Military procurement commission report unpublished

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Military procurement commission report unpublished Fonseka verdict raises new issues
September 18, 2010, 7:51 pm
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Now that a military tribunal had recommended the first serving officer to be conferred the rank of General be sentenced to three years in jail for alleged irregularities and corruption in the purchase of military equipment, the country would like to know whether any other senior officer received a jail term for such an offence before Fonseka’s case, the JVP said yesterday.
The Marxist party, which supported the former army commander and chief of defence staff at the Jan. 26 presidential election and then fielded the war hero in the Colombo district at the April 8 general election, challenged the government and the armed forces to name at least one officer holding the rank of a Brigadier or any other officer holding the equivalent rank in the Navy or the Air Force being found guilty by a military court.
JVP and UNP sources alleged that the ruling party had turned a blind eye to the findings of a presidential commission headed by a Supreme Court judge which investigated corruption and irregularities in procurement of arms and ammunition with its finding not even published.
A three-judge second court martial panel comprising Majors General M. B. Pieris, M. Hathurusinghe and S. W. L. Daualagala on Friday (Sept 17) found the DNA leader guilty on four counts – purchasing night vision devices, generators, batteries and VHF direction finders without following tender procedures, while he was the Army Commander.
The General is facing a separate case in the High Court of Colombo on the same charges.
JVP MPs testified before the military tribunal in support of General Fonseka. At the first court martial former UNP MPs, Johnston Fernando and Lakshman Seneviratne and Gamini Abeyratne, one-time close associate of UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, testified against General Fonseka.
Based on their evidence, the first court martial cashiered the war hero on the basis of conspiring against the government. The JVP said that it would be interesting to know whether the three services had heard cases against senior officers regarding corruption in the procurement.
Had General Fonseka been the first decision maker to receive a jail term for corruption, the world would know what was going in our democracy, the JVP said.
Sources said that under successive governments those involved in military procurement, whether they represented the armed forces or the private sector, had been widely accused of receiving kickbacks. They said that there could not be a single country not affected by corruption in the military.
Responding to a query by The Sunday Island, sources said that the print media had revealed a spate of corrupt deals involving the highest echelons of the armed forces, though absolutely no tangible action was taken against the culprits.
In the absence of disciplinary or judicial action against them, the people would naturally wonder whether General Fonseka had invited trouble by plunging to politics, they said adding that no one would believe that General Fonseka had been first senior officer to contravene military procurement procedure while he in service.
The tribunal forwarded its decision with the recommended sentence under confidential cover to President Mahinda Rajapaksa who is the Convening Authority as Commander-in-Chief.
General Fonseka was convicted on the charge of dishonourable conduct by awarding four tenders to Hicorp Pvt Ltd in which his son-in-law Danuna Tillakrartne had vested interests. The court martial said General Fonseka as the tender board chairman had failed to divulge and disclose his relationship to Tillakaratne until his retirement from the Army.
Deputy Solicitor General Buwaneka Aluvihare with Senior State Counsel Damith Totawatte, Sudarshana de Silva, State Counsel Janaka Bandara and Shaminda Wickrema appeared for the prosecution while Rienzie Arsecularatne PC with Riyad Ameen, Wasantha Batagoda and Thejitha Koralage instructed by Paul Ratnayake Associates appeared for Fonseka.
After the conviction was announced, the accused Sarath Fonseka making a statement to the Court Martial Tribunal challenged its verdict.
"Those who caused injustice will have to face justice one day," he said in his statement.
The General would challenge the verdict of the Second Court Martial in the Court of Appeal.
Opposition sources said that the Auditor General had revealed many discrepancies in military spending over the years. Sources alleged that both UNP and PA/UPFA governments had never acted on findings by the AG regarding corruption in the armed forces, including discrepancy in the supply of rations to troops. They pointed out that there had been many allegations against the police, though not a single officer was found guilty of corruption.
Acknowledging that anyone guilty of corruption should be punished, sources said that when compared with revelations made by parliamentary watchdog committees (COPE and PAC) over the past few years, the charges on which General Fonseka was found guilty seemed insignificant.
They alleged that none of the politicians, who had been named by the two institutions faced charges before a court of law or had at least been reprimanded for mega corrupt deals. Mr. Vasudeva Nanayakara, MP, who had moved the Supreme Court against some of the deals, including the privatization of the Lanka Marine Services (LMS) and the Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation during the UNP-led UNP regime, would know the difference between the General’s case and those exposed by parliament.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, an MP pointed out that Fonseka was the first sitting MP to receive a jail term on corruption charges though a thorough and independent inquiry on COPE and PAC findings would produce amazing results. He said that government tender procedures as well as almost all financial rules and regulations had been brazenly violated by successive governments causing losses running into billons of rupees.
In the wake of armed forces’ triumph over the LTTE in May last year, the government vowed to wipe out state sector corruption. The assurance was given by President Rajapaksa at a ceremony to mark the victory over terrorism.