by Chandra Wicremasinghe
The horrendous Kahawatta killings.
It
is reliably reported that the brutal murders of a mother and daughter
in Kahawatta are linked to a drug mafia that has been terrorizing that
area for quite some time.The immediate cause of these inhuman killings
has been attributed to the mother upbraiding the drug dealers concerned
for trying to inveigle her school going daughter to become one of the
distributors, by getting her to take a lunch packet with sachets of
heroin inside, to be handed over to a drug trafficker waiting at the
bus stand. Apparently, the leaders of the gang had been able to carry
on their invidious trade because of the protection given by a
politician in the area. Following the mindless killings, the people of
the area, who were aware of what exactly was happening, had been
increasingly getting impatient and incensed at the inaction of the
authorities to nab the criminals who were well known and who had
acquired notoriety for their nefarious activities in that entire
Kahawatta area. Finally, driven to the end of their tether, the people
had in sheer desperation, taken the law into their hands ,running
amok,creating mayhem and burning down the houses of the suspects. It
will be recalled that even the Hon Prime minister, in one of his public
speeches, had referred in no uncertain terms to certain leading
politicians in the governing party, who were well known for their
dealings in illicit drugs! One would find this tacit acknowledgement of
a state of anomie in the country by no less a person than the Prime
minister, tragic and most depressing indeed!
The distribution of ‘BULBUL’
among school children.
among school children.
These
fears are further re-inforced by frequent reports of a sweetmeat
(BULBUL laced with a hallucinogenic substance) being distributed to
school children by three wheeler drivers and other school children who
have got `hooked’ on the drug, through the wiles of unscrupulous drug
agents organizing and supervising these clandestine networks. From
‘BULBUL’ these school children graduate in no time, to hard drugs like
heroin and Ecstasy. Just a couple of days ago newspapers carried
reports of a three wheel driver being nabbed by the Police with forty
five small packets of heroin in his possession. On interrogation,he had
confessed that the packets of heroin were to be distributed free to
school children who would hopefully get ‘hooked’ on the drug to become
in no time, compulsive addicts who would in turn, become distributors of
the drug among their school friends, in order to make the money they
need, to feed the pernicious habit.
If these unscrupulous
drug dealers with their country wide networks, succeed in enticing
school children to become addicts in this manner, one could only
imagine the horrifying scenario that would unfold in the future,
affecting and undermining with devastating short and long term effects,
the entire educational system, leading to a steady breakdown in law and
order and the destabilization of the entire social structure, with the
country lapsing in good time, into anarchic conditions! It is
therefore imperative that the Govt. takes immediate cognizance of the
immense danger the entire nation faces frontally, by drawing up an
urgent action plan to root out this demonic menace, before it assumes
epidemic proportions, enervating irreparably, the vital energies of the
population.
Rewards for services rendered and the resultant deterioration of law and order.
It
is common knowledge that there has been a lot of pussyfooting on the
part of the powers that be, due often to certain top politicos being
obliged to underworld racketeers and drug dealers for numerous favours
granted and services rendered to them at various stages of their
political careers. As it is wryly said, there is nothing called a free
lunch! To wheeler dealers, thugs and racketeers, giving material
assistance to politicians to accelerate their upward levitation to
Parliament and high ministerial position, is indeed a promising
investment with prospects of future rewards in ample measure! Our
present day political culture has become so warped that thuggery and
ill-gotten money seem to be necessary prerequisites for political
advancement! This is indeed a depressing reflection of the current
societal mores that seem to pervade society, across the board. When
politicians protect and harbour criminals from the operation of the
laws of the land, what is the example they hold out to the law
enforcement authorities themselves? One might therefore righteously
ask,where the discipline is coming from, which is so crucially
fundamental to the maintenance of law and order.
We have
seen a steep increase in violent crime country- wide in recent years,
which includes gruesome murders, rapes armed robbery et al. This
escalation in violent crimes appears to have a direct co-relation to the
deterioration of law and order stemming from the inability of the law
enforcement authorities to carry out their duties with the expected
dedication and efficiency. This again could be attributed to the
general indiscipline pervading the country resulting in a depressing
sense of ennui amongst the people.
Laws delays and the need to modernize investigative techniques.
Many
statutes in Sri Lanka need to be revised to bring them in line with
social developments and to keep abreast of the new trends in criminal
behaviour. The law enforcement authorities have similarly, to update
their investigative techniques to combat the rising wave of
sophisticated crime. Laws delays constitute a major stumbling block to
the expeditious dispensation of justice which latter is the mainstay of
the confidence reposed by people in the judicial process and the
criminal justice system. Modern social problems have to contend with an
antiquated system of court procedures. The in- built inefficiencies of
the criminal justice system are indeed starkly reflected in the
tragically low rate of convictions recorded.
The statistical probability of conviction of criminals, is a shocking 4% !
In
Sri Lanka, stemming from certain religious sensitivities, the death
penalty, although pronounced by court on criminals at times, is never
carried out. However, with the rapid deterioration of law and order in
the country, even eminent and highly respected religious dignitaries
who are appalled by the heinous crimes perpetrated, seem now to be in
favour of the restitution and the implementation of the death penalty,
which they probably have realized is the only effective deterrence to
halt the alarmingly rising trend of grave crime. It is indeed not
surprising that criminals have scant regard for the law in the
knowledge that even if they are caught and indicted, the chances of
conviction are minimal. The statistical probability of a criminal
getting convicted, even if charged in court, is a shocking 4% !This is,
if anything, only a sad reflection of an effete, inefficacious criminal
justice system that obtains in the country today. It is common
knowledge that the prisons in the country, far from being reformatory
institutions of delinquents and criminals, are now little more than the
breeding grounds of hardened criminals! It is only too well known that
criminal activities including drug trafficking, contract killings,
heists etc. are hatched and orchestrated by Mafia bosses from within
the confines of prison walls, using the handy cell-phone!
What
can one expect when thugs, racketeers and people of criminal
persuasion have a field day in the knowledge that the chances of their
being incarcerated are somewhat remote. It is, as a cynic put it, a
matter of law and disorder! There have been Presidential Commissions
appointed to examine and report on the current state of law and order
in the country. The recommendations made in these Commission reports do
not seem to have found favour in certain quarters which would be
materially affected by their implementation. This is most unfortunate
as the criminal justice system of the country which should take a good
share of the blame for the parlous state of affairs in this regard and
which needs to go through a complete revamping, continues to plod along
the same tortuous ways and by-ways, much to the exasperation of the
public.
I have dealt with the deterioration of the law and
order situation in the country and the resultant steep rise in grave
crime, by way of a protasis to the drug problem, as the latter is only
symptomatic of the larger moral and socio-economic malaise that seems
to afflict the entire polity of this island. What appears to be
necessary is a searching appraisal of the overall current situation
with a view to assessing the magnitude of the drug menace in all its
dimensions. Once this is ascertained, the next step would be to map out
strategies to combat the problem.
The need to formulate effective Preventive Strategies and Rehabilitative Programmes.
There
should be carefully formulated comprehensive preventive strategies and
the necessary rehabilitative programmes put in place at the outset.
The former should be reinforced by tough legislative measures which
would effectively circumscribe and stymie the illegal activities of the
drug lords who fund and organize the mafia networks. Educational
programmes to build up awareness, particularly in the minds of the
youth, should be organized sensitively and incorporated in the school
curricula and disseminated via the electronic media. One cannot
underscore the key role strategic planning plays in the formulation of
policies and their implementation in meeting challenges and
successfully overcoming them. In this regard, it has to be remarked that
the failure to react decisively and the resultant paralyzing inaction
in many areas of national policy, could only be attributed to the lack
of or oftentimes the absence of, properly formulated strategies to meet
exigent situations. We seem to be fast becoming a nation of crisis
riders, looking on askance while things deteriorate and then suddenly
blow up in one’s face! We then ride the resultant anarchic chaos the
best we could and once the panic abates and a sense of normalcy
returns, sit back and await the visitation of the next crisis! We do
take things for granted far too much in this respect, often exulting in
the minor skirmishes we overcome, while losing the bigger battles
disastrously! It cannot be overstressed that strategic planning is a
sine qua non for the success of any major undertaking. What is
necessary is the political resolve to formulate such strategies and the
courage and the determination to put them into operation brushing
aside the political fallout that is likely to follow. Certain inherited
legacies and attendant commitments may at times restrict the room for
strategic manouvre.
But these should be thought through
afresh and incorporated in revised forward plans. The stormy passage of
the law against money laundering in Parliament some time ago, is a
clear pointer to the desperation shown by the interest groups adversely
affected by the enactment of such laws.
Drug Trafficking
and the need to enact tough legislation viz confiscation of assets
(both moveable and immoveable)of convicted drug traffickers. .
Drug
trafficking is a self-reinforcing activity which expands the illicit
trade and uses it’s profits in turn to increase capital. One way of
breaking the vicious circle is by depriving those engaged in the trade
of their motivation. Drug seizures can be compensated by traffickers by
hiking the price of the drug as an interim measure and simultaneously
increasing shipments. It is observed that a very effective way of
de-motivating those engaged in illicit trafficking is by the
confiscation of their assets and property which would seriously
undermine their capacity to finance, organize and maintain their
clandestine networks.
The basis of the power of the drug
barons is the ability to corrupt both the high and the low with
remarkable facility. Once their power bases are effectively weakened,
the options open to them would correspondingly diminish. Legislation is
already in place in certain countries to use monies confiscated from
drug traffickers to combat the illicit trade. Such monies can be
productively used for the improvement of the capacity of law enforcement
agencies and for the setting up of drug abuse prevention projects. Sri
Lanka should in like manner, resolutely pursue the enactment of tough
new anti-drug legislation which would act as a positive deterrent to
the big time drug dealers engaged in the illicit drug trade.
The
rapid spread of drug addiction among the youth of the island should be
viewed with the gravest concern as it would progressively undermine
social and economic stability and even pose a threat to national
security. In the war against illicit drugs it is necessary to carry the
battle into the camp of the big time dealers thereby eroding
effectively and destroying their power bases. No quarter should be
given in this frontal assault on one of the most pernicious scourges
this country has had to battle against aside from the LTTE!.
It
is indeed a tragic irony that countries like the US who are the
biggest consumers, are often those enthusiastically funding alternative
development programmes to curb production on the supply side.
Paradoxically, there do not seem to be tangible, determined efforts by
such conspicuous consumers to stem an insatiable domestic demand! Human
rights issues are often trotted out as excuses for non-interference in
the liberties of individuals and the flourishing illicit trade is
often winked at by law enforcement authorities in these countries.This
presents a classic example of the tyranny of the demand curve which
enslaves the hapless producer in most poor developing countries.
Countries like Guatamala and Columbia have been ripped apart by the
indiscriminate killings carried out daily by drug lords, who have
established their own fiefdoms which produce and distribute cocaine,
with huge consignments finding their way to the US via the Mexican
border. The newly elected President of Guatamala has identified the
villain of the piece as the US, which country exercises a magnetic pull
for the drug, with the insatiable demand of its huge population of
addicts.In a desperate bid to bring to an end the horrendous cycle of
violence plaguing the country, he has declared, much to the
consternation of the US , that he is going to legitimize drugs in
Guatamala! These are of course extreme measures taken by countries
reduced to dire straits by powerful drug cartels, in order to meet and
counter uniquely intractable domestic situations which rarely find
parallels outside South America!
The unsettling effect the Drug problem has on the Criminal Justice System of Sri Lanka..
One
noticeable problem in Sri Lanka is the unsettling impact the
widespread drug menace has on the criminal justice system of the country
by the increasing numbers of persons arrested for drug related
offences. A very high proportion of offenders consigned to remand
prison are those taken in for drug related offences. It is therefore
natural to expect widespread drug abuse inside prisons here. In fact,
the estimated percentage of drug abuse in prisons in Sri Lanka viz.45%,
is the highest in the Asia/Pacific region! This is indeed a graphic
illustration of the enormous dangers to society that lie ahead unless
drastic policy measures are not immediately put in place to curb the
menace.
Demand/Supply reduction strategies.
In
the formulation of counter strategies to combat the drug menace, it is
essential also to take cognizance of certain global trends which are
being facilitated by the electronic media and the use of sophisticated
techniques of transportation combined with the enormous power and wealth
behind the cartels that operate these international networks. Any
counter measures, to be effective ,will have to match the
sophistication and subtlety and deviously innovative methods of these
traffickers.
Conclusion
In the final analysis,
there is no getting behind the fact that in a developing country like
ours, it is only well formulated preventive strategies and
implementational programmes, combined with the harshest punitive
measures for convicted drug dealers(which should include the
confiscation of both moveable and immoveable properties belonging to
them, in addition to incarcerating them in prison for their entire
lifetime), that would compel those involved in the illicit drug trade,
to move away and abandon it’s production and consumption. True enough,
the country is going through a period of heavy weather on the economic
front and equally irksomely, on the international front, having to face
the venomous wrath of a vengeful West .But all this should not detract
the government from focusing on the critical problem posed by the
‘seemingly intractable menace of illicit drugs’, which can be
challenged and overcome, if the govt. only shows the same unflinching
determination and firm political resolve displayed by it, in crushing
the LTTE.
(The writer is a former Senior Advisor to the President and Ambassador to France)
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