By Lihini Fernando
Attorney-at-Law | Member, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB)
If you are a lawyer, and you have taken an oath to uphold and safeguard the law of this land, then live by that oath. Ethics cannot be selective. Integrity cannot be situational.
If you are a President’s Counsel, your obligation is even greater. With seniority comes responsibility. With stature comes accountability. You cannot preach principles in public and practise compromise in private. You cannot speak of justice while participating in systems that undermine it.
Money, power, influence and backroom deals may buy silence, loyalty and temporary protection. But they are all short-lived. Eventually, truth catches up. I hope everyone occupying positions of power and prestige reflects deeply today.
There is a reason people say there is no smoke without fire. Allegations alone do not prove guilt, but they should compel introspection.
Every person in a position of authority – whether in law, politics, business or public service – must ask themselves difficult questions. Have you upheld the law? Have you abused power? Have you become a deal maker?
Many will dismiss these questions by saying, “This is politics. This is power. Everyone does it.” That mindset is precisely why Sri Lanka finds itself in its present condition.
It is why this nation became burdened by debt, why institutions steadily lost credibility and why public confidence was allowed to erode. These failures did not occur because ordinary citizens possessed too much power. They occurred because too many people entrusted with authority repeatedly abused it for personal gain.
I will criticise this Government whenever criticism is warranted. Equally, I will acknowledge and applaud this Government if it demonstrates the courage to uphold one simple but fundamental principle: that the law must apply equally to everyone. Equal not only for the powerless. Equal not only for political opponents. Equal not only for convenient targets. Equal for everyone, including members of its own party.
To his credit, Sajith Premadasa was prepared to suspend a member of his own party when circumstances demanded accountability. That required political courage. I hope President Anura Kumara Dissanayake also walks the talk.
The true measure of any Government is not whether it can catch the small fish. The real test is whether it is prepared to pursue the big fish. Will it investigate the untouchables? The powerful influencers? The operators behind the scenes? The deal makers who sit comfortably on pedestals, protected by networks of influence? That is where genuine accountability begins.
Justice is not justice if it only reaches the weak. The rule of law means very little if it stops at the doorstep of the powerful.
Sri Lanka does not need selective accountability. Sri Lanka needs moral courage. Sri Lanka needs fearless institutions. Sri Lanka needs leaders who understand that no individual—however influential—is above the law.
If we genuinely seek national transformation, we must stop normalising corruption, patronage and political deal- making. The law must not bend for status. The law must not kneel before power. The law must stand above all. Only then can we begin rebuilding this nation.
(Courtesy social media)
