Piyankara Jayaratne conviction gives the anti-corruption drive something it badly needs: an actual result
Former Minister Piyankara Jayaratne was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment after being convicted in a corruption case, providing another significant test of Sri Lanka’s renewed promises to hold former holders of public office accountable.
The conviction comes at a particularly interesting moment. The Government has repeatedly promised that the era in which political position offered protection from investigation and prosecution is over. The public, having heard variations of that promise from successive administrations, will probably be more interested in convictions than declarations.
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Jayaratne’s sentence therefore carries significance beyond one former minister.
Sri Lanka has spent decades watching investigations begin with considerable noise, proceed through years of litigation and sometimes disappear almost unnoticed. A functioning anti-corruption system must do something considerably more mundane but more important: investigate properly, prosecute fairly and allow the courts to decide.
The conviction is also a reminder that anti-corruption cannot become political theatre. Justice requires precisely the same standard whether the accused belongs to the former Government, the present Government or whichever government comes next.
That is the real test.
Be that as it may, seven years is considerably more persuasive than another press conference about zero tolerance for corruption.
