Parliamentarian and Attorney-at-Law Chitral Pranandu participated in the media briefing held today (08) at the main office of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB).
Expressing his views, he stated:
“The entire country is aware of the incident where a stock of containers marked with a red notice was released from Customs without any inspection. A report from the committee appointed by the President himself to investigate this fraud has now been released. However, this report has not been presented to Parliament, the media, or the public. The report was handed over to the President on June 15, but the government failed to release it before Parliament convened on June 30. Furthermore, the report was not provided to any Member of Parliament until it was tabled in Parliament by an SJB MP on June 30.
A fake container backlog was deliberately created, and then a Parliamentary committee was appointed to resolve the congestion. Afterward, the problematic containers were cleared from Customs. The Customs Trade Union Alliance had submitted complaints regarding this incident to the President and the Director General of Customs six months ago. However, until the committee report was received, neither the President, Minister Bimal Rathnayake, nor the State Minister made any statement to the country regarding the matter. They tried hard to cover up the incident. Later, the Deputy Minister of Ports accepted that the government is responsible for the fraud. He also admitted that the instructions were given by the government. It is now clear that the report has been hidden by the government because its contents are damaging to them. This incident reveals the corrupt nature of the government.
The President had stated during a discussion at the Presidential Secretariat that reputed companies never import illegal goods into the country. However, Customs Media Spokesman Mr. Sivalee Arukgoda revealed that illegal goods are in fact imported through reputed companies. Minister Bimal Rathnayake also stated that containers belonging to reputed companies are not subjected to inspections. These contradictory statements from the government and state institutions are clear today.
I filed a complaint in January with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) regarding the container incident. Although they acknowledged receiving the complaint, I have not been informed of any action taken. Even after the committee report on the container issue was released, I once again went to the CID and provided a statement. I requested the CID to take action based on the findings of the committee report. Following that, I was notified to appear before the CID tomorrow to give further information.
However, it appears that the government is attempting to hunt down those who lodged complaints about the container issue. Accordingly, MP Mujibur Rahuman, MP Kavinda Jayawardena, and I have been summoned by the CID. But we are not afraid to go to the CID, and we have already provided all relevant information about the incident. We have also requested the CID to conduct a proper investigation and immediately arrest the responsible parties. Yet, it seems the government is trying to shift the blame onto government officials.
On January 29, Customs issued a press release, which states in paragraph 5 that the President and the Chairman of the Committee, Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports, and Civil Aviation Bimal Rathnayake, had instructed the Director General of Customs to expedite the clearance of the containers. Therefore, it is clear who instructed Customs officers to release the containers without fear. Even the Deputy Ports Minister has acknowledged this statement. But the government continues its effort to scapegoat government officials. We question who truly benefits from these government decisions. There is a justified suspicion as to whether a part of that gain ends up in Pelawatte bank accounts.
Although the government claims there is nothing wrong in releasing the red-notice-marked containers without inspection, the SJB has been able to expose the wrongdoing in this incident. Therefore, we have won the first phase of this battle — it is a victory for the opposition. We are also ready to expose who profited from this — the politicians, businessmen, or any others. The SJB will ensure that this entire incident and its culprits are exposed to the nation. All legal actions must be taken against everyone involved.
Furthermore, Mr. S.B. Dissanayake claimed that the opposition’s probe into the container issue is “madness.” If that is the case, then the committee appointed by the President to investigate it must also be madness. That report contains findings, conclusions, and recommendations, and it states that all those responsible should be remanded. The report also clearly states that the behavior of the Director General of Customs and others was improper.”
