Two days ago the Police Narcotics Bureau seized 10 kg of
heroin from a house in Hikkaduwa following information furnished by a Liberian
citizen arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport. It is said to be the biggest ever heroin haul
detected in the Southern Province.
That’s a lot, yes, but still miniscule when compared with
the 131 kg detected at the Colombo Port not too long ago. The magnitude of the Customs’ detection is
all the more significant because of the suspected smuggler’s connections to the
high and mighty of the land.
The media has been agog over a letter issued by the Prime
Minister’s office to the Manager, South Asia Gateway Terminals (Pvt) Ltd.,
requesting a waiver of demurrage and Ports Authority charges by way of a
‘concession’. The signatory to that
letter is the PM’s Coordinating Secretary, who resigned a few days ago.
All signs indicate that the Coordinating Secretary is the
designated ‘fall guy’ in this scandal.
It has now come to light that issuance of such letters is almost
routine, not just from the PM’s office but those of other senior
politicians. In this instance, the
request for the letter had been made by a representative of a local government
body in the PM’s home town, Gampola. The
man is not just political associate of the PM but is known to have contributed
lavishly to the election campaign of the PM’s son. He had personally come to the PM’s office to
collect the letter along with the intended recipient of the cargo, a Pakistan
national now in police custody.
On the face of it, the request is ‘above board’. There is nothing to indicate that the
Coordinating Secretary was aware of what was being offloaded. It was one of ‘many such letters,’ he claims
and he is probably telling the truth here.
The parties concerned, moreover, were not nameless strangers making a
request out of the blue. They were
‘known people’; more specifically people known to the PM and his son. Family friends, wining and dining friends in
fact: there is photographic evidence mined from the suspect’s mobile
phone.
There is nothing to say that either the Prime Minister or
his son were aware that their buddy was in the business of smuggling
heroin. As of now, it is not clear that
the home-town politician knew either.
On the other hand, his generosity during the election campaign does make
one wonder where the bucks came from and why.
If either the PM or his son did not ask themselves such questions, then
they are either soft in some high place or have adopted a policy of ‘no see, no
ask question’. Put another way, ‘you
help, I look other way’.
The people are not soft upstairs, though.
We cannot conclude as of now that the PM and/or his son is
involved in drug trafficking. We can
conclude that they choose their pals poorly.
In this instance the PM can feign ignorance of the letter issued by the
Coordinating Secretary but it would be surprising indeed if he didn’t know that
dozens if not more of such letters have been issued before to the point that
letter-issuance has become routine. And
there’s where the rub lies.
A request from the Second Citizen’s office is akin to a
directive. Given rampant politicization
few if any official would have the courage to ignore such ‘requests’. These are but the 21st Century
version of the ‘Chit System’ that plagued the country in the 1970s. New and improved, one might add.
Think about it. If every two-bit politician (and even they
think they are the cat’s whiskers and have the bucks and the thugs to convince
any doubters) issues chits of this kind, what would it do to controls, to
regulation, to streamlining and how could the lack in all these areas sustain
the ‘miracle’ that this country is supposed to be? The miracle, really, would be that things
are yet to fall apart to the point called ‘Beyond Salvage’.
We really can’t teach the PM how to choose his friends, but
choice of friend does go a long way in paining a man’s character and judgment,
he ought to know. More importantly, it
is important to let officials do their jobs.
It is important not to interfere with set procedures.
No more chits. That’s
it. It is not the PM’s baby any
more. Let the police handle the
investigation, again without any ‘let it be’ chits from anyone. It is however incumbent on the President to
take a stand on the matter of ‘chits’ for if one thing can be chit-smuggled,
anything else can be smuggled too. Guns included. And of course, it’s not just about smuggling;
chits are for ‘anything goes’. That
too the President must take note of.
msenevira@gmail.com
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