5th Column

My dear Lasantha,

It is rarely that we write to our own tribe. Having written to the departed Victor only a fortnight ago, it is even rarer to do so again within such a short time. However, I feel I must because you are now making headlines in Paradise though it has been 16 years since you left us suddenly.

This is after Junior told us the charges against three people allegedly involved in your murder will not be proceeded and that they could be released. That has taken everyone by surprise. Outrage is the general response, not only against Junior but also the ‘maalimaawa’ government.

Since you left us, Lasantha, politicians spoke about you at every election. They promised to find your killers, if only we voted them in to office. Several such leaders have come and gone but your killers are still at large. Meanwhile, your case files were gathering dust in Junior’s Department.

Many, including your family, felt it will be different this time as the ‘maalimaawa’ is not from the ‘unuth ekai, munuth ekai’ parties. Yet, when Nalinda was asked about suspects in your case being released, he said nothing. In Parliament, Sajith raised the same issue. Bimal shouted him down.

We got the initial impression that the ‘maalimaawa’ chaps also want to sweep this under the carpet. Then we were told that Anura sahodaraya has summoned Junior. Thereafter, we also heard Harini responding to young Ahimsa’s letter saying that “everything” will be done to serve justice. We are yet to see what “everything” means.

Whatever they do, one gets the impression that the ‘maalimaawa’ functioned better when they had just 3 ministers. Now, with many more in office, they first make a mess of any issue that comes up, before trying to repair the damage they do. That is what happened with the Ranwala saga too.

We wonder whether the ‘maalimaawa’ leaders suffer from the same malady that affected Sajith some time ago, ‘aasayi, bayayi’ (‘want, but scared’). They have sent a judge on leave instead of impeaching him, and they can’t write a letter to Mahinda maama to get him to vacate his residence. So, after all this fuss, Junior is sticking to his guns, justifying what he has done.

In the meantime, Sagara is claiming the ‘maalimaawa’ is interfering with judicial processes. Has he developed amnesia to forget what happened to Shirani or is he inadvertently letting the cat out of the bag by trying to secure someone else’s future?

What Anura sahodaraya, Harini and others in his team should realise is that they were elected primarily to ‘clean the system’ and not for anything else. No one expects economic miracles from them, if they just sustain the economic status quo that is enough.  Any growth will be a bonus.

If they fail to ‘clean the system’, if they fail to put the corrupt, the criminals and the killers behind bars, they will be sent home at the next polls, just like the ‘yahapaalanaya’ team was. If they lose credibility and confidence, no two-thirds majority will save them. It is now or never for justice.

That is why, Lasantha, what they do with your case has become so crucial. It will signal not so much how Junior’s department deals with the other important cases but how well the cops can do a proper investigation which does not collapse under scrutiny so that the prosecution succeeds in court.

This is what will ultimately decide whether the ‘maalimaawa’ chaps are able to keep their promises. The public are waiting and watching.

Lasantha, in what some say was your last editorial you quoted those famous lines, “Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me”. You can rest assured that is not the case now,  so many are speaking for you. It is impossible to ignore their voices. They make a deafening noise.

In that sense, you are more alive today, even though you are no more with us. Still, it is a long road ahead, and many more years to go before you can finally rest in peace because, indictments have to be filed, cases have to be heard, appeals will have to be disposed of before justice is finally done.

Most afraid will be those who asked, ‘Who is Lasantha?’. We knew who you were and what you stood for. We can only hope that the elections that were just held will be the last where your name was simply a tool to win elections, only to be forgotten after the results were declared.

Yours truly,

Punchi Putha

PS: These days we see ‘Rani’ in movie theatres, the story of how Richard was abducted and killed. There are theories about who was responsible but no one was punished. What we don’t want is the same fate for you, Lasantha, and to be watching a movie called ‘Lassie’, 20 years from now!