Veteran politician D.E.W. Gunasekera yesterday (26) said that the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) could have filed a case against former President Ranil Wickremesinghe over alleged misuse of public funds without creating a drawn out drama by producing him in court on a Friday night.
The CID obviously had all documentary evidence in respect of the investigation into Wickremesinghe’s visit to the UK in late September 2023, the ex-General Secretary of the Communist Party said. Therefore, there was no need for the former President to be arrested, produced in a Magistrate court and remanded pending investigations, Gunasekera mentioned.
In addition, all sensible people realised that Wickremesinghe was not going to flee the country, the one-time Chairman of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) that investigated the Treasury bond scam perpetrated, by the UNP in February 2015, said.
Responding to The Island queries, Gunasekera, while describing the alleged misuse of public funds charge against Wickremesinghe as being unprecedented and extraordinary, suggested that the powers that be would have to seek the opinion of the apex court with regard to powers and privileges enjoyed by Presidents, and abuse of procedures by the CID to curry favour with the ruling regime.
The ex-parliamentarian noted that Leader of the House, Bimal Rathnayake on March 15 this year, disclosed the allegations pertaining to Wickremesinghe’s UK visit to attend an event at the University of Wolverhampton for the celebrations of First Lady Prof. Maithree Wickremesinghe’s honorary Professorship.
Gunasekera said that the UNP, under Wickremesinghe’s leadership, worked quite closely with the JVP for about a decade. Their relationship began in the wake of Sri Lanka’s triumph over the LTTE in May 2009, Gunasekera said, adding that the consensus between Wickremesinghe and the late Somawansa Amarasinghe to field General (retd) Sarath Fonseka as the common candidate at the 2010 presidential election was a watershed moment. They even brought in the TNA, Gunasekera said, referring to the same lot fielding Maithripala Sirisena at the 2015 presidential and them siding with Premier Wickremesinghe when President Sirisena sacked him and brought in Mahinda Rajapaksa in late October 2018.
Gunasekera said why the government went out of its way to drag Wickremesinghe to court is a mystery. The ex-CP chief said that the JVP had been largely silent over the dissolution of Parliament, in June 2015, to thwart the COPE from tabling its report on the first Treasury bond scam.
Political parties, represented in Parliament, and outside, should engage in a meaningful discussion regarding perks, privileges and facilities made available to the executive and members of the legislature here and during overseas visits.
The ex-minister compared Wickremesinghe’s arrest with what he described as momentous events – the court martial of General Sarath Fonseka in 2010 and impeachment of Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake in 2013.
By Shamindra Ferdinando