Anda di halaman 1dari 4

Dismantling the Mafia state in Sri Lanka

2015

by Kumar Rupasinghe-Sunday, 9 August

The inauguration of Maithripala Sirisena as the President of Sri Lanka, promising a


100-day program to abolish the Executive Presidential system, and promulgate a
Freedom of Information Act among other things, gave rise to expectations that all this
will pave the way for a more transparent society where citizens will be protected by the
law. Would it be wrong to say that Sri Lanka experienced its mini Arab Spring a few
months ago?

Recent revelations have brought to light many manifestations of a Criminal State, following
information
coming
from
the
officials
and
public.
Pic courtesy: Youtube.com

Large numbers of people rallied, held demonstrations and agitated to overthrow


President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who had assumed the status of the uncrowned King of
Sri Lanka. Our Arab Spring was successful and the people overthrew the King through
the ballot!
However, it is important that we learn the lessons from the experiences of the Arab
Spring in the Middle East, where over a short period of time despotic regimes have
again gained control of most states. The lesson to be learnt from the failure of the Arab
Spring is that the people relaxed, stopped the demonstrations and went home. But,
the counter revolution took place which restored the Mafiosi in many countries.
The lesson that follows from this experience is that the revolution which was
inaugurated through the ballot has to be continued, and the politically conscious
people of this country should be ever vigilant!

Enrich
To achieve this objective, President Maithripala Sirisena must dismantle the Mafia
state in Sri Lanka. It is important that we take note that in 1958, the former Prime
Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike was assassinated by a bhikkhu at the behest of the
local Mafia when the Prime Minister refused to give shipping concessions to a
company owned by another bhikkhu!
In Mafia states, government officials enrich themselves and their families and friends
while exploiting the money, muscle, political influence, and global connections of
criminal syndicates to cement and expand their own power. Indeed, top positions in
some of the world's most profitable illicit enterprises are no longer filled only by
professional criminals; they now include senior government officials, legislators, spy
chiefs, heads of police departments, military officers, and, in some extreme cases,
heads of state or their family members.
Money Laundering occurs when proceeds from crime
can be easily concealed. Problems arise, however, when
the criminal wishes to spend his ill gotten gains without
the fear of having to reveal the original source. Thanks to
the ingenuity of the Mafia, this problem has been solved
through "Money Laundering".I hope that the theoretical
basis of a Mafia state will be a useful concept for study
and elaboration. What is now required is to dismantle the
criminal character of the state in all its manifestations.
Criminal State
My purpose in this essay is to examine the evolution of
the state in Sri Lanka as a Criminal State, where over
time the state has become a vehicle for plunder and
pillage, where it has become a vehicle for money
laundering and facilitating narco-trafficking and other
insidious crimes.

Former MP Duminda Silva was


recently questioned by the
Criminal
Investigation
Department over alleged drug
trafficking in connection with
drug king-pin Wele Suda. Pic
courtesy: wurst.com

A good definition of a Criminal State is yet to be found in


literature although it is acknowledged that significant
numbers of States in the world are Criminal States. I, therefore, will use my own
definition. A criminal state is one which manipulates the law of the land for the purpose
of plunder and uses criminal behaviour to achieve its objectives.
In previous articles, I have used the concept of a "defective state" to characterize the
evolution of the state in Sri Lanka. A defective state evolves with patron - client
relationships, where electoral politics enhance and strengthen the patron - client
relationship between the ruler and the ruled. Patronage is dispensed through the
evolution of state-centric development structure with the state becoming the principled
patron of the population.

Through this system, the state sector expands inexorably, where all appointments are
through the patronage of the President and the Ministers and MPs. Over time, the
entire system is corrupt to the core.
Corruption is all pervasive in Sri Lanka, whether it is within the State system or in
business. Transactions, whether it is for providing a job, or a contract for construction,
or any other business, require a bribe or a commission. With the transition to a
Presidential system not accountable to Parliament, the conditions were set for the
evolution of a Criminal State.
Narco-trafficking
With the advent of the war, the LTTE, with its own practice of criminal behaviour,
expanded inexorably. The litany of the crimes which were committed from using
civilians as hostages and as a human shield, to the use of suicide squads,
conscripting children and, developing a massive organization for narco- trafficking to
money laundering are, today, the subject of an inquiry by the United Nations Human
Rights Council.
In combatting the terror machine of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the State
developed its own methods of combatting terrorism, such as extra-judicial killings, and,
through the Prevention of Terrorism Act, many arbitrary actions were committed.
Recent revelations after the Presidential elections, have brought to light many
manifestations of a Criminal State.
Robbery
The Mafia State in Sri Lanka has the following features:1. Robbery of State resources: From anecdotal evidence, it is clear that there has
been a massive robbery of state resources. They range from the abuse of funds used
for election purposes, to the use of state funds for the appropriation of the former
ruling party.
2. The narco-trafficking Mafia: It is a well known fact that Sri Lanka is a transit hub for
narco- trafficking. A well researched book by Robert Kaplan, called Monsoon, which
has a chapter on Sri Lanka, suggests that Sri Lanka has become a central link in a
chain of narco-trafficking, starting from Afghanistan, to Pakistan, through India, Sri
Lanka, and Thailand to Burma. It is well known that customs officers are powerless
when they are ordered to release stocks of heroin from the customs office. It is also
well known that the narco Mafiosi were well connected to the previous regime.
3. Money laundering: It is also well known that money laundering is a daily occurrence
in the country. It is alleged that Malaysian and Indian black money is transited through
the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
4. Money deposits in foreign countries: The current investigation on foreign deposits
have unveiled how large sums of ill gotten gains have been transferred illegally.
Snippets of information that come to us demonstrate that Seychelles is one of the

hubs to which this money initially flows. It is also alleged that money is stored in banks
in Uganda and South Africa and other offshore sites in the world. The Government of
India took quick action to confiscate Indian money deposited abroad and to bring them
back to the country.
5. Land frauds: The scale and extent of land frauds is immense. Citizen's lands and
houses have been appropriated by the Mafia and people thrown to the streets. The
Mafia has ways and means to change the land titles in the Land Registry, and the
citizen has no chance to regain their land. In the North the scale and extent of
appropriation of land from citizens is huge. These lands are appropriated for building
golf courses, hotels, airports and for the use of the military. Citizens have no means of
reclaiming their land or obtaining compensation. A similar situation exists in the South.
Politicians
Dismantling a Criminal State will not be easy when corrupt practices remain a norm in
Sri Lanka. It starts with the politicians, who argue that they have to find large sums of
money for the elections and as a result have to earn the money for the next elections.
Thus the MP uses his powers of patronage for illicit bribes.
This happens from the local government level to the Ministers, Prime Minister and the
Presidency. Corruption is all pervasive within the state sector where citizens have to
bribe their way to get things done. The Judiciary is also seemingly seriously corrupt at
various levels. Even Chief Justices and ordinary Judges are suspected of soliciting
bribes for a friendly dispensation. This is also true of the Police force. The Stock
Exchange was seized by the Mafia. It would seem that the Mafia has penetrated the
entire system.
In dismantling the corrupt system, a systematic analysis of the nature of the Criminal
State and its scale and extent will have to be undertaken. When establishing
Commissions of inquiry into money laundering, hedge fund frauds, narco-trafficking
and other criminal acts, financial experts who have a knowledge of these subjects are
required and international assistance will have to be sought. In tracing the bank
deposits which are held in off-shore banks, the assistance of the United States and
other governments of destination countries, Interpol and computer experts will be
needed.
In any case, the citizens of the country should remain vigilant and establish their own
watchdog committees to ensure that Justice is seen to be done.
Posted by Thavam

Anda mungkin juga menyukai