The latest allegation linking Kadirgamar’s murder to the crime syndicates in the country comes as a little surprise to observers who say that Sri Lanka’s politicians and ruling elites are closely connected to the underworld. “It is an open secret that thereare close connections between politicians, the underworld and segments of the security establishment,” says an analyst fromthe Capital Colombo. “Many of the politicians rely on the underworld to intimidate their political opponents and do their dirtywork,” the analyst further said.

The reaction of the Colombo press and military has been to put immediate blame on the Tamil Tigers for all killings in the Capital Colombo, according to analysts. This is both dangerous and contributes to the decay of law and order in the country, analysts point out. Colombo media and the security establishments quickly blamed the Tamil Tigers for the murder of Kadirgammer, a charge the Tigers denied. The observers say that there is still no substantive evidence that incriminates the Tigers in the murder.

Late last year, Colombo High Court Judge Sarath Ambepitiya was murdered outside his house. Colombo media immediatelyspeculated that the Tamil Tigers were behind the assassination, but evidences emerged later suggesting that the underworldwas behind the killing and was heavily backed by sections of the country’s security establishment.

Following the murder, the Asian Human Rights Commission released a statement criticizing the lack of political will to fight crime and violence in the country. “Assassinations and threats of assassinations have been going on in Sri Lanka for decades.There has been no serious effort to stem the practice. Like all other problems, it has been met with rhetoric and promises,devoid of strategies and action,” the statement said. “For the political leadership in Sri Lanka, crime is just a device fordemagogy: a means to obtain greater powers for social repression,” the statement added.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s print media reacted equally as strongly to the killing of the judge. The Island paper said in its editorial,“Our leading politicians—and this is no secret—have precipitated this near anarchic state.... If the executive president toleratesministers and deputy ministers associating with criminals and acting as their patron saints, then a process beginnings that isvirtually unstoppable. It results in high ministry officials, heads of departments, heads of services, middle ranking officials rightdown to the peons being associated with corruption and criminal activity.”

The Daily Mirror also commented on Ambepitiya’s murder. “The signs were clear. Political interference in the judiciary in a big way; military deserters roaming at will as private guards of politicians doing their bidding, including bashing up patrons in dancehalls; police top brass hand-in-hand with the underworld; and politicians—even cabinet ministers—hand-in-glove with theunderworld. It was a deadly cocktail for the body politic of a small country to absorb,” the paper said.

Earlier in the year, a senior member of the Sri Lankan intelligence service, Major Nizam Muthalif was shot dead in the capital, Colombo. The blame was put on the Tamil Tigers but later reports pointed to the involvement of the underworld.

Late last month, another senior Military Intelligence officer, Lt. Col. T. Rizvi Meedin, was also shot dead. Like with the Muthalif case, it was reported that the assassin was a part of the Colombo underworld.

Meanwhile, Judge Weerawardena remanded the five suspects in Kadirgamar’s assassination till December 1.