By

Rasika Jayakody

In an interesting turn of events, Dilrukshi Dias Wickremasinghe, the dynamic Director General of the Bribery Commissioner, tendered her resignation on Monday morning, without citing any reason.

The nearest reason for the Bribery Commission Director General’s resignation was the controversial speech made by President Maithripala Sirisena, addressing a military welfare event in Colombo, last week.
In his speech, the President criticised the conduct of the Police Financial Crimes Investigations Division (FCID), the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and the Bribery Commission saying they followed a ‘Political agenda’ when they took legal action against former heads of security forces. The President’s remark, without doubt, created a major controversy in the political sphere as some analysts described it as a veiled attack on the UNP.

Shortly after the President’s speech, it was rumoured that the Bribery Commission Director General was preparing to step down from her position. However, the situation seemed under control when a group of ministers, led by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, met the President for a special meeting, on Thursday night. Following the positive outcome of the meeting, many believed that Wckremasinghe would not resign from the position and the independent bodies, appointed under the 19th Amendment, would function as usual.

Wickremasinghe’s resignation came as a shock to the UNP as the party MPs were of the view that the Bribery Commission Director General had decided to remain in the position after consultations with the Prime Minister.

Although it looked as if Wikcremasinghe’s matter had been resolved – at least temporarily – speculation was rife that the commission’s Chairman, Justice T.B. Weerasuriya, might resign.

Weerasuriya was known to be a forthright judge when he served at the apex court and also continued his work with the same diligence as the Bribery Commission’s Chairman.

Sources close to him told the Daily News that the President’s remarks had extremely upset Justice Weerasuriya and he had expressed his desire to quit his job. He had explained to his colleagues at the commission that continuing in his post would be an embarrassment. Aside from that, the situation seemed ‘calm’ as the President and the UNP ministers had arrived at an understanding over the matter.

It was against this backdrop that the President and the Prime Minister went abroad for several important international engagements. President Sirisena, as a member of the BIMSTEC, flew out to Goa to attend the BRICS Summit – an international relations conference attended by the heads of five members states – Brazil Russia, India, China and South Africa.

India, a member of both the BRICS and the BIMSTEC, hosted the eighth annual BRICS Summit, and had invited leaders of BIMSTEC countries to join for greater regional outreach. Therefore, the Sri Lankan President had the opportunity to hold bilateral meetings with several world leaders, including Russian President Vladmir Putin.

The Prime Minister and a top level Sri Lankan delegation left for Belgium to have a series of discussions with senior European Council and European Commission officials to restore GSP+ concessions. The government, over the past few months, was eying the GSP+ concession as the European Union had welcomed certain democratic reforms, introduced by the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration.

It was in this context that Wickremasinghe sent her letter of resignation to President Sirisena, on Monday. Although some top-brass members of the current administration urged her to ‘wait’ until the Prime Minister’s return, the Director General was adamant that she wanted to quit.

Wickremasinghe’s resignation sent ripples across the civil society groups that supported President Sirisena, at the last Presidential election. The Bribery Commission’s Director General, formerly an officer attached to the Attorney General’s Department, is known to be an efficient and forthright official who carried out her professional duties with integrity. Therefore, many considered her resignation a severe blow to good governance.

Background

Wickremasinghe, an official who was often dubbed by the opposition as a personal friend of the Prime Minisrer, is no alien to the country’s legal sphere.

Having received her initial legal education from the Sri Lanka Law College, she was admitted to the Bar as an Attorney-at-Law of the Supreme Court on October 21, 1985. Later, she was admitted to the Bar of England & Wales as a Solicitor. She has also obtained a masters’ degree (L.L.M) in Commercial Law from the University of Monash.

In June, 1987, she joined the Attorney General’s Department as a State Counsel. She was initially attached to the Criminal Division, and conducted prosecutions in High Courts. Later, she moved into the Civil Division, and commenced appearing in various civil cases. Wickramasinghe also served as a Senior State Counsel and Deputy Solicitor General.

After being promoted to the rank of Additional Solicitor General in 2014, she was appointed a President’s Counsel and was called to the inner Bar. She also served as a Judge of the High Court of the Republic of Fiji and also served as the Chief Legal Officer of the Sri Lanka Air Force. Before she was handpicked as the Director General of the Bribery Commission after the new government came to power, Wickremasinghe played an important role at the AG’s department.

It is now speculated that she will be reassigned to the Attorney General’s Department. However, the President’s Office, on Monday evening said, the President was yet to respond to the Bribery Commission Director General’s letter of resignation.

Responsibility

Be that as it may, it is now the responsibility of the national unity government to ensure that Wickremasinghe’s resignation does not turn into a political volcano. For that, the UNP and the SLFP members representing the ruling alliance should arrive at an agreement on some key matters concerning the government.

When the UNP ministers, led by Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, met the President for a special discussion on Thursday, the latter made it clear that he had been quoted “out of context” by several media stations.
The President said the journalists present at the event did not report an important part of his speech, where he referred to the stability of the government.

Towards the end of the speech, the Presidentsaid the present government would not collapse, although some parties were attempting to create problems. He told the UNP delegation that many reporters who covered the event turned a blind eye to the latter part of his speech, as they were busy sensationalizing his remarks on corruption investigations. The President stressed that he had no problem with ongoing investigations and he would extend his fully support to law enforcement bodies.

Gaps

However, several SLFP ministers representing the national government fired salvos at law enforcement bodies, addressing public meetings over the weekend. It showed that there was a strong difference of opinion within the ruling camp – especially between the two main stakeholders of the coalition government – over anti-corruption investigations.

When the controversy surrounding Bribery Commission Director General’s resignation was raised at the SLFP’s weekly press conference on Monday, Minister Dilan Perera launched a veiled attack on Wickremasinghe.

“The President, in his speech, did not point his finger at the Bribery Commission Director General. However, it looks like the hat fits,” the Minister said, directing his criticism at Wickremasinghe. It indicated that some SLFP ministers, especially the ones at the receiving end of corruption allegations, had an axe to grind with the Bribery chief.

However, Minister S.B. Dissanayake, an ally of President Sirisena, attempted to respond to queries, without damaging the goodwill between the two main partners of the ruling alliance.

“It is the Bribery Commission Director General’s personal decision. We have nothing to do with that. I don’t think this issue will create a rift in the national unity government. It is true that there are fundamental differences between the two parties. But, we have to work together as an alliance,” Dissanayake said.

However, leading civil society members who were instrumental in the President’s election victory last year welcomed the Bribery Commission Director General’s bold decision. Speaking to BBC Sandeshaya, Purawesi Balaya stawart Gamini Viyangoda said Wickremasinghe’s resignation showed that she was an officer with integrity.

“Her resignation was a great response to the President’s speech. It shows that the public servants still have a backbone. Officers with integrity should not betray their self-dignity. It is something corrupt politicians find it hard to understand,” Viyangoda said, hitting out at politicians who criticised Wickremasinghe’s letter of resignation.

It is also important to understand that the current issue has surfaced while the unity government is making preparations to present its second budget to Parliament. Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake is expected to present the budget 2017 to Parliament, on November 10.

Last year, after the budget was presented to Parliament, the government had to amend it multiple times, due to various differences of opinion over key budget proposals. It goes without saying that the uncertainty and confusion over budget proposals reflected badly on the government and its policies.
This time, the government has to make sure that everyone is on the same page about the budget. That is why maintaining unity between the two key stakeholders of the government is of great importance, at this juncture. It is still too early to assume whether the Bribery Commission Director General’s resignations and its ramifications will disrupt unity within the ruling camp.

Self-proclaimed killer

The investigation into the killing of journalist Lasantha Wickrematunga took a new turn last week, when an ex-intelligence unit solider committed suicide, after writing a note confessing to the journalist’s murder.

The letter, which had been written in a formal manner, said Sgt. Major Udalagama, who is currently in remand over Wickrematunga’s death, was not responsible for the crime.

Initial investigations into the incident revealed that Illandarige Jayamanne, a father of three, had been alone in his house at the time of his death. His wife is employed in the Middle East and his oldest son lives separately.

At the time of his death, one of his sons had been away in India attending a sporting event and the other at the home of a relative, studying.

The inquest conducted by Romesh Alagiyawanna, Judicial Medical officer in Kegalle, ruled that death was due to asphyxiation from hanging.

One of his sons, Chathura Jayamanne confirmed the handwriting on the note claiming responsibility for the death of Wickremtunga, was his father’s own. But, he also added that expert assistance was required to reach a final conclusion.

Interestingly, in Jayamanne’s letter, he refers to Prem Ananda Udalagama as ‘Malinda Udalagama’. Police investigators said it was still not clear as to why he used a different name.

Jayamanne had been previously arrested for maintaining an armoury at a safe house at Millennium City, in 2002.

Questions

The ex-officer’s letter itself raised some serious question as it had been written in a highly formal tone, with the title ‘to whom it may concern’. There was no indication that the ex-solider regretted the crime. So, there was an unresolved question as to why he committed suicide, without surrendering himself to law enforcement authorities.

Meanwhile, several important revelations that surfaced after the ex-officer’s death also deepened the mystery. It was revealed that Kegalle Police had failed to get the Scene of Crime Officers (SOCO) to the place where his body was found. This lapse on the part of the Kegalle Police made the ex-officer’s suicide highly suspicious.

As the body was recovered from the ex-officer’s house with a ‘suicide note’, the CID officers handling the investigation into Wickrematunge’s death left for Kegalle. They found out that records on the phone belonging to the self-proclaimed killer had been wiped out before the death, in a mysterious manner.

However, Police have now contracted the help of the mobile phone provider, to track down records of the deleted short message service (SMS) and phone conversations the retired soldier had, in the days leading up to his death.

“First we need to verify whether it is an actual suicide. There is a suspicion whether someone killed him to cover up a heinous crime. That’s why the ex-intelligence officer’s death should be carefully investigated,” an officer involved in the inquiry told the Daily News.

According to Army records, the ex-intelligence officer had retired from the military service in 2007. Lasantha Wickremetunga was murdered by armed men on his way to work on the morning of January 8, 2009.
Therefore, it is still a mystery as to how a retired military officer was ‘contacted’ by some party to kill a journalist who was openly critical of the country’s military heads. It is almost impossible to believe that Jayamanne had a personal dispute with Wickrematunga, prompting the retired soldier to kill the journalist.

Although the CID is yet to come to a final conclusion on Jayamanne’s involvement in the journalist’s killing, the whole incident is a severe indictment on the way the state defence apparatus was run under the Rajapaksa administration. On the other hand, Prem Ananda Udalagama is also a key suspect in the assault of Upali Tennakoon, the Editor of the Rivira and Dinamina newspapers in January 2009, no less than two weeks after the murder of Wickremetunga. In an identification parade held before the Gampaha Magistrate last month, Tennakoon and his wife Identified Udalagama as a person who assaulted them. In addition, Lasantha Wickrematunga’s driver, in a separate identification parade, also identified Udalagama.

However, at this point, it is crystal clear that the investigations into Lasantha Wickrematunga’s death and other attacks on journalists will become a can of worms, as far as the defence establishment of the country is concerned.

Courtesy:Daily News