“We could have thrown them in jail, Rajapaksa style”: PM

• Ranil insists Government will prosecute ex-regime corruption only within the law
• Will only debate Mahinda if he is named UPFA PM candidate
• Says UNP will get a majority in 17 August election

The Government which took office on 9 January had refused to resort to ‘Rajapaksa style’ practices by throwing the former ruling family in prison on charges of corruption; instead those probes were taking place within the law, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday.

“We also could have thrown Rajapaksa family members accused of corruption in jail the way they did, but we will not punish people the way they did,” the Prime Minister said in an interview with the BBC at Temple Trees.

Wickremesinghe said the Government had always insisted that corruption investigations and prosecutions would only take place within the law.

Asked to respond to remarks by the UPFA that the corruption allegations against the Rajapaksa family had been only sound and fury, Wickremesinghe said the white collar crimes had been committed in highly sophisticated ways.

“We don’t have the mechanism and expertise to deal with this type of crime. So our Police force is now being trained in this kind of sleuthing, with assistance from the World Bank and other countries,” the Prime Minister explained.

He said several politicians associated with the ex-regime had also sought redress in Supreme Court, filing fundamental rights cases against arrest by the FCID.

The Bribery Commission was also crippled, the Prime Minister said, with over 1,000 complaints pending investigation and over 200 vacancies. “When the Director General is attempting to recruit police officials to assist, the Commission is blocking the recruitment,” Wickremesinghe claimed.

The Prime Minister also told the BBC that he would only agree to debate former President Mahinda Rajapaksa ahead of the Parliamentary election if he were named the UPFA’s prime ministerial candidate.

Wickremesinghe also asserted that despite analysts doubting if either of the two main parties would obtain an outright majority in the 17 August Parliamentary election, he was confident the UNP would get a clear majority.

“There is no other alternative, the UPFA ruled this country for nearly 20 years, and now they are making promises all over again. What were they doing for 20 years?” the Prime Minister asked.