at this point give the details. All I can do is to give you journalists the details of the investigations. But it is not right for me to say yes or no,” a visibly embarrassed Rambukwella told the local and the Colombo-based international media.
Pressed further by this newspaper whether the investigations would be impartial or whether this probe, like many others in the past, would be swept under the carpet, the minister said that it was not fair to point fingers at the government and instead wanted us to point out which investigations were swept under the carpet.
It was then pointed out to Minister Rambukwella that four long years had passed since the killing of the founding Editor of the Sunday Leader and the government had not made an official statement on the incident to date
The minister said that it was only a media affair and there were reports of 67 cases of killings of journalists worldwide. However, he did not explain why the government had not announced the details of that crime or how the probe on the Prime Minister would to be conducted impartially.
The news conference kicked off with a journalist querying why the government was not taking action on a series of sordid affairs by the members of the government. It was also pointed out why the government had not taken any action against MP Duminda Silva and Minister Mervyn Silva, and now it was the Prime Minister. “Minister, you are embarrassed, having to answer all these questions on a weekly basis due to the embarrassment these ministers and MPs are causing the government,” the journalist said, amidst ripples of laughter across the auditorium.
Rambukwella also said that any minister or the Prime Minister was personally responsible for the staff they hire and what was more important was the action they would take, and added that nothing has been done or could be done as the investigations were underway. On being questioned why the Premier was not resigning, Rambukwella said: “May be the Prime Minister had not thought of it until now.”
Asked what the opinion of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and other Cabinet ranked ministers were, on this sordid affair, he said the investigations were on and therefore he was gagged. He added that an impartial inquiry would reveal all.
Ranbukwella also said, the Prime Minister, on being told there was a suspect container, had directed that the container should be released only after the inquiries were over.
He went on to say that he believed the quantity of heroine was for transshipment and that the drug lords were elsewhere. When asked by this newspaper whether he thinks that the quantity was too much for Sri Lanka amidst ripples of laughter from journalists, Rambukwella said that the quantity would be too much for this country. Asked about heroin being found in Hikkaduwa, he said there was a possibility of boats carrying the contraband to Australia.
He however said, the government would make every effort to rid the country from the menace of drugs and narcotics, for good.