Shining moment for COPE

Wasantha PRIYA RAMANAYAKE
Translated by A. A. M. Nizam

“Remember that I do not mix up the Executive and the Legislature. As a minister, I oblige the Executive. However, today I am making this speech as the Chairman of the COPE Committee. Not as a minister of the government.”

This was said by Senior Minister D. E. W. Gunasekera making the concluding speech of the Parliamentary debate on the COPE report. Gunasekera is the Communist Party General Secretary. The General Secretary is not the party leader’s secretary as in other political parties. He is also the leader of the party. D. E.W. Gunasekera is not only the party leader and the General Secretary of the Communist Party but also the Foreign Affairs analyst of the party.

It is not incorrect to say that D. E. W. Gunasekera is the only active personality among the remaining leaders of Sri Lanka’s leftist lineage, such as, Dr. N. M. Perera, Dr. Colvin R. De Silva, Philip Gunawardene and Dr. S. A. Wickremasinghe.

With the collapse of the network of socialist states, including the Soviet Union, the Communist parties in the Third World became isolated. It was not because of the mistakes in the theory but because of practice. Karl Marx did not believe that socialist countries will emerge from the least developed countries. But due to hastiness, some of them had belief that the socialist victory can be achieved through penalty kicks.

Some of the Communist Party members also believed that after the emergence of Red Afghanistan, following its capture by the Soviet forces, India will become pinky and accordingly Sri Lanka will invariably become Red. But D. E.W. Gunasekera did not believe this. Those who opposed it, believed that after the socialist system faced a crisis, there is no alternative for the leftists in this country other than aligning with the capitalist governments and get one or two ministerial portfolios.

Some Communists do not think that it is the duty of leftists to uphold good governance, fight against waste and corruption, building brotherhood among nationalities and support political solutions even if they are brought under capitalist governments. But it seems that leftist leaders, such as D. E. W. Gunasekera, have thought about it correctly. This is the first time that a comprehensive and successful COPE report has been issued and it is also a blend of the leftist vision as well.

There were numerous COPE chairmen in this country. There were reports issued by them. But with the appointment of a leftist leader like D. E. W.Gunasekera to its chair, the whole spectrum of the COPE committee has undergone change. It is indeed amazing to find the distance D. E. W’s COPE Committee has trekked in a country where bureaucracy and red tape reign and institutional supremacy holds sway with the stench of corruption. For the first time, this committee has been able to investigate 229 out of 249 state institutions in the country.

Significant task

The Members of Parliament in the government side as well as in the Opposition participated in the sub-committees in this connection. If the manner they worked together is adopted for other matters as well, many things that are important on a national level will not be that sour as it is now.

There is a well known saying that the person who cannot dance sees the ground as uneven. If the magnitude of the power is clearly understood and they act with a vision, the powers and ministerial portfolios being given to some persons are over and above their cranium. Some people described the Senior Minister portfolios as portfolios for the home for elders, and as portfolios without a core and without power. But D. E. W. has become a Senior Minister who is performing a significant task. There is no obstruction for him from the state leadership to perform his significant task.

“The power of the Executive became stronger because of making the 17th amendment ineffective and introducing the 18th amendment. The Attorney General’s Department and Police are under the Executive President. You can make recommendations. You can point out faults. But you cannot act regarding those matters.”

This was stated by the United National Party parliamentarian Lakshman Kiriella during the parliamentary debate on the COPE report. However, D. E. W. Gunasekera did not hesitate to respond to him theoretically and practically on this assertion.

“I ordered the Secretary of a Ministry to find a vehicle within eight days which was missing for eight years. I told him to hand over the case to the Criminal Investigation Department if he cannot find it. The CID found it. This is one example. Due to our recommendations the President removed six chairmen. This is another example. Let us debate on principle and not on individual or personal basis.”

Then, what will happen if the Heads of the CID or the Commission for Bribery and Corruption Investigation do not carry out the recommendations of the COPE Committee?

Legal statutes

D. E. W. had a response to that as well: “Remember if that happens, both the Heads of the CID or the Commission for Bribery and Corruption Investigation will be summoned before Parliament. Here, I am acting under the rules of the legislature. We can work that way.”

There is no doubt that it is the leftist political vision that has helped D. E. W. Gunasekera to go for bold decisions like this. Whatever is said and done about their politics, there were no allegations of bribery and corruption against Dr. N. M. Perera, Dr. Colvin R. De Silva, Philip Gunawardene and Dr. S. A.Wickremasinghe. They were clean politicians. They were exemplary even for the youths who aspire to enter politics tomorrow. When Dr. N. M. Perera went on foreign trips as the Finance Minister he did not utilize the privileges entitled for him in the capacity of Finance Minister. On his return, he used to order the Customs officers to check his baggage before he leaves the airport. The Customs officer had to obey Dr. N.M’s order. At present, the office of the Communist Party is being maintained on a private property belonging to Dr. S. A. Wickremasinghe. He is like a father to the Communist party.

It is being said that the land area of the Boralugoda Walawwa estate has shrunk because of the politics of Philip Gunawardene. He retired from politics as the Industries Minister of the Dudley Senanayake government without any privileges. D. E. W. Gunasekera also belongs to this lineage. As far as we know, he does not possess things sufficient for several generations other than things that can be offered to the country through his service.

As a whole, people detest politics in this country. People jump in leaps and bounds to cast their votes in an election because they have nothing else to do. Even if children are the worst criminals, they are priceless gems by their parents.

They cannot go against them. People of this country may probably be thinking in this manner about some of those who are doing politics in this country. But such thinking will have no benefit for the country. In a political arena like this, some people who are well known as scholars and intellectuals change their policies. Some people who agitated for peace in the recent past suddenly became warmongers because of opportunistic politics.

COPE committee

In such a country, people of the calibre of D. E. W. Gunasekera are like a shining star not only for the Communist Party or the Left movement, but also to the whole country and he has become the reason for the glow in the COPE committee as well.

By allowing the COPE committee to make revelations of a wide scope of this nature, the government has pointed out that it is prepared to clean the network of state institutions. It would be greatly encouraged to spend public money transparently. At the same time, confidence is being built among the people that the COPE committee has the strength to investigate allegations made by the Opposition that some individuals who destroyed financial institutions by robbing public funds are in various posts in state financial institutions.

D. E. W. Gunasekera who joined the public service as a customs officer later read for a Management degree at Sri Jayawardenepura University and entered politics upon completion of that degree. Therefore, he is suitable for the task professionally as well being a politician.

The most opportune time has come now to clean up the whole system and make a fundamental change in the country under the leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa before people of the calibre of D. E. W. Gunasekera, R. Sambandan, Ratnasiri Wickremanayake and Prof. Tissa Vitharana, who have vast experience, leave us. If such a basic change can be implemented, even the parliamentary COPE committee task will not become a strenuous one.