An opposition grouping alleged on Sunday that the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) has become a political tool of the ruling JVP/NPP, used to suppress government critics inside and outside Parliament, The Island reported.
Addressing the media at former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Flower Road office, former Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris accused the commission of fabricating cases against political opponents by manipulating those summoned. He said the institution had been driven to a point where it was pushing people to suicide.
Prof. Peiris singled out the death of former SriLankan Airlines CEO Kapila Chandrasena, saying Chandrasena had been a victim of that strategy. He alleged that CIABOC Director General Ranga Dissanayake, a former High Court judge, had warned Chandrasena of dire consequences unless he fully cooperated with the commission. Prof. Peiris said the affidavit Chandrasena left behind regarding the Director General’s intervention deserved close examination.
Chandrasena took his own life while on bail in connection with an alleged USD 2 million bribe to facilitate an Airbus aircraft purchase during former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s second term. His body was found at a Colpetty hotel on May 8, and the existence of a Chandrasena affidavit alleging coercion by the CIABOC DG was first raised publicly by the SLPP that same week. Fair Comment editor Jezeem Jameel subsequently filed a criminal complaint urging police and the IGP to act on the affidavit.
Prof. Peiris alleged the CIABOC DG had taken control of the commission and was pursuing “an agenda inimical to the law.” The Island report carried no immediate response from the CIABOC or the government. The press conference’s setting at Mr Wickremesinghe’s office is the most visible cross-party signal yet of UNP and SLPP figures coordinating on the Chandrasena case.
Sources: The Island — Opp. alleges CIABOC tool in govt.’s hands.
