Homily for good governance from an ex-policeman

| by I. S. Senguttuvan

( March 15, 2012, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Students of contemporary politics in the country are given yet another homily about how the government should be run - this time by former Police DIG Gamini Gunawardena (GG) – a regular writer who makes no bones about his efforts to get into the good books of the ruling clique. His frantic efforts to be accepted as part of the Buddhist Sinhala chauvinistic cabal is a matter that cannot escape the discerning student of the ceaseless National Debate. Gunawardena has no compunction in trying to convince readers he is an Alumni of that great Fountain of Learning – the Harvard University. The fact is he is said to have benefited from a few months of visitation at Harvard as a senior Police officer. This is as part of the US Govt’s programme that allows senior officials from many parts of the world to be familiar with the University and its enormously good work designed to secure world peace and order. From what we gather, Gunawardena did not work long enough as stipulated to get a formal Harvard degree.

File Photo of Sri Lankan policemen

To be identified and accepted as part of the Sinhala Buddhist academic community brings rich rewards in a time of our history and governance where established drug-traffickers, crime lords and extortionists are supported and encouraged by the ruling set to sit in the front benches of Parliament and government – something unthinkable in a society claiming to be clean and democratic. This aberration is now both fashionable and profitable as one notes from example where the son of a former distinguished senior servant - identified with the Left, whose (the son) writings in favour of the regime on all and sundry matters in recent times, found himself a place in the giant Government delegation to Geneva. What role the younger man plays and how relevant and useful his presence and contributions are in this do-or-die effort at the expense of the poor Lankan tax-payer, of course, an entirely different matter in a government team that is more divided than united with even the team Captain taking sides against the two contenders fighting to claim the mantle of Official Leader in Geneva.

Back to the ex-Policeman. He certainly has validity and experience to dwell on the subject of Police powers. But the much-claimed Harvard education - that should necessarily be prefaced with courtesy and etiquette is woefully lacking when he refers to TNA Parliamentarian and Lawyer M. A. Sumanthiran tastelessly as “ilk” It appears to many Sumanthiran has eminently and convincingly proved the provision of Police Powers to a devolved Unit goes more to serve the cause of unity than the false pretense of “separating the country” “claiming 1/3rd of the land and sea for 1/10th of the population” or rendering the North-East Province to the State of Tamilnadu in India – foolish bogeys that has so far fooled the mass of the Sinhala Nation. This is a self-inflicted stupor from which they seem to be gradually releasing themselves from. GG may probably know Sumanthiran, whom he disparagingly describes as part of an “ilk” - recently convinced a Supreme Court, whose neutrality comes to question currently more often than not – of the illegality and poor construction of a recent Government Circular governing Land matters and secured Supreme Court Determination 3/2011 in his favour. This greatly enhances Sumanthiran’s reputation as a senior lawyer and respected Parliamentarian competent to discuss at depth matters such as the one GG has taken upon himself to preach - a task that appears far too burdensome for his intellectual make-up.

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How much claim can GG make to have made the department he served for long as a clean and good one – where he functioned latterly as No.2 for many years? The Police Department has been for many decades now one of the most criticized, corrupt and badly run incurring the combined wrath of the people in the four corners of the country. As I write this an ASP is caught by the Bribery Department while forcing an extortion sum of Rs.1 million from a house owner in the Ratmalana area whose legitimate request was to get her house back. While it was only Tamils earlier now even Sinhalese now fear for their life and physical well-being to go to the Police. Many who went in to conduct ordinary business were never seen thereafter. Even lawyers are not safe in Police Stations requiring the Police now to display boards in their premises outlining the duties of lawyers viz. the Citizen-Police interaction.

GG has haphazardly touched far too many areas in his rambling piece. I have chosen a few for response. It is amazing how such a once highly placed official does not understand the meaning of the Constitution in the context of how citizens secure their rights. He blabbers here “merely because this piece of legislation (referring to the 13thAmendment) is in the Constitution” he seriously enquires “whether it is obligatory on the part of the government it should be implemented?” Now how did a man with such warped logic find himself to the higher echelons of the Police department - that is often the arbiter for justice to the ordinary citizen? He stridently refers to the lawless days of 1987 and says “there were riots on the day the Indo-Lankan Accord was signed” Many of us know the Police also instigating those JVPers on the rampage destroying millions of rupees worth of government assets then. It might come as education to GG President Mahinda Rajapakse, who was one of those in the vanguard of those deadly riots, now goes a begging to Delhi offering to go by the tenets of the 13th Amendment – or to quote him 13th Amendment PLUS - All now to bring justice to the minorities in the country. DD's reference to the Sinhalese suffering a “minority complex " in his description “ because there are 60 million Tamils across in India" is a characteristic infantile argument on his part. Such illogical and seditious statements are calculated to inflame the gullible in the streets - and nothing more. The more educated in the South know the issue in perspective. As to DD's question if Tamils are the only minority in the country" the answer is in the negative. But they are, by far, the largest and most ancient minority in the country and their historical claims are so based. As to Muslims and Malays GG's speaks of he should know Malays are part of the Muslim formation. Their numbers are, arguably, not more than 50,000 in the country. There are as many Burghers in the country as well. The Muslim factor in our political dialogue, a religious phenomenon, is originally the creation of mischievous machinations from the South to dilute, confuse and weaken the validity of the Tamil struggle. It is a fact until the 1980s Muslims articulated their needs (the Muslims of the NEP) from and through main Tamil parties. It may be recalled there were several Muslim MPs in the FP and the TULF.

It is utterly irresponsible for a former senior official to speak disparagingly of a humane leader like President Abdul Kalam in the words and manner which DD choses to present. President Kala's advise on the fishermen’s issue was only to break a deadlock of an issue where the livelihood of fishermen in the Jaffna and Tamilnadu seas have been from the riches of the sea – for millennia. A mere law of the IMBL - that came into international law in recent times - has caused immense confusion, conflict and hardship to fisher-folk on both sides of the Straits. Certainly, we have reason to argue in favour of our Northern fishermen. But the plight of the other side also needs to receive as much consideration is simply decency and natural law. Taking Gunawardena in his own words ““A constitution is believed to be the formal statement of country on what it wants to be and how it wants to be governed. It is best arrived at by consensus. It cannot be prescribed by any other source” he might remind himself the elected representatives of the largest number of Tamils did not form of the Constituent Assembly when it arbitrarily changed the Constitution in 1972. It then callously removed even the minor protection enshrined to save them under the 1948 Jennings Constitution. This regular tearing of the hair “India forced the Indo-Lanka Agreement and the 13th Amendment on us” is far too childish to require a response.

DD admits the ILA was opposed by Prabakaran/the LTTE. This is another way of saying India showed sufficient consideration to the good of the Sinhala side too in trying to work out a mutually acceptable path for co-existence although it was clear Tamils were wronged then as now. GG may or may not know follow the boats that brought in the jawans, who came here by invitation by the then GoSL. This part of legislation came into being after years of study by legal experts and government leaders from both sides who held regular consultations and decided on the form and content of the ILA. If India wanted to flex muscles they could have opted for a Cyprus-like incision as JRJ’s government was in their knees at that time with simultaneous insurrections in the South and the NEP. As to other examples of the “dastardly action” of countries Gunawardena claims ignorance of, he might do himself a favour if he was to study the case of Tanzania's Nyerere encouraging the OAS invasion of Uganda and the the other OAS inspired invasion of Granada in the West Indies. The current global emphasis on R2P – that was used recently and effectively in Libya – is bound to be seen in many other intractable theatres of conflict in the contemporary world as minorities are brutalized by their own majorities - with scant respect to law or reason. Tamils may have not asked for PC’s then but they certainly asked for the natural right to run the affairs of their Province – albeit within Sri Lanka – and the ILA/13th amendment provided some form of space for this. Meeting the argument of why Prabakaran was not disarmed was the latter development where President Premadasa – taking over from JRJ – broke the very letter and spirit of the agreement by arming the LTTE against the IPKF – an untenable act of treason on the part of Sri Lanka – of which Gunawardena cannot be unaware of.

GG - the ex-Policeman misinforms himself that Sonia Gandhi was “denied permission with visit some other State” This unverified statement alone shows the man is unqualified to engage in an academic discussion. He appears to be going by simple hearsay and bazar talk as source of his material. The hot-headed semi-literate Chief of UP Mayawati once said she will stop Sonia and her children from entering the State. This was merely to impress her millions of Dalit (uneducated Untouchables) supporters. The State of UP and all of India laughed at her ignorance. As a senior Policeman GG must know that no Indian, in normal circumstances, can be refused permission to visit any part of India with the exception of specified security installations. In the recent UP MLA Elections Mayawati, who held over 200 seats in the 400 seat UP-MLA, was thrown out to 3rd place. Both Sonia’s children Rahul and Priyanka campaigned in various parts of the giant State for months in the UP.

The fears Gunawardena tries to weave in the minds of lesser mortals in the country on similar issues is on similar poor foundation is patently clear. It was not surprising Minister Rambukwella, at the butt end of many a joke, also repeated the same nonsense some time ago.

By the way, the UNP politician in Anuradhapura was not Babapulle but the very popular Dr. Johnpulle.

The Police in the case did not take action because of the poor level to which the Police has been brought down by the black sheep within its higher ranks in recent decades. It is a national tragedy of sorts the once respected Police service was ruined by ill-educated men rising to high positions.

GG makes some sweeping charges in this poorly constructed piece. I do not dispute the incidents of Police corruption he mentions. These are only but a few of what is happening in the country almost daily. One of his tongue-in-the-cheek statement is “We all know that our Ministers in the central government are corrupt…..The Central government is corrupt” As a former DIG, a duty is cast on him to speak with responsibility.Futhermore, having made such a statements he owes the country a duty by exposing these “ministers” - with details of their crooked dealings.

If there is one statement where I agree with GG it is where he states no Policemen should be under the influence of politicians in any part of the country. As he will know, this was how the system was working before the spectre of Majoritarianism came into the scene. We heard of no Police officer resigning on the Principle of opposing political influence – except the case where that erect IGP Cyril Herath did in an issue in which he disagreed with the C-in-C.

GGs dismissal of the “Grease Yaka” problem is both erroneous and simplistic. It is not the work of sadists. At its height, it took place simultaneously in many parts of the country – mainly in the NEP – and came about at a time when there were many questions of the high Defence Expenditure votes and more the un-necessary continuation of the Emergency Regulations to rule the country. Wikileaks provided sufficient indication Grease Yakas were the work of poorly educated men in the Defence Establishment - calculated to keep the country in a climate of fear psychosis so that the unrest in the country arising from the more strident Cost of Living issue is kept in check..

Ex-DIG Gunawardena’s critique of Sumanthiran’s call for Police powers falls far too short of what he aims to suggest. In the unique contemporary Lankan context, the Tamils of the North-East Province running their affairs can no longer be denied. It was denied so long by sheer brute force of the majority parties ruling from Colombo but on various false pretences. The world has since changed. As even events within the country today show where various laws and investigations by the galore is reported regularly - by the Army, the Police, the AGs Department and so on. These are more due to pressure from the UN and the international community rather than what should have been done spontaneously earlier by the good sense of the majority.

Police, Land Powers and the necessary finances to run the PC are sine quo nonl for these. These cannot be denied any longer.