Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

12 January  2020

PRESIDENT LOSING HIS RIGHT TO IMMUNITY?

[Those who oppose President Rajapaksa must remind themselves of a saying by Joseph de Maistre ‘Every nation gets the government it deserves’.  ] Ravi Nagahawatte of Daily Mirror

The essence of this at family level is in Thirukural 55

[Theyvam Thozhaal Kolhunan Tholhudhelhuvaal
Pei Enap Peiyum Malhai.

A wife who worships her husband even though she may not worship god has the power to work nature and therefore cause / invoke rain.]

The Sri Lankan Constitution provides for  immunity from prosecution for the President. To my mind, this is because there like the head of family – the President is taken to be the ultimate power of the nation. Every Sovereign unit has that immunity to from punishment. An individual who punishes her/himself as per her/his conscience – should not be punished by any system – except for structural purposes. Hence those who demonstrate remorse are punished to lesser extent by a just judge.

Does the current President therefore have the authority to probe with the intent to punish?

Daily News article ‘President appoints high-powered commission to probe previous govt’ reports as follows:

[In the wake of the flood of revelations of interference in police and legal matters and other abuses of power during the previous government, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has appointed a high-powered Presidential Commissions of Inquiry (PCoI) to investigate allegations of political victimization as well as interference and undue influence on the judiciary and police during the past regime.

The Gazette Extra-ordinary No. 2157/44 notification issued on Thursday empowers the 3-member Commission to ascertain whether any investigations by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), Financial Crime Investigations Divisions (FCID) of the Sri Lanka Police or the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) of the Sri Lanka Police had been influenced or obstructed or prevented in any manner, resulting in loss, damage, injury or detriment, either direct or imputed to any person or persons whether any officer entrusted with conduct of investigations by the Bribery Commission, FCID and SIU have acted under undue influence by third parties.]

The former regime had a particular ‘engine’ / structure of belief which is distinctly different to that of the current regime’s engine. As per the fundamentals of democracy – the maker of one type of engine should not even look at a fault/sin or virtue of a different type of  engine made by another. They are not relative. One who respects sovereignty would recognize that faults have become sins and credits have become virtues at the end of the life cycle of that engine / government. That is the philosophy of rebirth.

We do not criticize the dead for this reason but learn not to make those mistakes in our lives in that system. When we do actively criticize we would invoke those faults in our own circles because after death – credits and debits become assets and liabilities – the net value of which are carried by the owner – the creator. In this instance the People created the old government as well as the new government.

As per the report:

[The Commission comprising retired Supreme Court Justice Upaly Abeyrathne (chairman), retired Appeal Court Justice Daya Chandrasiri Jayathilaka and retired IGP Chandra Fernando has been asked to report back to the President within six months giving its findings and recommendations. The Commission comes hot on the heels of damning revelations emanating from a serious of unaccounted audio recordings belonging to UNP MP Ranjan Ramanayake. The recordings of apparently thousands of phone calls between MP Ramanayaka and various police officers, judges, political personalities and other people, including films stars, surfaced during initial investigations into a reported attempt to assassinate Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage. According to some of the revelations of the content of the call recordings, certain judges had apparently sought promotions and higher pay in return for specific verdicts in various high profile cases.]

Ranjan Ramanayake recorded his conversation with Mrs Vijayakala Maheswaran when the latter invoked the LTTE leader’s name to impress the sexually correct in Northern Sri Lanka. The resurrection of  LTTE happened due to Mrs Maheswaran’s mind being idle in terms of Democracy and the only government the lady knew during her lifetime in Jaffna was LTTE. Mrs Maheswaran was taken to Court for resurrecting the dead. Ranjan Ramanayake who ‘profited’ from that is now reaping the results.

Does  the above mentioned Commission of Inquiry which was custodian of power to punish and/or reward as per the written laws of  Sri Lanka, have the authority to probe into the minds of members of Parliament driven by belief and headed by the President who carries immunity as head of government?  Retired members of the Judiciary and the Police have the moral authority to inquire into their juniors / heirs – through their natural mind/intuition. They have the power like any other citizen, to take wrong doers to court through their current powers. Current Judges do not have the authority to find fault with retired judges, leave alone current or past government.

Separation of Powers confirm our Sovereignty. Our own Sovereignty is confirmed by us respecting others’ Sovereignty. A government that has duly completed its cycle is beyond criticism. Its sins and virtues go back to the People the way ours merges with the Lord. Restructures are needed when members in the system are not able to correct themselves. Elections are held  so the old would die and the new would be born. The new carry the old as genes. So long as we live off our current resources – are genes would be dormant. Those who believe in horoscopes would identify with this. Repairing genes is much more complex than  repairing visible parts of the body.

One who seeks economic progress would not waste resources with gene-repair of the opposition. If old sins are made current – the right to immunity is morally lost to the head of that country because the Time Based Sovereignty has been lost due to invasion of foreign territory. Yesterday becomes foreigner to today. We learn from foreigners as per the shown and not by becoming members of their country or our past.