POLITICAL POWER AMIDST DEFICIT IN POLITICAL LITERACY

Once during cross talks over the Central Bank bond scandal at the Western Provincial Council during the last government, Niroshan Padukka, a United National Party (UNP) member was repeatedly disturbed by the then United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) members. He took his seat after challengingly saying that he would give five minutes from the time allocated to him for any UPFA member to explain the bond scam over which they were shouting. An uneasy silence followed for a few minutes before the UNP member continued his speech, this time with less interruption.

- S. M. Ayub

Although ordinary people, especially those who are uneducated or less educated talk about things like the bond scam, Aflatoxin, Eastern Terminal (ECT) of the Colombo Harbour etc. they are not sure as to what really happened or happening, as it requires a certain degree of knowledge to understand them.

However, only common-sense would suffice one to understand the government’s move to dismiss judicial proceedings into numerous high profile cases of human rights violations, corruption and nepotism involving the government leaders and their close friends, through a motion in Parliament based on the recommendations of the Presidential Commission on political victimisation.

22 persons including former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, MPs and Ministers from the then government and opposition, as well as senior police officers and government officials, had been identified by the Commission as those who were instrumental for the said judicial proceedings. Apart from dismissing these judicial proceedings, their civic rights were too to be revoked under the recommendations of the commission for “violation of the Constitution and misuse of public property” by initiating these cases.

When the then Opposition contested the government’s move to court-martial former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka after he politically challenged former President Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2010, the government leaders argued that he must be brave enough to face the trial if he was innocent. However, here the government is taking a diametrically opposite stance when it comes to the judicial proceedings against their political allies, friends and relatives; they are going to dismiss the cases through a motion in Parliament which was presented by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on April 9.