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Not the time for a slap on the wrist

15 Sep 2021

The story that Lohan Ratwatte allegedly stormed into the Welikada and Anuradhapura Prisons while drunk and threatened certain suspects with a firearm at the Anuradhapura Prison spread like wildfire, becoming the most recent example of how politicians abuse their powers not only to entertain themselves, but to interfere with public officials’ duties. Ratwatte remains the State Minister of Gem and Jewellery-Related Industries, even though he decided to give up his former portfolio, i.e. duties pertaining to Prison Management and Prisoners Rehabilitation. His decision to resign in the face of allegations and mounting opposition from various parties, apparently accepting responsibility for the incidents, according to a Tweet by the President’s Spokesman, is quite unfamiliar to Sri Lanka, as political power is something Sri Lankan politicians are not used to giving up. In the past few decades, incriminating allegations have been levelled against a significant segment of Parliamentarians; however, the number of MPs who gave up their positions due to these allegations are not even a handful, and they seldom give up their political power. That is not to say that he should be exonerated from what he allegedly did, and those seeking justice would not find his giving up of some power, only to remain in power in a different role, acceptable. The truth, however, is that Sri Lanka has rarely seen public officials who resign, get transferred as a punishment or as a part of disciplinary action, or receive fitting punishment afterwards, and when it comes to politicians who are notorious for breaking and bending the law, there is a question as to whether we can honestly expect anything more.  Even if Ratwatte gave up all his positions, it would be against the rule of law to consider such resignation a punishment. After all, Sri Lanka is not a religious institution where repentance and apologies are considered qualifications for exoneration from all sins, and an accusation as serious as breaking into high-security state institutions, demanding permission for and allowing unauthorised outsiders to enter such premises, threatening inmates, and using a firearm to threaten inmates do not sound like mistakes or minor offences that can be forgotten and forgiven, especially when such charges are levelled against a State Minister. Such acts are offences that call for severe punishment. What’s more, the allegations against Ratwatte did not tarnish just his own image as an elected public representative. At a time when Sri Lanka is trying to clear its name from larger allegations of grave human rights violations against people of minority ethnicities and prisoners levelled by international groups such as the United Nations (UN) and the EU, allowing him to get away with what he allegedly did, with no proper action being taken in the near future is likely to become another example that Sri Lanka’s human rights situation is going from bad to worse. We cannot underestimate the fact that those Ratwatte is accused of having threatened were Tamil Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suspects as well as inmates, which just adds fuel to the existing allegations. We may not see it as such, but that is what several foreign news outlets that had reported the incident had highlighted. Ratwatte’s unruly behaviour is not the only thing that needs to be addressed. If the allegations are true, how he went to the Anuradhapura Prison and who and what institution facilitated it, who was with him when he entered the Welikada and Anuradhapura Prisons, how he freely reached inmates to point a firearm and threaten them, and whether the firearm in question is a licensed one, are also questions the Government needs to answer, and a mere resignation or an admission of guilt will not suffice here. After all, if a resignation or an admission of guilt can exonerate a person from a deliberate violation of the law, what is the point of having laws?


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