New State Ministers: The sorry state of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna parliamentarian Premalal Jayasekara became the 38th MP to be appointed as a State Minister by President Ranil Wickremesinghe when he was sworn in as the State Minister for Ports and Aviation on 12 September. 

In July 2020, Jayasekara known also by his alias Choka Malli and two other accused were sentenced to death by the Ratnapura High Court over a fatal shooting of a UNP supporter during the presidential election campaign in 2015. Jayasekara became the first convicted murderer to serve as an MP in Sri Lanka after he was sworn in as an MP in September 2020. He had won his seat from the Ratnapura district despite being convicted of the crime of murder a month before the poll. The verdict was later overturned by the Court of Appeal.

Jayasekara is in good company with many of the newly appointed State Ministers being tainted by allegations of corruption and political violence. Of the 37 State ministers appointed last week, at least three are implicated in serious violence and rights abuses. 

Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan was implicated in the killing of parliamentarian Joseph Pararajasinham in 2005. In January 2021, the Attorney General dropped charges against him. A former member of the LTTE, Pillayan is accused of abduction and forceful recruitment of children to the terrorist organisation. The recently appointed State Minister for Plantation Industries, Lohan Ratwatte resigned as prisons minister in September 2021 following a public outcry after threatening prisoners at gunpoint. Inquiries into the incident have not progressed. MP Sanath Nishantha is currently under police investigation for his alleged role in a violent attack on anti-Government protesters in May this year. The Court of Appeal will decide later this month on issuing summons to Nishantha with respect to the petitions filed alleging that he committed contempt of court. On 15 May, Nishantha was arrested in connection with the violence against peaceful protests at Galle Face Green and released on bail a month later.

The Cabinet of Ministers does not fare any better. Among its ranks are convicted fraudsters and those who provided money to the LTTE to manipulate the outcome of elections. Through these appointments President Wickremesinghe has severely eroded his credibility, a commodity he anyway had in short supply. Wickremesinghe does not have a people’s mandate and had been comprehensively rejected by the people a mere two years ago. His monumental loss, personally and as the leader of the United National Party at the last general election in 2020 is without parallel. Such a leader should be particularly conscious about public sentiment and popular will of the people. By expanding his Government, increasing the burden on the people and appointing manifestly unsuitable individuals to high office, he is incurring the wrath of the people who are suffering under the weight of the economic collapse.

The recent appointments also demonstrate the impunity with which public figures continue to operate. It shows that the judiciary and the criminal justice system is also unable to deliver justice for crimes committed by political leaders. The UN High Commissioner on Human Rights noted in a recent report that there is impunity for corruption and other economic crimes. The report states that several corruption and other related economic crimes cases were discontinued in recent months following withdrawal of charges or indictments on various technical grounds by the Attorney General or the Commission to Investigate Bribery or Corruption.

At a time when Sri Lanka is seeking financial assistance from bilateral and multilateral donors, it is imperative to demonstrate that its executive branch is competent and unblemished, especially about financial integrity. By appointing numerous individuals with criminal records into high offices, the credibility of the whole executive is brought into question. Whatever the short-term political gains such appointments are meant to deliver, the medium and long-term damage to the country by such short-sighted actions is immeasurable.