It appears that many journalists and writers, including the writer of the above article, are still angry about their treatment during times of war, which has caused them to turn a blind eye toward the blatant corruption of Ranil and the UNP, and this blind spot is HARMING Sri Lanka. No reasonable person can read the 49 witness statements included in the COPE Report – especially the statements from Dr. Azim, Mrs. Seneviratne, and Arjuna Mahendran – and not conclude that Ranil ordered Mahendran to interfere with a particular bond issuance on behalf of Arjun Joseph Aloysius, the Central Bank Governor’s son-in-law, who affectionately calls the Prime Minister “Uncle Ranil” in private communications, and then tried to cover up this direct involvement with a phony ‘independent’ committee of UNP loyalists.

In any other place in the world, Ranil would have been impeached and forced to resign, and he, Mahendran, Aloysius, and the three members of the ‘independent’ committee would be imprisoned on charges of securities fraud, insider trading, and obstruction of justice. And leading the charge in any other country would be the ‘free’ press, as they want good governance for their country regardless of party affiliation.

Where is the Sri Lankan ‘free’ press on the bond fraud issue? Like the writer above, they are largely turning a blind eye to this very bad governance and fraud simply because Rajapaksa would benefit politically from Ranil’s criminal conduct. But if a new post-war relationship with press is to be forged in which the press is anointed and respected by the people and the government as the Fourth Estate, they can’t choose sides, and MUST hold Ranil just as accountable for his misdeeds as anyone else who may be associated with Rajapaksa. Otherwise, freedom of the press becomes a joke, and the electorate loses out on precisely the kind of non-partisan government oversight that would bring about REAL good governance for the benefit of all.