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By Uditha Jayasinghe
Loyalists of President Sirisena yesterday attempted to flip the narrative on his controversial speech criticising anti-graft commissions by insisting that the President was venting his frustration at the slow progress of crucial investigations and acknowledged the Head of State was wary of repercussions from the military establishment.
A visibly agitated Cabinet spokesman Dr. Rajitha Senaratne took political analysts and State media to task during the weekly Cabinet briefing, lambasting them for what he termed as “misunderstanding” the context of the President’s speech made at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute (SLFI) last week. He also invited them to listen to the full speech as he had done to clear any issues.
President Sirisena had “clarified” his speech at the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday night, Dr. Senaratne told reporters, launching an extensive explanation including the background of what motivated his headline grabbing remarks.
“The President has the same views as the majority of Sri Lankans. He shares the disappointment of the people. He too is fed up of waiting for investigations into mega deals to be concluded. What we don’t understand is why these commissions are focusing on minor crimes. Basil Rajapaksa is being hauled up on charges of distributing pipes, Johnston on handing out carom boards while Rajapaksa and his family are laughing at us. Why has the Bribery Commission failed to competently investigate Dubai bank accounts held by the Rajapaksas even after we clearly gave them all the information? What has happened to the MiG investigation? Why are these investigations still dragging along one and a half years later?”
The Health Minister continued his tirade by saying delays on the part of Bribery Commission officials not only gave time for the cash to be shifted to other accounts but also caused humiliating situations for President Sirisena.
Claiming to quote Sirisena’s speech at the Cabinet meeting, Dr. Senaratne alleged that Bribery Commission Director General Dilrukshi Dias Wickramasinghe came to the President’s residence several months ago to get his signature on a letter to the Emir of the United Arab Emirates to release the funds in the Dubai bank accounts.
“How can such things be done when there is a clear procedure? What is the point of getting the President’s signature for such a document when it is obviously pointless? No country will release bank funds like that and just an hour after the signing the President gets a phone call from Rajapaksa asking if he gave such a letter. How does he know? We are not saying this was said by Wickramasinghe directly but clearly there were leaks. Why were the money laundering charges not filed and proved in a local court of law? If that was done then automatically we have a legal precedent to ask for these accounts to be probed by international authorities. Why were these measures not taken?”
Dr. Senaratne also faulted the Director General for supposedly ignoring instructions by a key group of top ministers, which he was a part of, who held a meeting with the heads of the commissions and instructed them to concentrate on investigations into “mega robberies.”
Despite Sirisena’s statements, the relationship with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as well as the union between the two parties remains strong, Dr. Senaratne insisted. He also defended ministers within the Government who had been pulled up on charges, saying President Sirisena depended on their loyalty to maintain a two-thirds majority in Parliament.
“How can anyone say misuse of a vehicle is a crime? Then all Members of Parliament will have to be hauled up. Don’t even the heads of your companies sometimes take office vehicles they are not entitled to? Then we all will have to be put in the dock. Everyone must understand political realities. The Government is trying to push through reforms that need a two-thirds majority in Parliament but how can unity be maintained if Ministers are hauled up for minor offences? President Sirisena did not ask for a national government it was Prime Minister Wickremesinghe. But having taken up the leadership of his party he now has to maintain it.”
Minister Senaratne even trotted forward Minister Fowzie’s minority credentials as a reason not to prosecute him before quoting Lenin to justify how “the path of revolution is paved with corruption, fraud, murder and rape” but is “worth it for the freedom that it brings.”
“Before people can enjoy Yahapalayana we must first bring Yahapalanaya. How can we have a new Constitution or a new election system or abolish the executive presidency if we don’t have a two-thirds majority in Parliament,” he argued.
The Cabinet minister was most articulate on the challenges faced by President Sirisena as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces to retain their loyalty and respect.
“We are not saying investigations into Eknaligoda and Lasantha should stop but they must be done better. On one hand we have military personnel jailed indefinitely and on the other Rajapaksa trying to rile up the masses by whipping up fears of throwing members of the military behind bars. In such an environment it is understandable that the army would wonder about their fate. As the Defence Minister and the chief protector of this country, President Sirisena has a duty towards the military too. This is what he said in his speech.”
The Minister was adamant that the President only included the Navy commanders summoned before court in relation to his comments to commissions and not former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
“He only mentioned Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the previous sentence and it was dragged into the rest of this speech by the reporters,” he contended.
Dr. Senaratne passionately defended the President’s deliberation of “military concerns” and confessed “nationalism is deeply embedded in the military.”
In an apparent refusal to walk back his onslaught against the Government’s anti-corruption agencies, President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday accepted the resignation of Director General of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) Dilrukshi Dias Wickramasinghe.
Director General Wickramasinghe tendered her resignation on Monday (17) hours before President Sirisena returned from the BRICS summit in Goa, India.
After nearly 48 hours of silence on the issue, Government sources confirmed yesterday that the President had accepted her resignation.
A deputy director of the Bribery Commission had been appointed acting Director General, reports said last night.
Wickramasinghe was appointed Director General of the Commission in February 2015.
Her resignation came only days after President Sirisena’s speech lambasting the Bribery Commission, the FCID and the CID for working to a political agenda.
