Thursday, 23 April 2015 00:18
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“At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst” – Aristotle
Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was summoned by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption to make a statement pertaining to accusations levelled against him, sparking mayhem in Parliament this week.
Rajapaksa is accused of unfairly pressuring former UNP General Secretary MP Tissa Attanayake to back his presidential election campaign during which the MP was also appointed Health Minister. Rajapaksa, who was summoned by the Bribery Commission to make a statement, has denied these accusations and even stated that he was amused by the actions being taken against him.
What was less amusing however were the events that followed in Parliament, as several Opposition UPFA MPs, still loyal to the former President, protested the summons. Furthermore, a demonstration was held outside Parliament, in defiance of a Court order preventing any protestors from gathering in the High Security Zone. Significantly, the ruckus that was caused in Parliament meant that the crucial debates on the 19th Amendment to the Constitution were postponed.
Protesting MPs labelled the Bribery Commission’s summons as a Government-instigated witch-hunt and called for the resignation of the Director General of the Bribery Commission. Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa stated that the Commission had to inform him before summoning an MP and called for the Bribery Commission to honour the integrity of Parliament and stop releasing information to the media. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe responded by stating that the public was crying out for meaningful inquiries into allegations of corruption and bribery while stating that he understood the importance of protecting the rights of MPs.
The blatant disregard for the independence and authority of the Bribery Commission became manifest when the Government finally ensured the protesting MPs that the former President would not be summoned but instead the Commission would go to him for a statement. Meanwhile, the Lawyers Collective has argued that neither the Speaker nor the Parliament has any legal right to interfere with the activities of the Bribery Commission.
With the amount of support he still harbours in Parliament, the former President has been afforded benefits that are not typically handed to those called upon to answer serious allegations of bribery. The former President must respect the procedures set in place by the independent institutions that have been appointed to carry out the law and answer the allegations levelled against him accordingly. Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga too was accused and prosecuted for using her executive powers illegally. The outcry in Parliament was however relatively muted.
The Government should also distance itself from these procedures as to not give credence to claims that it is attempting to instigate a witch-hunt as part of taking political revenge against the members of the former regime. The independent commissions must be allowed to run independently and must not be pressured or manipulated into deviating from their mandate. This is the very core precept of good governance.
Similarly, the country and its citizenry too must readjust itself to the ideals of good governance. No one, not even former presidents, are exempt from answering allegations levelled against them by the independent commissions of the country. They may not indeed be guilty but the procedures set in place and the authority afforded to the various commissions must be respected by the citizenry.
