From 1977 to 1994, the Bandaranaikes and the Rajapaksas of the SLFP could not topple the UNP government. Even the JVP, brandishing T-56 rifles and resorting to killings, failed to overthrow it.
By 1994, however, the SLFP and JVP discovered a new battle cry:
“Against Corruption and Violence…”
This slogan became their weapon. Although J.R. Jayewardene deployed the army to crush the JVP’s armed insurrection, the SLFP and JVP branded him a murderer. When the JVP assassinated Vijaya Kumaratunga, his widow Chandrika claimed it was Premadasa. When Prabhakaran killed Lalith Athulathmudali, the SLFP and JVP insisted Premadasa was behind it. The same narrative was spun around the killings of General Kobbekaduwa, Wijaya Wimalaratne, Ranjan Wijeratne, and Navy Commander Clancy Fernando.
Stories of torture chambers like Batalanda were spread, with UNP ministers accused of executing youth. The SLFP relished these tales on stage, while the JVP popularized them among the masses. Ultimately, their combined effort defeated the UNP in the 1994 Southern Provincial Council election. Chandrika, as the SLFP’s leader, promised to appoint presidential commissions to investigate all these mysterious assassinations. Once elected, she entrusted the task to Attorney General Sarath Silva.
Through these commissions, Chandrika gained political mileage and secured a second presidential term. Later, Mahinda Rajapaksa and the JVP rode the wave of 1988–89 youth killings and political assassinations to win the 2005 presidential election.
From 1994 to 2015, the UNP struggled to defeat the SLFP. In 2015, with JVP’s help, they crafted a new slogan: “Catch the Thieves… End the Culture of Killings…”
This became the rallying cry against Mahinda Rajapaksa. Allegations of corruption by his family and the murders of journalists like Lasantha Wickrematunge, Prageeth Eknaligoda, and sportsman Wasim Thajudeen were narrated with relish. The people believed, Mahinda was defeated, and the UNP’s common candidate Maithripala Sirisena won with JVP support. Ranil became Prime Minister, and a UNP-led government was formed.
Immediately, investigations into Rajapaksa family corruption and mysterious killings were handed to Shani Abeysekara. Shani had joined the police in 1986 and was transferred to the CID in 1999 to probe the LTTE bombing attempt on Chandrika. By 2015, discussions among Maithri, Ranil, Chandrika, and the JVP placed Shani in charge of investigating the Rajapaksas.
Shani’s inquiries soon saw Gotabaya at Maithri’s residence and Mahinda’s allies at Ranil’s homes, unsettling both leaders. To secure Rajapaksa support for the 2019 presidential race, Maithri shielded Gotabaya from investigations, while Ranil helped Mahinda form a new party, sparing his family from probes. This angered the JVP, Ven. Sobitha, and civil society groups, who had expected Gotabaya to be trapped by expedited investigations.
Instead, Maithri and Ranil together saved Gotabaya. Investigators like Shani were left vulnerable. Maithri gave SLFP support to Gotabaya, while Ranil weakened Sajith’s candidacy, ensuring Gotabaya’s victory.
After Gotabaya won, CID officer Nishantha de Silva fled abroad with files on Lasantha’s murder and other cases. Furious, Gotabaya accused Shani of disciplinary breaches, suspended him, and had him arrested.
Shani was imprisoned during the COVID-19 wave. Despite warnings from his lawyers about infection risks, the government ignored them. He nearly died from COVID and suffered a severe heart attack without proper medical care.
At this time, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and SJB MPs raised their voices for Shani. The JVP under Anura Kumara remained silent. Ironically, Shani had chosen the JVP during the presidential election, believing only under their government could he freely pursue corruption cases. But Maithri and Ranil betrayed him, his work was halted, and he languished in prison, close to death.
When Anura later rose, Shani was reinstated as CID Director to resume the anti-corruption drive from where it had been stopped in 2019. His mission was to prove that the allegations raised by the UNP and SJB in 2015 and 2019 against the Rajapaksas were real. Yet Anura now faces the challenge of steering the opposition into a historic trap.
