This lawless aggressiveness must stop! - EDITORIAL

There is a sense of lawlessness in the country. Even the new president of the country has affirmed that there should be one law for all. But some people, especially the underworld and those disregarding the consequences of the law, are causing great harm to the society and proving to be a menace; something  that needs to be got rid of once and for all. 

If one browses through statistics since January this year we’ve seen enough murders, dead bodies on beaches, rape of women and read about illegal activities such as gambling. 

If we go through the pages of time to the time when the aragalaya was in full swing the decent and disciplined struggle always produced results. But when things got out of hand lawlessness crept in and the revolution lost focus and bordered on aggressiveness.  Violence crept in there were reports of theft and now the government is hunting down on those law-breakers. 

The day before yesterday (August 3) Sirasa television had a discussion on law matters and President’s Counsel Tirantha Welaliyadda stated that law must be strictly enforced on law breakers even if they (Aragalakaruwas) are initiating a struggle against the state.  There were some lawyers in the panel however who chose to have different opinions on the matter and were lenient towards the revolutionists and their behaviour. 

The problem with this country is that when it comes to enforcing the law how much of it is enforced depends on the status of the individual or the accused. Another factor that is greatly influencing is how well you are connected to the authorities or people who walk on the corridors 
of power. 
Those who were suspected to be behind the mass massacres in the Easter Sunday carnage are still roaming the streets and getting about their work. The Cardinal has been vocal about this and at the same time been very hard on past regime and the present government. 

When the big fish get away small criminals do shed their fear for the law. Most of these criminals who undertake killings are well-connected to the people in power and are also used for political activities. 
There was a news story recently about a 15-year-old girl being raped and all that had been arranged for the supply of 15,000 rupees and the supply of some grams of heroin. The woman who had organised the deal is said to be a mother. 

Since January this year three of Sri Lanka’s beaches-Wellawatte,  Bambalapitiya and Galle face  have been the sites of killings or dead bodies being washed shore. 

Just the other day, as reported in newspapers, a group of men in the guise of being policemen had carried out a forced search on the headquarters of the Frontline Socialist Party. This was amidst the protest by party members because members of this group couldn’t or didn’t want to reveal their identity. Later a Police team had arrived the same day and this time with a search warrant and following the accepted procedure. How can citizens be told to obey the law when groups suspected to be working for the state take the law into their hands? 
We saw the first attack on GotaGoGama suspected to be carried out by a group of people who had come to visit the former Premier Mahinda Rajapaksa. No real arrests were made regarding this brutal incident. 

From the time the president of this country could wield unlimited power there have been the employment of goons. The use of weapons has been part and parcel of political thinking and dealings. Killing or bumping off individuals is another built in feature of the old political machinery. This is the culture that must be stopped. This is what the new generation wants to see as change. Killings and revengeful acts must be stopped from being sponsored by the people at the top and. Then the trickle down effect will guarantee that shootings on beaches and revengeful killings between clans would come to an end. Right now the culture is what’s right to goose is also right for the gander. 
Sadly despite the calling by the majority of the citizens of the country to stop this lawless aggressive behaviour by the people in power the new regime seems to be struggling to put things in order.