Crooked Ministers and criminals within ruling SLFP

(October, 14, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) It is common knowledge that there have been a long series of accusations against many SLFP Ministers and Parliamentarians of alleged frauds and cheating. Not long ago, Minister Jeevan Kumaratunge was hauled up in Courts on a charge of bogus recruitment of youths for foreign jobs. Then, there are the raging corruption charges against several other Ministers too. Chandrasena, Minister for Nation Building is one of them.

Fortunately, the wind of avocation is with them. Being Ministers, they have all the resources as well as backing from the top (unlike with other Govts.) to camouflage, suppress and often distort the facts and escape. Sometimes the cases are so manipulated that the poor victims are persecuted while the politicians are not even prosecuted by law.

This trend in the Party seems to be encouraging all those who have not committed crimes also to fall in line with the other crooks and criminals who are making a fast buck with complete impunity, Party connivance and no backlash.

This crooks and criminals multiplying climate in the Party however, has been bitterly criticized by at least a certain group of SLFPers who have started their own crusade for justice as the Party hierarchy is not taking action against crooks and criminals in the Party, even after they have been found stark guilty by the Party’s Disciplinary Committee. In particular, their grievances are directed against two Western Provincial council Ministers : Western Province Minister of Agriculture , Lands and tourism Hector Bethmage and Minster of Sports and Youth Affairs Gamini Thilakasiri.

Both of them were charged for smuggling a most wanted person named Jagath Kumara in a murder case to UK. Besides, Tilakasiri has issued a false letter to the Controller of Immigration and Emigration misrepresenting Kumara as a Ministerial staff.

Mr. Bethmage also has a trail of charges for human smuggling out of the country.

The Disciplinary Committee of the Party has found them guilty nearly nine months ago. But, so far no punishment is meted out! The disgruntled SLFPers are now distributing tabloids exposing these culprits with a view to bringing the crooks to justice, because the Party hierarchy is shielding rogues and criminals.

The Govt. is harassing Mangala Samaraweera and Sooriyarachchi for exposing the Govt. but, exposures of the sordid acts of its own Ministers scarcely worries it, exhorted the disappointed SLFPers.