The law cannot be selective

Editorial from Daily News

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa is no ordinary politician. His political career since his entry to Parliament as a 25 year old in 1970 had all along been marked by deft maneuverings and clever stratagems to achieve his political ambitions. The clever politician that he is, he more often than not let others sow the seeds ahead of the path he trod while he reaped the rich harvest. He strategically cultivated a coterie of MPs who acted as his storm troopers. They formed the nucleus of his support base both in Parliament and outside .His ascendancy to the post of Leader of the Opposition, Prime Minister and ultimately the ticket to the Presidency were all the result of the momentum built on his behalf by these core loyalists who formed an influential section within the SLFP and whom he had shrewdly cultivated during his long years as an opposition and Government politician.

It was this loyalist core that were often seen in the front lines of protest campaigns led by him as a firebrand opposition politician. These political chums needless to say were richly rewarded during his Presidency with plum portfolios. They in turn are now obliged to do his bidding for services rendered. The identities of this support group itself is a revelation. Almost all of them have bribery and corruption cases pending against them and they are now placed in no man's land .The prospect of their receiving nominations for a future general election is almost nil with President Sirisena as the Chairman of the SLFP playing a major hand in the nominations. These MR loyalists, knowing their fate, have taken up cudgels for their former master with gusto and are the chief movers and shakers in the “Bring Back Mahinda” campaign.

It is this same coterie who organize crowds for strategically arranged visits of the former President to temples, funeral or other sundry gatherings. It is this Rajapaksa brigade who occupied the well of Parliament in protest against summons issued by the Bribery Commission on their esteemed master.

What pray is the game plan of these MPs? Are they suggesting that the Bribery Commission be shut down or adopt a hands off policy against certain VIPs? Mahinda Rajapaksa is today an ordinary citizen and not even a Member of Parliament. He has no presidential immunity. Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga was hauled before the Supreme Court, found guilty and even made to pay compensation in the Water's Edge case when she was out of office. Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. We fail to fathom why Rajapaksa who at one time loudly proclaimed to the nation that he did not even fear to go to the electric chair, cannot face up to the situation instead of deploying his acolytes to pull his chestnuts out the fire? He should walk the talk.

What those backing Mahinda Rajapaksa fail to realise is that by this disproportionate show of support they are in fact implicating their boss in wrong doing. The central theme of this protest is that the former President delivered the country from terrorism and is therefore sacrosanct. Why then was there no such agitation when the war winning Army Commander was dragged off like a common criminal and thrown in jail? All this betray a craftily worked out political project to whitewash the sins of the former incumbent and paving the way for his re-entry into active politics. It is also a carefully mapped out stratagem to protect the hides of all those implicated in bribery and corruption.

This no doubt is going to have serious implication to the rule of law. A precedent is going to be set whereby certain individuals will be deemed above the law if such individual had performed any duty to showcase his/ her patriotism. Some people will be more equal before the law than others. This will certainly go against the grain of yahapalanaya which essentially implies the implementation of the rule of law to the letter.

The Government should not be detracted by the gimmicks of the Pro- Rajapaksa brigade and go ahead with single minded purpose to bring to book all those implicated in corrupt acts under the former regime. Already the public are restless by the slow pace of the Government in this respect. The vast majority of votes received by President Sirisena were of those who yearned for putting a full stop to the mind boggling profligacy that was continuing unabated under their very noses. They broke party ranks and voted to haul in the corrupt and end the massive plunder of public assets that went on unchecked for a full decade.

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa no doubt deserves to be treated with the usual dignity accorded to a retired head of state. But on no account should any charges against the former first family be swept under the carpet due to extraneous factors. All citizens are equal before the law. That we feel is the bottom line.