SRI LANKA: One verdict as

against a culture of savagery

by Kishali pinto jayawardena !uly "#$ "#%&
'he (overn)ent*s boast this wee+ that the ,olo)bo -igh ,ourt*s conviction of a local
authority chair)an and three of his hench)en for the "#%" ,hrist)as .ve )urder of a
/ritish tourist and the brutal rape of his girlfriend 0proves* the independence of Sri
Lan+a*s judiciary is grossly inappropriate in the conte1t of the case2
,oyly protesting innocence
'he )urder of Khura) Shai+h and the rape of 3ictoria Ale1androna occurred directly
as a result of the licence given by this (overn)ent to provincial thugs )as4uerading as
local politicians2 'he for)er head of the 'angalle 5radeshiya Sabha sentenced to
twenty years rigorous i)prison)ent terrori6ed the locals by e)ptying auto)atic
weapons into the air as if they were firecrac+ers and too+ )urderous e1ception to a
tourist*s challenging of his authority2 In si)ilar vein$ a 07ayor* of -a)bantota roa)ed
the city carrying a pistol with which he threatened opposition parlia)entarians2 -e
was not$ in the )ini)u)$ 4uestioned as to why he was endangering public safety2
'his is the culture of savagery for which the (overn)ent is responsible2 It cannot hide
behind one singular verdict and coyly protest its innocence2 'hese clai)s are good only
for the credulous2
In fact$ enor)ous s+epticis) evidenced by )any in the wa+e of this verdict only
indicates the erosion of belief in the i)partial process of justice2 'his is where the
danger lines are drawn$ when the public cynically ceases to believe even in the idea of
justice2 'he postverdict focus has been on the co)fortable if not lu1urious lives that
the accused in high profile cases enjoy behind bars$ the appeals that would be filed and
the possibility of presidential pardons at a point when international attention to the
case is less2
'his is all certainly speculative2 /ut the postwar Rajapa+sa 5residency has been
)ar+ed by the repeated circu)vention of the proper operation of the law through the
device of presidential pardons2 'herefore$ such concerns cannot be easily dis)issed2
Illustrating contrary policies
Indeed$ this verdict does not showcase an 0achieve)ent* of the (overn)ent but 4uite
the contrary2 8hat it illustrates is that in cases attracting e1traordinary international
attention$ this (overn)ent allows the process of investigation$ prosecution and
judg)ent to continue unhindered2 In the vast generality of other cases however$ it
)ercilessly interferes for its own political advantage2
'he Khura) Shai+h verdict therefore evidences one clear fact alone2 Notwithstanding
the tre)endous de)orali6ation of the Sri Lan+an judiciary$ there are honourable
judges who act according to their judicial conscience when allowed to wor+ properly2
9or that$ these individuals should be applauded2 /y no stretch of the i)agination
however can the (overn)ent clai) credit2
In fact$ this clai) gives rise to yet another pertinent 4uestion2 So)e ti)e ago$ the
4uery was raised in these colu)n spaces as to whether a victi) in Sri Lan+a needs to
be a citi6en of a foreign country in order to ensure that justice gets done: 8hat if for
e1a)ple$ an ordinary Sinhalese$ 7usli) or 'a)il lac+ing protection of the few who
control the affairs of this country had been the unwitting focus of fury by a
)isbegotten local politician strutting around in the power conferred on hi) by his
political puppeteers: 'he li+elihood of the case being swallowed up by laws delays$
threatening of witnesses and prosecutorial lethargy is indisputably high2
So what does this say for us$ for the status of the citi6enship that we lay clai) to:
Our record of politici6ed prosecutions
Listing instances of Sri Lan+ans suffering abuses including +illings and rapes by ruling
party politicians and their thugs would ta+e far )ore space than the li)ited confines of
a newspaper colu)n2 9ro) a point in the past where the underworld e1isted at the
be4uest of politicians but was allowed to surface only e1ceptionally$ we now have the
underworld virtually at our doorstep2 'he courts and the law have been rendered silent
in the process2 And our record of politici6ed prosecutions only further illustrates the
point2 'wo instances that i))ediately co)e to )ind are the prosecutions launched
against journalist !S 'issainayaga) and for)er ar)y co))ander Sarath 9onse+a2
7oreover crowning the whole was the witchhunt i)peach)ent of a sitting ,hief
!ustice pushed through against the e1press advice of the ,ourt of Appeal and the
Supre)e ,ourt2 'rue enough$ a /ench of the Supre)e ,ourt thought it fit to reverse
the opinion of the ,ourt a year later for reasons that will surely be subjected to
devastating criti4ue in the fullness of ti)e2
,ould this entire disgraceful episode be erased purely because of one verdict in the
conte1t of a prosecution fra)ed and )otivated largely by international pressure: One
thin+s not2
A touch of the )acabre
So the boast regarding the independence of the judiciary gives rise to considerable
)erri)ent2 Indeed$ there is a touch of the )acabre about this given that the head of
the country*s /ar Association had lodged co)plaints with the police a few days earlier
that he had been )enacingly followed by )otorcyclists2 -e had been tailed in the
vicinity of buildings housing the (overn)ent*s elite and conse4uently in an area under
heavy surveillance2 Logically therefore the tracing of the individuals responsible should
not be difficult2 Logic however has little place in the sche)e of things today2
'he /ar Association*s warning on the growth of a crypto)ilitary state in Sri Lan+a
and strong 4uestioning of the authenticity of the in4uests on the deaths of three
7usli)s following the /eruwala and Aluthga)a co))unal violence are distinguishing
factors2 'he shadowing of individuals has long been part of an unnerving pattern
cul)inating in +illings which still re)ain unsolved decades later2 'his is also part of
the culture of savagery which continues to hold postwar Sri Lan+a tightly in its grip2
Rest assured therefore that one verdict does not secure the independence of the
judiciary a+in to Aristotle*s caution which$ as we )ay recall$ was to the pungent effect
that one swallow$ a su))er does not )a+e2
.1cerpted fro) the 09ocus on Rights* colu)n in 'he Sunday 'i)es$ "#
th
!uly "#%& for
which newspaper$ the writer is a legal consultant;colu)nist2
5osted by 'hava)