The tail of a rotten fish
June 18, 2013, 6:50 pmThe Northwestern Provincial Councillor who made a female teacher kneel down on Friday in full view of her students and colleagues for admonishing his daughter has been remanded again. President Mahinda Rajapaksa has decreed that the SLFP take disciplinary action against him. All prominent government leaders lost no time in condemning the harassment of the teacher and hauling her tormentor over the coals.
An age-old practice among our rural folk is to throw out crowbars during thunderstorms in the hope that lightning will strike those implements and not their houses. The government, troubled by public rage, seems to have done something similar. It has made a lightning rod of the aforesaid provincial councillor. But, if the government leaders think they could assuage people’s consternation by tossing him like a sacrificial lamb to their detractors baying for his blood, they are mistaken. They cannot absolve themselves of the responsibility for the overall deterioration of party discipline, the near collapse of the rule of law in the country and the prevalent culture of impunity. A fish, it is said, rots from the head down; the provincial councillor in the soup, in our book, represents only the tail of the stinking fish (read the government).
What action has the government taken against the thugs who came riding motorcycles to intimidate the victim in the aftermath of Friday’s incident? They are still at large, we hear. Those storm troopers must also be brought to justice immediately as they pose a grave danger to the hapless teacher and witnesses. The deputy principal of her school is reported to have already recanted her statement to the police obviously under duress. One should not be surprised even if the victim were to claim that she knelt down before the suspect out of her own volition. We only hope that trade unions, civil society organisations and the Opposition will throw their weight behind her to prevent her morale from sagging and to ensure that the political thug will meet his Waterloo.
While issuing condemnatory statements on Friday’s incident for public consumption and pretending to take stern action against their man, the government is likely to manipulate the legal process in such a way that there will be no strong case against him in the end. This, it has done on many previous occasions. Both the police and the state prosecutor are under the government’s thumb. Anything is possible in this country where everyone is equal before the law but politicians and their goons are ‘more equal’ than others.
Investigations into Friday’s incident are not yet over, but government knows what really has happened; hundreds of students and dozens of teachers saw the politician force the teacher to kneel down. The very fact that President Rajapaksa himself has telephoned the victim and promised to see justice is done is proof that he is convinced that she is telling the truth. Therefore, he is morally bound to ensure that such politicians will be debarred from contesting elections on the UPFA ticket. After all, the SLFP has announced that it will not nominate unsavoury elements. It is hoped that the shamed politico will not be able to secure nominations from the Opposition. Political rejects survive ‘by way of defection’!
Power has the same effect on politicians as kudu or narcotics. When in power they behave like druggies chasing the dragon. They take leave of their senses and their beastly traits manifest themselves. Hence the need for political parties to keep their parliamentarians, provincial councillors, local government members and others on a tight leash! Denying criminal elements nominations to contest elections is only a baby step in the right direction. Much more remains to be done to rein in those who are already abusing power. Disbanding their private armies, stripping them of firearms and security contingents which wreak havoc on public roads, giving the police a free hand to deal with political thugs, their brats and Brown Shirts are some of the measures that are called for.