Should we pity the beleaguered Police Force of Sri Lanka or despise them?

The incontrovertible scenes of the past few days, where the Police Force in the Hambantota District, were clearly impotent, watching crimes being committed in their presence without so much as lifting a finger to defend the rights of the citizens, (let alone 5 Opposition MPs) who they have sworn to protect, leaves the independent observer aghast as to the “State of Law and Order” there in!

Worse a Police Officer was seen videoing the whole scuffle quite unperturbed, just as he would any other daily event. Tell me I am hallucinating at these images, or am I the only one shocked that in the heart of the ruling family’s stomping ground, there is NO law and order practiced, as it is being ruled by thugs who have been devolved the responsibility of calling the shots there, and NOT the police, even when it comes to breaking the law.

As if the Khuram Shaikh murder case is not isolated, and the Akuressa (in the Matara District) Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman who is accused of raping hundreds of under-age girls, now we have the Mayor of Hambantota, a self-confessed Casino holic using public’s funds, (his wealth at the time of appointment does not even allow him entry into a casino!) is now seen rushing in to the fray with a pistol in his hands ready for anything unsavory, who then says it was a toy pistol used to scare off goons who were threatening the Opposition. As if these were not enough there are other allegations too numerous to mention, to consign Hambantota into a NO GO zone for law abiding citizens.

The politicians of the area appear to have sole control, in organizing any activity, legitimate or not, with no permission needed, or Police involvement to prevent any violations of the Law. My contention therefore is that due to the power of the patronage of the President, that these so called henchmen have, the Police are NOT able to perform their duties according to the law, even if they are genuinely interested in so doing. So where does the IGP and the respective DIGs of the areas concerned stand in this regard?

The fear of the all powerful, omnipotent President is a barrier in itself, as one word from him, through any one of these henchmen taking umbrage to the Law being correctly enforced, can result in demotion, transfer, and lack of promotion, none of which is worth the effort of the Police Officer to contend with in his career as a Policeman. Is it a ‘Catch 22’ situation for the Police Force? Or is it in connivance that they act in concert to allow a MOB to rule Hambantota, so that both the Mobsters and their protectors, the Police can have a better life and profit?  

I seriously think that Hambantota is a less safe place to go to than the Jaffna District, and would probably merit a foreign, and local travel advisory where we go at our own risk. If insurance companies refuse to cover people going there, that would start the authorities to think that they are really out of control, and either the President takes a stand in cleaning up his own backyard from this excrement, or confirm our worst fears that he is unable to control the Frankenstein’s monster he has created. 

It is time we concerned Citizens not get duped by what these defenders of the Regime continue to spew out, in the face of reality, that is counter to these assertions. We must take a stand, before all the Districts learn by the example of the lead taken by the thugs of Hambantota, together with their benefactors, and turn this country into one of MOB rule whereby dissent or even investigative rights of MPs of the Country are prevented, thereby making Parliament all but inconsequential.

Why is it so hard for Sri Lankans fed on a diet of lies and hoodwinking to realize that what they see and hear and read is sometimes the opposite of reality? This then results in a false sense of security, that breeds apathy, and worse the thought that the ordinary citizen is powerless to make a change, either by taking to the streets or the ballot box, as there are sufficient people still under the influence of a brainwashed mode of existence who don’t live in the real world, believing falsehoods to be true, and thereby propping up this traitorous regime.

This challenge has to be met face to face. We owe it to the future of our Country and those who come after us to bequeath a country with basic laws and freedoms, none of which seem to be in place presently, so that it will be a place safe for mere mortals like us to live in. We don’t want an Iraq, Libya or Syria do we?

It obvious that in order to prop up a lie, it is incumbent upon the representatives of the fraudsters to prevent those investigating the waste of public money, so that the people of Sri Lanka can be informed of the cost they are made to bear for these follies of a warped regime. Whether it is MR Cricket stadium where cricket is rarely played, and elephants prevented from their corridor, or MR Conference Hall that has just hosted one event, or the MR Airport, where hardly a plane flies into, or the MR port that struggles to justify its existence and all those empty roads to nowhere, where most of the citizens of Hambantota are still as badly off as before.

The development has only accrued to people, most of whom have NO connection to Hambantota, except for the first family, have to be exposed to full accountability. If there is no wrong doing then what is there to fear?