By Charles.S.Perera

Now its two years since the greatest Bank Robbery in Sri Lanka –the Bond Scam was committed. Two COPE reports were out confirming the theft and showing where the  smell had taken them to. The thief  every one in Sri Lanka is quite aware of  is still unharmed living  a comfortable  respectable life working as the adviser to the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe, proving without doubt that they are bound to each other  more than ever before by the robbery they committed together.

When the facts are so evident, if the Prime Minister  has any respect to democracy he should  resign from his office of Prime Minister and give himself up together with Arjun Manoharan one as the instigator and the other as the perpetrator.

When the whole country knows how the Bond Scam took place and who are primarily responsible, the President Maithripala Sirisena has no courage either  to ask his Prime Minister to resign, or ask him to have Arjun Mahendran arrested by the infamous FCID. 

Sirisena instead waits two COPE reports and two years to pass before he appoints a Commission of Investigation.  One may rightly ask why the hell did  Sirisena wait two years before he  appointed a Commission to Investigate on the Bond Scam ?  Having had  appointed the Investigation Commission what is the guarantee Maithripala Sirisena will take action on the Commission report ?

But it did not take such a long time for Sirisena to dissolve the Parliament to avoid  DEW Goonesakra from presenting his COPE report to the Parliament. It also did not take long time for Sirisena to connive with Ranil Wickramasinghe to arrest Wimal Weerawansa and ask his favourite judge to put him in jail.

It also did not take long for Sirisena to dismiss the General Secretaries of SLFP and UPFA and appoint two new Secretaries and announce that even if Mahinda Rajapakse were to win the general  elections he will not be made the Prime Minister.  Maithripala Sirisena thinks that people of Sri Lanka are all  fools, and would give party allegiance and confidence, friendly trust, and affection , if someone were to  propose highlife and a high position. No all Sri Lankans are  back stabbers.

Sirisena is politically married to Ranil Wickramasinghe and he will never allow Ranil to resign. Ranil Wickramasinghe is the support on whom Maithripala Sirisena keeps his hold. Without him he will crash. Ranil Wickramasinghe  does not want to waste the precious time he has to ruin Sri Lanka as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka giving into Sirisena’s pathetic call of order.  Sirisena  had been wanting to reshuffle the Cabinet, but Ranil wants nothing of it. Ranil is not only ruining Sri Lanka but also ruining his own party the UNP, proposing to elect Sarath Fonseka as the Assistant leader of the UNP.

Will the UNP wakeup to throw its leader out ?

In the meantime the Bond Scam Circus is in full swing, despite the fear of the witnesses to give evidence through fear of Yahapalanaya revengeful tactics. Ranil Wickramasinghe  may be readying himself to pounce upon the courageous witnesses from the Central Banka any time to force them to withdraw their evidence or go backtrack  on them for the benefit of the thief, as the Bond Scam had been a pre-arranged affair to benefit the empty treasury of the  UNP.

The Chief Minister of the Western Province  Isura Devapriya had on 30 March,2017,  blamed the IGP for not providing protection to those witnesses giving evidence before the presidential Commission.

Has  Maithripala Sirisena as the President the power to step in and stop this  Bond Scam Circus now ?

He should have done it long time ago without waiting two years to wake up.  The Governor of the Central Bank is also a public officer  therefore under the Administrative Regulations when he is suspected to have committed an illegal act in the  performance of his duties he should have been interdicted from service, before charges are framed against him.

But in the case of this individual –Arjun Mahendran, he has been given more responsibility and provided gainful employment. Why cannot the President if he has any power,  to at least now have the miscreant interdicted, and his passport impounded ?

While the Presidential Commission is sitting other matters  pertaining to the Bond Scam are coming to light. Now it has been reported that EPF had incurred a loss of Rupees Nine and a Half Billion because of the Bond Scam, while the Perpetual treasuries has got a benefit of  Thirteen Billion Rupees.

The Central Bank it appears could have burrowed One Billion rupees from the EPF without selling the famous Bonds and avoided the lost to the Central Bank.

But what we cannot understand is how was it that the three man Committee appointed by the Prime Minister immediately after the Bond Scam on 27 February,2015  reported that no irregularity has taken place and no blame could be placed on the  Governor of the Central Bank ? 

What did they investigate and how did they made their investigations  ?  The three men who were lawyers attached to the Sirikotha should be held responsible for making a wrong report and  debarred from practicing law.

As the profit of Thirteen Billion Rupees had been earned by the Perpetual Treasuries on questionable terms, the Government should confiscate the amount at least  until the end of the investigations by the Presidential Commission. It is a matter for the Chairman of the Commission to Order.  If not the President Maithripala Sirisena should issue instructions to the Chairman of the Commission to do so.

Some such decision should be taken to stop the Perpetual Treasuries from using this ill earned  Thirteen Billion Rupees as it has been announced that the Government is allowing the Perpetual Treasuries to open a Distillery in the East. Maithripala Sirisena who pretends to be a Buddhist cannot let these rougues open a Distillery in Buddhist Sri Lanka, and that too with the ill earned money causing a loss of Nine and a Half Billion Rupees to the Employees Provident Fund.

Most surprisingly the recently Highly Recognised Asia’s Best Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake has not deemed it fit to tax the Perpetual Treasuries for its Distillery and waived a tax of  Four Billion Rupees.

All this while they claim that the Government has a huge debt  to pay which had been caused by the previous government. Who are these Yahapalanaya Circus Band trying to fool ?

Isn’t it  time that Maithripala Sirisena stops for a while his speech making and look seriously as to what his Prime Minister is actually up to  and take corrective  action. But his moments are limited.

Maithripala Sirisena wanted to reshuffle the Cabinet of Ministers before he left to meet President Putting in Russia. Then he said he would attend to a change of Ministers on his return from Russhia, and now he says he will look into it after the new year. Will it ever happen ?

However,  we see some already lining up for different Ministries –Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe is hoping to get the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  In preparing his claim for   Mahinda Samarasinghe praises Maithripala Sirisena as a person invited by all foreign  countries and, says  that Sri Lanka is no more a subservient country thanks to Maithripala Sirsena.

But the fact is that President Sirisena is being invited everywhere in East and West Europe, but Sri Lanka is soon going  to face bankruptcy , unless Maithripala Sirisena wakes up and  shows the door to his Prme Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe and appoints an able man as the Minister of Finance.

Maithripala Sirisena should also leave aside things which are not urgent now such as the writing of a New Constitution, giving more concessions to Tamils on account of reconciliation and stop the Muslim Ministers from going ahead with forest clearing for  Muslim Settlements

President Maithripala Sirisena should also instruct his Prime Minster to take a court order to stop the Perpetual Treasuries from carrying on its business. Its  Bank accounts should be  blocked. Their investment for the construction of the  Distilleries and the launching of a News Paper in Sri Lanka should also be stayed  until the end of the sittings of the Presidential Commission of Investigation on  the Bond Scam.