by Zacki Jabbar

Some senior government and police officials had been summoned to Temple Trees by President Mahinda Rajapaksa recently and scolded in filth for not doing enough to promote his candidature at the forthcoming Presidential Election, former President Chandrika Kumaratunga alleged on Tuesday.

Addressing a meeting in support of the Joint Oppositions Presidential candidate Maithripala Srisena at Hyde Park, Kumaratunga lashed out at President Rajapaksa for denigrating public servants and treating them like dirt.

The former president said Sri Lanka’s police service had once been considered the best in Asia, but under the Rajapaksas its ranking had dropped drastically.

Kumaratunga observed that following the repeal of the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, which had introduced independent Public, Police, Elections, Judicial Service and Bribery and Corruption Commissions, the state sector had become mere putty in the hands of the incumbent Chief Executive who had ensured that the rule of law was confined to the books and interpreted according to his whims and fancies.

All public institutions including the judiciary had lost its independence and the people were wondering where they could go to obtain justice,she noted.

The President and his brother the Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa were going around claiming credit for the defeat of the LTTE, but they have forgotten that Gothabaya had run away from the country and lived in comfort for nearly 20 years in the US while soldiers such as General (Rtd) Sarath Fonseka were leading the battle from the front, Kumaratunga said: “I lost an eye due to LTTE terror and many other politicians were killed. The security forces, police and the masses too had to make many sacrifices. It was a combined effort and not the magic wand of the Rajapaksa’s that helped defeat Velupillai Prabakaran.”

Courtesy:The Island