Hours after a Police officer who was investigating several high-profile cases left the country without prior permission, the Government yesterday issued a directive to the Immigration authorities placing overseas travel restrictions on 704 CID officers.
The list containing the names of CID officers who are barred from overseas travel was sent to the Immigration and Emigration Office at the Colombo International Airport last morning, Police said.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday said he would renegotiate the Hambantota Port lease agreement, terming it a “mistake” and calling on the Chinese company to be open to the move while assuring that he remained committed to strong relations with the global superpower.
Rajapaksa, giving his first interview since taking office, told Indian Journalist and Defence Analyst Nethin S. Gokhle that he remained committed to close ties with both China and India.
In an hour-long interview aired on Gokhle’s Strategic News International (SNI) web platform and on the defence website Barthshakthi, President Rajapaksa stressed that Sri Lanka’s close relations with China during his brother’s 2005-2015 presidential tenure were misinterpreted by international analysts as a strategic military relationship, and claimed instead it was purely an economic partnership.
By
D.B.S.Jeyaraj
“Gotaphobia”: Who’s Afraid of Nandasena Gotabhaya Rajapaksa? – Part Two
This writer devoted several hours in the past fortnight to communicate with a cross section of Sinhala media personnel in the Southern, Central, Sabaragamuwa, North Western and North Central provinces of Sri Lanka. A few journalist colleagues in Colombo helped to put me in touch with them. Our discussions were focused on the up coming Presidential elections and about how the chief presidential candidates were likely to fare. I was very much interested in their assessment of the ground situation in the pre-dominantly Sinhala areas as opposed to those of the Colombo – based journalists.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Initially I was somewhat doubtful as to whether they would share their thoughts freely with me. Happily they were willing to do so and said that they appreciated my efforts to obtain their views.To my utter delight I found them extremely frank and forthcoming though none of them wished to be quoted explicitly by name and designation. I am very grateful for their helpful input and convey my thanks to them collectively here.
CID Officer IP Nishantha Silva who investigated several high-profile cases including the murder of Lasantha Wickrematunge and the disappearance of Prageeth Ekneligoda has left the country yesterday with his family.
Police sources said that IP Silva has left the country without prior permission from the Police Department.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa who visited the Bellanwila Raja Maha Viharaya yesterday during an interaction with the Chief Incumbent of the Temple Ven. Bellanwila Dharmaratne Thera and other members of the clergy also made reference to Silva’s departure from the country.
In the wake of a spate of acts of vandalism targeting road signs in the Tamil language, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa had yesterday directed the Police to act immediately to stop such incidents.
The Prime Minister has also instructed the reinstallation of all the damaged road sings.
By
Sanjana Hattotuwa
The day after the 7th President was sworn into office, racism celebrated a new birth on Facebook. Across many pages that played a key role in President’s electoral bid, the message was simple and clear. Sri Lanka was for Sinhalese Buddhists only, and his victory ensured the country would remain thus. All Tamils were labelled terrorists. An electoral map of districts that voted for the President’s opponent was juxtaposed with a map of Eelam.
The implication, explicitly noted or implicitly projected, was that the opponent’s bid was to divide Sri Lanka and give the Tamils what the LTTE wanted. And because of this ingratitude, the suggestion was that the Sinhalese should inhabit these areas as well since nothing good would ever come from Tamils. The Sri Lankan flag was replaced by the Lion flag next to the Buddhist flag. Lions, in fact, dominated the images across these pages. In other pages, the Lion covered the entire map of Sri Lanka. ‘Lions are back’ proclaimed a notorious page supporting the new President, with an image of him and his brother on two ends, with a Lion in the middle.
In the background to the images of both men, maps of Sri Lanka covered by the Lion symbol. In more explicit posts, Hakeem, Bathiudeen and Sampanthan were called the f word, reminding them that the electoral result was an indication the Sinhala race wasn’t dead. Many pages congratulated the new President as the representative of the Sinhala Buddhists.
Hyper-conscious of public optics, the new President tweeted that “I am the President of not only those who voted for me but also those who voted against me and irrespective of which race or religion they belong to.” And yet, the racism on the pages continues in the same vein. All the posts are hugely popular.
By
Kishali Pinto Jayawardene
Foisting the blame for the catastrophic defeat of the United National Party (UNP)-led alliance at the November 16th polls to elect Sri Lanka’s seventh Executive President, on ‘Sinhala Buddhist nationalism’ and a panicked security mindset consequent to Easter Sunday’s jihadist attacks is a convenient fairy tale. Certainly these were factors enabling the defeat, as stoked to a hysterical level by prejudiced media. But that is only part of the truth.
A calamitous mixture of arrogance and ignorance
Rather, the disastrous seeds to Saturday’s disastrous defeat were sowed by the now ejected Government itself, almost at the outset of its coming into power in 2015. This is important to recognise in all its unpleasant ramifications if mistakes of the past are to be remedied. Decision-making limited to lofty pronouncements in Colombo with no impact on the ground, callous robbing of the public purse via the Central Bank by the UNP leadership coupled with deliberate sabotage of the legal process in respect of major corruption cases during the Rajapaksa Presidency weighed the scales to the negative. Securing of democratic freedoms of expression and the right to know were not enough.
Shot through with a disastrous mixture of arrogance combined with ignorance at many levels, the reform process spluttered because those at the helm resorted to short cuts. Fatal tendencies of the so-called ‘reformists’were immediately apparent. Constitutional drafting was one good example.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appears restrained by a constitutional conundrum on whether he can take on the portfolio of Defence Minister.
As President, the Constitution makes him the Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, but the 19th Amendment arguably prohibits him from holding a ministry.
In the 15-member caretaker cabinet that has been appointed there is no Defence Minister included, but on Friday, the President issued a Gazette keeping the tri-forces to assist the police in maintaining law and order under the Public Security Ordinance.
The new Government’s legal advisers are seeking ways and means of resolving this either by bringing the armed forces as subjects under the President, or seeking an opinion from the Supreme Court, the Sunday Times learns.
By
J. M. Jinasena
Dear Mr. Premadasa,
I did not vote for you, nor am I aligned with a political party. My family are a colour pallet of green, blue, red and now the new pink. Nor am I a political pundit or have a degree in political science.
I am writing to you as I find your supporters, the social media and your colleagues, appear to be under the illusion that your failure to win the Presidential elections was due to a single reason and that reason being the RW factor.
I am no friend of RW. In fact I have little respect for the supposed gentleman, considering the manner in which he has hogged the UNP party leadership despite successive defeats, without giving the young blood of the party a chance. His obvious favouritism towards his chronies is akin to MR’s nepotism. It is also undeniable, RW’s “I will continue to be the PM” line on the campaign trail may have adversely impacted your elections campaign. However, none of those are the reasons why I didn’t vote for you.
Fifteen ministers were sworn in before President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa this morning at the Presidential Secretariat.
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa sworn in as the Minister of Defense, Public Security, Law and Order, Finance, Economic Affairs, Policy Development, Buddha Sasana, Cultural, Water Supply and Urban Development.
The other ministers who were sworn in as ministers include:
By Shamindra Ferdinando
UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has been recognised by Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, MP, as the Leader of the Opposition, political sources said.
Loyalists of MP Sajith Premadasa requested the Speaker to recognise him as the Opposition Leader while UNP General Secretary Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, called for the appointment of Wickremesinghe to that post.
Sources said that Wickremesinghe had directed the party General Secretary to inform the Speaker of the decision.
India has expressed the hope that Sri Lanka’s newly elected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will pursue national reconciliation in a meaningful manner.
“Indian external affairs min conveyed (to Sri Lankan Prez @gotabayaR) about India’s expectations that SL govt will take forward the process of national reconciliation to arrive at a solution that meets aspirations of Tamil population for equality, justice, peace & dignity,” tweeted Devirupa Mitra, the Deputy Editor and Diplomatic Correspondent of The Wire, India’s foremost independent news-site, carrying critical opinion, investigations and reportage
By Chandani Kirinde
The fallout from the United National Party’s (UNP) defeat at Saturday’s Presidential Election continued yesterday, with two groups within the party making a claim for the post of Opposition Leader, one backing current UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, and the other former Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa.
UNP Secretary General Akila Viraj Kariyawasam wrote to Speaker Karu Jayasuriya yesterday, nominating Wickremesinghe to the post of Opposition Leader, while MP Ajith Perera also submitted a letter to the Speaker with 45 signatures, recommending Premadasa for the post.
Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday took oaths as the 24th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. Rajapaksa took oaths before his brother and newly-elected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Presidential Secretariat, and promptly assumed duties at the Prime Minister’s Office.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been released from all indictments in the D. A. Rajapaksa memorial case, sources said.
Rajapaksa’s passport, the subject of much controversy in the run-up to the recently concluded presidential election, has also been released.
A new political party would be established with the leadership of Sajith Premadasa if Ranil Wickremesinghe does not resign from the UNP leadership and the post of opposition leader, MP Harin Fernando says.
Addressing the media in Colombo, Fernando said that Premadasa was the best person to lead the UNP and the Opposition. A number of other people should also leave their posts, if the UNP was to return to winning ways, he added.
By Nuwan Senarathna
The Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) will not be dissolved by a Government headed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) said yesterday, insisting that it would take forward ongoing probes on the bond scam as well as investigations into other corruption allegations that surfaced over the past four years.
SLPP MPs speaking at the first press briefing to be held after the appointment of President Rajapaksa, said the party would continue with the FCID as they believe it had the capacity to function independently to investigate allegations of corruption against the United National Party (UNP) or any others.
“The FCID was never our issue. The objective of the FCID and how the Government used it to further its political agenda was our only concern. People should be able to directly lodge their complaint with the FCID and not have cases picked by politicians. Previously, we were concerned that the FCID was controlled by the Prime Minister’s Office and there could be political interference behind every investigation. But we can now change that situation,” Gammanpila said.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will hand over his letter of resignation to President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa today, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
“I met the President on Tuesday and spoke about the future activities of Parliament. We decided that we must accept the people’s mandate and allow the President to form a government, although we have the majority in Parliament.
I respect and cherish democracy. Therefore I decided to resign as Prime Minister. I will inform this decision officially on Thursady,” Wickremesinghe said.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will resign from his post this morning, paving the way for Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa to be sworn in as the new Premier later in the day.
Wickremesinghe will officially inform President Gotabaya Rajapaksa of his decision this morning.
While the United National Front (UNF), headed by Wickremesinghe, commands the majority in Parliament, the decision to step down was taken as “We accepted the mandate of the people and decided to extend our cooperation to him (President Gotabaya Rajapaksa) to form a Government,” Wickremesinghe said in a special statement last evening.
By
Kelum Bandara
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will step down today making the way for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to appoint a new Cabinet, Daily Mirror learns.
The Prime Minister called on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday and discussed it. He will have a special Cabinet meeting at 4.00 p.m. today. Afterwards, he will make a public statement announcing his resignation from office.
(Text of a Press Statement Issued Through the Media Office of the Tamil National Alliance)
The Presidential election held on 2019.11.16 to elect the President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka has been peaceful and Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been declared elected as the President of the Republic of Sri Lanka. We extend to him our congratulations.
I take this opportunity to thank the Elections Commissioner and his staff, Security Forces, all other public servants, Local and International monitors, and to all Leaders and members of all political parties for all their support and commitments in conducting a peaceful election.
The people belonging to all Administrative and Electoral districts in the North and the East have very largely voted for Mr. Sajith Premadasa who in his Election Manifesto outlined certain features pertaining to the resolution of the longstanding national question.
The Speaker of Parliament had carried out discussions with the Prime Minister, opposition leader, party leaders and several parliamentarians regarding the future course of action of the Parliament after the President has been sworn-in.
A release issued by the Speaker’s media unit says that the majority were of the view that action is taken based on the clear mandate that has been shown.
Sri Lanka’s new President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has accepted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invitation to visit India on November 29, Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said after meeting the Sri Lankan President this evening in Colombo.
On Sunday, PM Modi had invited Mr Rajapaksa to visit India as his first official foreign tour.
Mr Rajapaksa will visit India on November 29, Mr Jaishankar tweeted.
Sri Lanka constitution has to be changed and a 19th amendment should be abolished, Basil Rajapaksa, brother of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said in a television interview.
“It is my view that the 19th amendment should be completely abolished,” Rajapaksa, who formed the Sri Lanka Podujana Party of the new President said in an interview with Hiru TV, a privately owned television channel.
“There is a similar view in our party. The 19th has some good parts. It has more bad parts. As a whole it should be removed. But there are some parts which are good, which we can keep.”
He did not specify the bad parts.
By Chandani Kirinde
Speculation was rife last night that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will step down today, along with members of the Cabinet, to pave the way for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to make new appointments, whilst others claimed the former will hold on for a little longer.
Sources in the Prime Minister’s Office said that he will hold several discussions today, including with ruling party parliamentarians, before stepping down. Wickremesinghe is under pressure to quit UNP leadership and retire after the massive defeat of the party at Saturday’s Presidential Poll, whilst some analysts claim he emerged victorious as far as party politics was concerned.
By Chandani Kirinde
The appointment of a new Prime Minister and Cabinet is likely to be delayed till tomorrow pending a top level meeting between President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa tomorrow.
The probable way forward came under discussion at the UNP parliamentary group meeting yesterday whilst there were mixed views on whether to extend support to the UPFA for an immediate dissolution of Parliament or remain in Opposition till end February next year.
By Saman Indrajith
The government parliamentary group, which met, yesterday, was divided between Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Sajith Premadasa, who resigned as the UNP Deputy leader following his defeat at Saturday’s presidential election.
One group objected to Prime Minister’s decision to dissolve Parliament and go for a snap parliamentary election.
Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine Minister Dr Rajitha Senaratne, speaking for Prime Minister Wickremesinghe’s camp, raised three points. He said that the government had no moral right to continue as people had given a clear mandate. The government should respect the mandate the SLPP had received and let that party form a new government.
The government should not resign instead get the consent of Opposition groups to pass a motion in Parliament with a two-thirds majority to dissolve Parliament. He also said that going for an early election would help people to make a decision.
By Chandani Kirinde
The EU Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) said yesterday that the Presidential Election was largely free of violence and technically well-managed, but that unregulated campaign spending, abuse of State resources and media bias did not provide a level playing field for all candidates.
Presenting the mission’s preliminary findings at a press briefing, Chief Observer Marisa Matias said while the campaign on the ground was largely peaceful and calm, the playing field in the traditional and online media was affected by instances of bias, hate speech and disinformation.
“This trend was further affected by the misuse of State resources by both frontrunners and the absence of campaign finance regulations,” she said.
While fully endorsing the preliminary findings and conclusions of the observation mission, Isabel Santos, the head of a delegation of Members of the European Parliament, said while they observed a well-organised and peaceful elections, action is needed to reinforce the legal framework, in particular regarding campaign finance transparency, and to level the playing field for candidates and parties in the media.
“It was very moving to see Sri Lankans side-by-side exercising their democratic right, irrespective of their origin, religion or social status. This is a sign that they want to work together. Politicians and leaders need to understand this and act to unite the country,” she said.
Newly-sworn-in President Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday, in his first address to the nation, outlined his policies, which centred on efficiency to drive economic growth, a non-aligned foreign policy, priority for national security and minority inclusivity to build a prosperous Sri Lanka.
Speaking at the historic Ruwanwelisaya under the shadow of King Dutugamunu’s statue, Rajapaksa yesterday held a brief swearing-in ceremony where he stressed the need for professionalism and efficiency.
“The Government should always set an example to society. Professionalism and efficiency should be the cornerstones of Government administration,” he said, pointing out that meritocracy and technocracy would be promoted. “I promise you that I will re-establish a professional, law-abiding and efficient public service which is free of corruption,” he added, pledging not to leave any room for corruption in his administration. Addressing the gathering, he reiterated the importance of national security.
“I consider national security to be our primary responsibility,” he stated, noting that his administration would rebuild and strengthen the nation’s security apparatus.
Rajapaksa revealed that he expected to form a new Government in the coming days.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, addressing the nation from Anuradhapura, yesterday, declared that he would form a new government. He said he had come before the people as the Executive President, Commander-in-chief and Defence Minister.
“I am addressing you as the Executive President of Sri Lanka, Commander- in-Chief and the Defence Minister who is responsible for your and your children’s security,” President Rajapaksa said in his inauguration speech, near Ruwanweliseya in Anuradhapura.
Rajapaksa said that he would not hesitate to use his executive powers for the betterment of society and that he would soon form a new government to implement the promises in his manifesto.
The President said that his administration would maintain friendly relations with all countries and stay out of any conflict among the world powers. “We request all nations to respect the unitary nature and sovereignty of the country, when maintaining relations with us.”
By P.K.Balachandran
Gotabaya Rajapaksa of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) convincingly won the Lankan Presidential election held on November 16. Gotabaya got 52.25 % of the valid votes while his principal rival, Sajith Premadasa, got 41.99%, as per figures available in the evening of Sunday. Sajith conceded defeat in a statement released in the afternoon.
During the campaign, the contest was expected to be close, and the end a photo finish. And perhaps for the first time, there was even speculation about a second round taking place if none of the candidates got 50% of the valid votes plus one.
Such a delicate and uncertain scenario gained currency because both principal candidates were not top order politicians. Gotabaya was an army officer turned top level government official turned politician. But he became a politician only after the election was announced. His political experience was therefore nil.
Sajith, on the other hand, was a career politician but a colorless and undistinguished one. He was nominally Deputy Leader of the United National Party (UNP) but he had no role in shaping the policies of the party, a role which was performed by the Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and his select circle. Sajith hardly spoke about national issues and seemed satisfied with his work in his chosen district of Hambantota.
By
Suhasini Haidar
For many in South Block, the election in Sri Lanka will bring relations around full circle from five years ago. In October 2014, during Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s visit to New Delhi, when he was Defence Secretary to his brother, President Mahinda Rajapaksa, both the Ministry of External Affairs and the National Security Advisor Ajit Doval delivered him a tough message: that the Modi government took a stern view of Sri Lanka allowing Chinese naval warships into Colombo harbour.
The message clearly didn’t go down well with Mr. Gotabaya, and a week later, the PLA-Navy’s submarine Changzheng-2 and the warship Chang Xing Dao arrived at Colombo on a five-day visit anyway.
Sri Lanka insisted it had informed Indian officials about the plan in advance, and that the docking was routine, but the event put the Rajapaksa regime and the Modi government on collision course.
Matters came to a head shortly after, when an Indian diplomat based in Colombo was accused of conspiring with the opposition leaders to defeat President Rajapaksa, and subsequently returned to Delhi. In the elections that followed, Mahinda Rajapaksa lost to Maithripala Sirisena, who was warmly welcomed by the Modi government.
A lot has changed between the government and the Rajapaksas since that fraught period five years ago. The Rajapaksas are now back in power, although it is Mr. Gotabaya who is President, not Mr. Mahinda, because of two-term limits on the presidency.
By
Meera Srinivasan
As the outcome of Saturday’s presidential polls in Sri Lanka became clear, some voters’ message to the winner Gotabaya Rajapaksa was even clearer.
The island’s minority Tamils and Muslims, most of whom live in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, had voted decisively for ruling party candidate Sajith Premadasa, giving him over a million votes — about 80% of the vote share in the regions.
In effect, they had rejected Mr. Rajapaksa, a powerful former defence secretary accused of war-crimes — which he has denied — and linked to reactionary anti-Muslim groups.
By Chandani Kirinde
Starting a new chapter in Sri Lanka’s political history Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa (70) will be sworn in today as the Seventh Executive President having securing a resounding victory on Saturday.
President-elect Rajapaksa was declared winner by Election Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya last afternoon after he won an emphatic victory in the Saturday’s Presidential Election, securing 52.25% of the vote. The margin of 1.3 million more votes was convincing and defied pre-election doubts that he could surpass the 50% plus mark.
In spite of a highly polarising election result which saw Rajapaksa sweep through Sinhala-dominant districts but lose badly in the North and East, he struck a conciliatory note in his first address to the people soon after being officially declared the winner.
(English Translation of Excerpts from Speech made by President elect Gotabaya Rajapaksa after Being Declared the Winner Officially)
It’s no overstatement: today we made history together.
16th November 2019 will be remembered as the day when the wounds of the past were healed, and our nation moved forward to embrace the future.
Sri Lankans chose hope over fear, unity over conflict, smile over anger. Our vision for a better tomorrow, won the hearts and the minds of the people.
From now on, the path to great achievements lies open in front of us and this was our first step together with many other accomplishments to follow. I promise not to stop, until we reach the heights Sri Lankans aspire to.
(Text of a Press Release Issued by Leader of the Opposition Mahinda Rajapaksa on Nov 17th 2019 under the heading “Presidential Election 2019”)
The candidate of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, Sri Lanka Freedom Party and the Joint Opposition, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has won a decisive victory at this presidential election.
I request all our party activists and supporters to celebrate this victory peacefully and without causing inconvenience to anyone.
The people have voted decisively in our favour at this election because of disaffection with the conduct of this government over the past five years.
Therefore it is our duty by the people of this country, to conduct ourselves in a manner that will not inconvenience anyone.
Sri Lanka’s ex-Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa who helped defeat Tamil Tiger separatists has been elected Presidentin a deeply polarized vote backed by mainly Sinhalese voters in the South of the country.
Rajapaksa won 6,924,255 or 52.25 percent of the vote beating Sajith Premadasa who polled 5,564,239 or 41.99 percent.
Rajapaksa’s brother ex-President Mahinda Rajapaksa is expected to be prime minister in a Gotabaya administration.
In the deep Sinhala south of the country, Rajapaksa, polled double the votes of his rival Sajith Premadasa from the United National Party led National Democratic Party.
By
Meera Srinivasan
As the outcome of the Sri Lankan presidential poll became clear on Sunday, the candidate of the incumbent government Sajith Premadasa conceded defeat to his opponent Gotabaya Rajapaksa. He also resigned from the post of Deputy Leader of his United National Party (UNP).
Earlier in the day, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP or People’s Party) claimed victory – pending final results – after party candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa was seen to be leading in most districts in the country, barring the largely Tamil-speaking north and east.
The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) on Sunday claimed that presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa has won the presidential election by winning 53% of the total votes.
In a statement, MP Dullas Alahapperuma said although the final official results were yet to be released they had sufficient information that Gotabaya Rajapaksa had won the polls.
(Text of Special Statement Issued by NDF Presidential Candidate Sajith Premadasa on Nov 17th 2019)
At the conclusion of a hard fought and spirited election campaign, It is my privilege to honour the decision of the people and congratulate Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa on his election as the seventh President of Sri Lanka.
I express my heartfelt gratitude to all of our citizens who voted for me, in all corners of the island. I am humbled that you placed your faith in me. Your support has been a fountain of strength throughout my twenty-six-year-long political career. I
also wish to place on record my gratitude to all those who worked tirelessly on my campaign. My family and I will never forget your sacrifice and dedication.
Sri Lanka’s ruling party candidate Sajith Premadasa Sunday conceded the presidential poll on Sunday and congratulated his main rival, former wartime defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Sri Lanka Podujana Party has claimed victory in 2019 presidential polls with its candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa getting large majorities in the South.
By late morning Sunday Rajapaksa had polled 48 percent of the vote and Sajith Premadasa 45 percent.
By
Meera Srinivasan
As voting ended on Saturday, the rival political camps of Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Sajith Premadasa in Sri Lanka’s presidential election appeared confident that the high turnout would push their candidate past the required 50% mark.
A second round of counting will be undertaken to tally preference votes if neither contestant secures over half the vote share.
The following is a transcript of an exclusive Sunday Times Q and A with SLPP Presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Q: When General Sarath Fonseka contested the Presidential Elections of 2010, you felt at the time that a military officer cannot transform himself into a politician. Being a military officer yourself, how do you feel about it now?
There are many examples of military officers transforming themselves into successful politicians in other countries . But in almost all these success stories they had entered mainstream politics after being involved in social and political work for some time. Only then you get a clear idea of people’s expectations and the socio economic problems that you have to deal with. You need to spend sufficient time developing a clear vision as to how you are going to serve the people if you want to be an effective politician.
Q: You pride yourself as a ‘doer’ rather than a ‘talker’ like most politicians. You deserve that title for winning the war effort and your work at the UDA. However there is a public perception that you have an authoritarian disposition and way of getting a job done. Any comment?
Each leader has his own leadership style. What matters is not the perception but the actual results. Also remember that perception is not necessarily the reality. I have always been able to motivate people for better results
Gunmen opened fire on a convoy of buses carrying minority Muslim voters in northwest Sri Lanka on Saturday, hours before polling in presidential elections got under way, police said.
There were no immediate reports of casualties, but a police official said the attackers had burnt tyres on the road and set up makeshift road blocks to ambush the convoy of more than 100 vehicles.
“The gunmen opened fire and also pelted stones,”a police official in Tantirimale, 240 kilometres (150 miles) north of Colombo said. “At least two buses were hit, but we have no reports ofcasualties.”
By
Nirmala Kannangara
Police yesterday threatened to file court action if any military roadblocks or checkpoints were set up in the Jaffna District today, as such obstacles to voting would constitute a violation of election laws.
Against the objections of the army and local security forces commanders, police yesterday ordered the roadblocks be dismantled insisting that freedom of movement was essential for voters in Jaffna to be able to exercise their franchise.
Within three hours of the opening of polling booths in the Sri Lankan Presidential election on Saturday, 25% of the voters had cast their ballots, election officers said.
Polling began at 7 am and by 10 am local time, a quarter of the electorate had votes, they added.
By
D.B.S.Jeyaraj
“Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf,
The big bad wolf, the big bad wolf,
Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf?
Tra la la la la la la la”
– Song Written by Frank Churchill for the 1933 Walt Disney Animated Film “Three Little Pigs”
“Onna Babo Billo Enawaa” was a familiar threat often used by grown -ups to frighten children into obedience in those days. Fear would be instilled into children that the kidnapper with the sack (Goni Billa) would grab them if the kids did not do as they were told. Nowadays few people resort to such threats in dealing with children.
Nandasena Gotabhaya Rajapaksa
In politics however the practice of instilling fear into people for a specific purpose prevails still. An effective psychosis or phobia of certain persons, concepts, processes and projects – very often irrational and/or unjustifiable – are created in the minds of people to manipulate emotions deliberately with the political purpose of whipping up opposition or garnering support for an individual or party.
Continue reading ‘“Gotaphobia”: Who’s Afraid of Nandasena Gotabhaya Rajapaksa?’ »
By
D.B.S.Jeyaraj
The political spectacle “Ekwa Idiriyata”(Forward Together) that unfolded on October 10th at Galle face green has elevated the morale of the green party to ecstatic heights. A mammoth crowd – estimated by some of being in the range of six digits – gathered on the shores of the Indian ocean to see, hear and cheer United National Party (UNP) leaders. A festive mood was much in the air as the UNP led Front’s Presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa launched his election campaign with the inaugural rally at the green.
Pic via: FB/UNP
What seemed to have pleased and energized the crowds most was the sight of UNP Leader and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe appearing alongside party Deputy leader and presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa unitedly on a common platform to espouse the latter’s candidacy. Ranil made a rousing speech in support of Sajith while the candidate outlined the policy measures he hoped to undertake when elected president. The speeches were eagerly lapped up by a buoyant audience.
Continue reading ‘Rivalry and Rapprochement Between Ranil and Sajith: What Did Happen?’ »
By
D.B.S.Jeyaraj
Ever since the name of Gotabaya Rajapaksa began to be bandied about as a potential candidate at the Sri Lankan presidential elections, doubts have been raised as to whether the former defence ministry secretary could win at the hustings. This skepticism has intensified in recent times after former president Mahinda Rajapaksa formally announced his brother’s candidacy at the Sri Lanka Podujana Party(SLPP) Convention on August 7th this year.
EPDP Meeting Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Earlier there was much pessimism about Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s eligibility to contest as a dual citizen holding US citizenship. It was strongly believed that Gota would not be allowed to relinquish his US citizenship on time to contest presidential elections and would be disbarred from contesting as a dual citizen in terms of the 19th Constitutional amendment. These misgivings seem to have somewhat diminished after Gota produced documents as proof of having lost his US Nationality.
Continue reading ‘How Many Tamil Votes Can EPDP chief Douglas Devananda Canvass for Gotabaya Rajapaksa At Presidential Poll?’ »
By
D.B.S.Jeyaraj
There is political excitement in the air in anticipation of Presidential elections before the end of the year. Even though no dates have been specified there is much speculation about prospective candidates and their prospects. Among those being spoken of as a potential presidential election contender is Hambantota District Parliamentarian and Cabinet Minister of Housing and Construction Sajith Premadasa who is also the United National Party (UNP) deputy leader. Sajith is the son of Ranasinghe Premadasa who served as Prime minister of a United National Party (UNP)Government from 1978 to 1988 and as President of Sri Lanka from 1988 to 1993.
pic: facebook.com/sajithpremadasa
The simmering tensions within the UNP over this issue are now coming to light In a big way. The latest incident being the UNP working committee meeting held on August 1st to approve the proposal by party leader and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to form a new political alliance named National Democratic Front (NDF) and face Presidential elections.
Continue reading ‘Will Sajith Premadasa Split From The UNP And Contest Presidential Poll Separately Or Remain in the Party Even if Denied Candidacy?’ »
By D.B.S.JEYARAJ
The eighth Sri Lankan presidential election is expected to be held on or before December 7th this year. Though dates have not been announced yet, many names are being bandied about as potential candidates. Among such names is Hambantota district parliamentarian and cabinet Minister of Housing and Construction and Cultural Affairs Sajith Premadasa who is also the United National Party (UNP) deputy leader.
June 23, 1989. Sajith with President R. Premadasa at Mahiyanganaya Rajama Viharaya on his Birthday
Sajith Premadasa is the son of former Sri Lankan president Ranasinghe Premadasa who was assassinated by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE) on May 1st 1993. Sri Lanka known formerly as Ceylon was the first country in the South Asian region to adopt the practice of dynastic succession in political leadership. The first prime minister of Independent Ceylon D. S. Senanayake was succeeded by his son Dudley Senanayake in 1951. In 1960, Sirimavo Bandaranaike the widow of , Prime minister S.W.R. D. Bandaranaike assassinated in 1959 , became Prime minister. Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga the daughter of two past Prime Ministers became Prime minister in August 1994. When she became the President in October 1994, her mother Sirimavo Bandaranaike was appointed Prime Minister. Mother and daughter being Prime Minister and President simultaneously is a world record. If therefore Sajith does indeed become a President like Ranasinghe Premadasa they would be the first father and son ti be Sri Lankan presidents. If that happens Sri Lanka would have added another notch to its Totem pole of dynastic politics.
by VLM
In the final few days of the campaign trail, the usual talk is once again resurfacing. Apparently the NDF candidate is “picking up the pace” and “closing the gap”. This view isn’t without merit. The SLPP campaign definitely plateaued and with Sajith Premadasa claiming that he would “appoint a first-time PM”, there are definite steps towards the gap being narrowed. But the underlying story has not changed, and Sajith will have to do a lot more if he wants to beat Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The story of 2015: A scapegoat for economic struggle
To understand why the 2019 election will go to the Rajapaksas, we need to look back at why it went away from them in 2015. In addition to both a re-energised UNP base that now thought its party genuinely could win as well as the support of an SLFP group that pledged loyalty to the party instead of to its then-mascot (read MR), the NDF benefitted from an upswell in support for the argument that the Rajapaksas were corrupt and authoritarian.
However, this was not a new argument. The UNP had been peddling this argument for almost a decade, but only now were they able to find traction. Why? The answer lies in the weakening economy. After the economic boom following the end of the civil war, the economy tanked. People started wondering: the war is over and the economy started growing, but I have no money now. Where is all the money? The easy answer that the NDF latched on to: The Rajapaksas stole it. That was why the argument of corruption touched the hearts of people.
Why wouldn’t it? When they were working overtime to feed their families, they hear of Namal Rajapaksa buying million-dollar cars. Regardless of whether they were true, stories like this were enough to hit hard and hit home. Abstract ideas of corruption and democracy would not matter so much to the average Sri Lankan, especially not against the ‘King’ who won the war. But personal struggles mattered. The vote swung. The Rajapaksas lost.
Armed men stabbed and injured a writer in Sri Lanka on Thursday, a week after he published a book criticising the main opposition candidate at Saturday’s presidential polls, police said.
The attackers stormed the home of Lasantha Wijeratne, who released his book “Wasteful Development and Corruption” last week and gave a copy to ruling party candidate Sajith Premadasa.
“Four men broke into the house and stabbed him in the arm after holding a pistol to his wife’s head,” Wijeratne’s lawyer Tharaka Nanayakkara told AFP by telephone. “They smashed furniture before escaping.”
Police said they launched an investigation into the pre-dawn attack in Galle, 115 kilometres (72 miles) south of Colombo, but no arrests had been made.
Nanayakkara said the attackers accused Wijeratne of harming the campaign of Gotabaya Rajapaksa who is believed to be in a close race with Premadasa for the top job.
By
Col R Hariharan
Amid the excitement of the Ayodhya verdict and opening of the Kartarpur corridor to Indian devotees of Nankana Sahib, the Sri Lanka Presidential election to be held on November 16 finds little space in the media, not even in Tamil Nadu. The election will decide who will be at the helm in Sri Lanka in the next five years.
Internationally, Sri Lanka has emerged as the strategic pivot for China to assert its military and economic power in South Asia and the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). China’s influence is to make further headway with the progress of the Belt and Road infrastructure initiative in the region.
These developments have become a source of major concern to India as its national security is tied with Sri Lanka by geography. Growing Chinese power in IOR has increased the concern to the USA and its East Asian and European allies, dominating the Indo-Pacific.
The election is being held at a time when the country’s governance has taken a beating ever since President Maithripala Sirisena made an abortive effort in October 2018 to replace the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe with former president Mahinda Rajapaksa. The infighting between the two exposed serious deficiencies in national security with the April 21 Easter Sunday attacks costing more than 253 lives. The anti-Muslim backlash that followed highlighted the potential threat of religious extremism getting out of hand. These events overshadowed some of the achievements of the government, which came to power promising good governance, rule of law and greater accountability.
The country is facing severe economic pressure compounded by growing debt servicing load, high cost of living and unemployment. Alleged war crimes and forced disappearance issues after the Eelam War continues to hang fire delaying efforts to bring ethnic amity. The election will also decide whether former president Mahinda Rajapaksa will emerge powerful again.
Of the 35 candidates, the real contest is between 70-year-old Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the controversial former defence secretary and brother of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa and Sajith Premadasa, 52, housing minister and son of former president Ranasinghe Premadasa.
By
Ajith Siriwardana
National People’s Power (NPP) presidential candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake said today they were committed to creating a country with humanity while protecting the rights of all communities.
Speaking at the final rally held last night in Maharagama, he said the NPP would create a country free of fraud and corruption where all communities could live in unity.
He said it was only the NPP that had been able to bring people in the North and South under one umbrella without racial differences.
“Both Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Sajith Premadasa went to the North and East with their agents in respective areas, but we were able to go there without any agent. The candidates of the two main camps were saying one thing to the Southern Sinhalese and something else to the Northern Tamils to gain their votes. We are conveying the same message to people in both the North and South,” he said.
By
Nirmala Kannangara
Two civil society activists today an appeal with the Supreme Court seeking to overturn the decision last month by the Court of Appeal to dismiss their writ application that sought to quash the dual citizenship certificate of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Prof. Chandragupta Thenuwara and Gamini Viyangoda, co-conveners of the Purawesi Balaya civil society group, had filed a writ application in the Court of Appeal challenging the authenticity of the dual citizenship certificate granted to the former Defence Secretary on 21 November 2005 by his brother, newly sworn-in President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
By Shailendree Wickrama Adittiya
Refocusing attention on Sri Lanka Podujana Party (SLPP) presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s United States (US) citizenship renunciation issue is a last-ditch attempt by supporters of New Democratic Front presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa to stave off defeat, claimed Professionals Intervention for Policy Dialogue’s (PIPD) Dr. Charitha Herath yesterday.
“Gotabaya Rajapaksa came forth as the SLPP candidate because there was no doubt about him meeting the requirements to run for the presidency,” Herath said, adding that while anyone can have suspicions over another’s citizenship, there was a due process to be followed when acting on those suspicions.
Dr. Herath commented on the issue at a press conference held by the PIPD along with actor Ravindra Randeniya, musician Rohana Weerasinghe, and lyricist Bandula Nanayakkarawasam.
By S.S. Selvanayagam
Two civil society activists yesterday filed an appeal before the Supreme Court, seeking to overturn the Court of Appeal decision to dismiss a Writ application that sought to clarify the status of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s dual citizenship.
Appellants were activists Gamini Viyangoda and Prof. Chandragupta Thenuwara, part of the Purawesi Balaya organisation, who filed the appeal petition.
By Chandani Kirinde
A fresh row erupted over the citizenship of SLPP presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa over the weekend, with Sports Minister Harin Fernando alleging that the former had not completed the process of renouncing his US citizenship, which drew a strong rebuttal from lawyers for the SLPP candidate.
The row resurfaced after Fernando, in a lengthy Facebook (FB) post, on Saturday said Rajapaksa’s name has not appeared in the latest Federal Register of the USA even though the US law requires that the names of citizens who have lawfully revoked their citizenship to have their name published in the register.
However, a group of lawyers for Rajapaksa, led by Ali Sabry PC, yesterday strongly refuted the allegations saying that it can take months or even a year for the name of a person who renounces US citizenship to get on the Federal Register. Sabry also produced documents at a press briefing which he said confirm that the SLPP candidate is no longer a US citizen.
By
Sandun A. Jayasekera
Underscoring that the Elections Commission (EC) was not concerned over citizenship of any presidential candidate, its Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya said today he, along with two other commissioners, only observed and returned the document on US citizenship of Gotabaya Rajapaksa to his lawyer Ali Sabri.
Responding to a journalist at a news briefing held today at the Government Information Department, he said Mr. Sabri gave him a document saying it was a genuine certificate indicating the renunciation of Mr. Rajapaksa’s US citizenship.
Commenting on the on-going controversy over the citizenship of SLPP Presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa, two prominent civic action groups have said that “there should be no doubt about eligibility of person to be elected president”.
“The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) and the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) have expressed deep concern about anomalies with the affidavit submitted by SLPP candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa,” a CPA media communique said yesterday.
The CPA communique states: “A different affidavit was submitted by Rajapaksa’s Counsel, President’s Counsel Ali Sabry.
By
Ajith Siriwardana
National Peoples’ Power (NPP) presidential candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday assured northern people that they would create a situation where Tamil people would be able to learn and deal with the government in their mother tongue.
Speaking at an election rally in Kilinochchi, he said there were two state languages such as Sinhala and Tamil and added that it was vital to ensure the language rights of all communities.
By
S.Venkat Narayan
NEW DELHI, November 9: The Tamil Nadu Government has issued a government order to include 9,000 new Tamil words in the language.
Currently, Tamil has over 4,70,000 unique words, and the over 2,000-year-old language is spoken by 77 million people in India, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia and other parts of the globe.
School Education Minister K. A. Sengottaiyan released the list of 9,000 new Tamil words at a function held in Ethiraj College in Chennai on Friday in the presence of Fisheries, Personnel and Administrative Reforms Minister D. Jayakumar and Tamil Official Language and Culture Minister K. Pandiarajan.
Speaking at the function, Minister K. Pandiarajan said the new Tamil words have been coined as a result of the hard work of experts from various fields for ten months.
By Sandun Jayawardana
Former MP and State Minister Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha, who is running as an independent candidate under the ‘owl’ symbol at next Saturday’s presidential election, said he was contesting to draw attention to what had been promised in President Maithripala Sirisena’s election manifesto and to highlight the manner in which those promises could be implemented.
In an interview with the Sunday Times, Prof. Wijesinha, who supported Mr Sirisena when he successfully ran for the presidency in 2015, said Mr Sirisena broad-based reforms, but most of them had not been followed up.
Describing the past five years of the Yahapalanaya government as “disastrous,” the academic said he had now completed drafting a new Constitution along the lines of what was promised in Mr Sirisena’s manifesto.
According to him, the first of the major changes proposed is the reduction of executive power.
“We do not say in our manifesto that we are getting rid of the executive presidency. If we replace an Executive President with an Executive Prime Minister as Ranil Wickremesinghe wanted, that is still excessive power,” he said.
The Executive should be controlled by the legislature and should not be subordinate to a Prime Minister, he said.
“As for the electoral system, it should be a German style mixed system as promised in our manifesto,” Prof. Wijesinha said.
Regarding devolution, he said he wanted the devolution of power not through the provincial councils but through divisional secretariats and pradeshiya sabhas, making them a third tier of government. He said this too was a promise made by Mr Sirisena in his manifesto to make the divisional secretariat “the centre of service delivery to the people.”
by
Kishali Pinto Jayawardene
Pohottuwa campaigners visiting predominantly Catholic belt neighbourhoods with flyers containing images of blood stained altars of the Katuwapitiya and Kochchikade churches while soliciting the vote for former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa must be reminded that the blame for allowing jihadists to flourish unchecked in Sri Lanka is multi-faceted.
Responsibility for intelligence failures is multi-faceted
Today, as the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) leadership inks electoral pacts with the Rajapaksa-led Pohottuwa, their joint battle cry is that national security is in peril. That is the mainstay of the Rajapaksa campaign. Yet the failings of the United National Party (UNP) is a poor second to the primary leadership failure of President Sirisena as Minister of Defence or the responsibility of the Rajapaksas themselves for nurturing fanatics in the East to act as intelligence spies in their networks who then monstrously evolved to carry out the Easter Sunday attacks. That cannot be just wished away by scapegoating ‘a few’ subordinates. This is to grossly insult the intelligence of the Sri Lankan people.
Indeed, President Maithripala Sirisena’s claim this week that the Easter Sunday jihadist attacks on churches and hotels could have been averted if a ‘few’ defence and security officials had acted diligently will probably qualify as the most shameful if not distasteful statement made by a national leader in recent years. This preposterous claim, made without blinking a Presidential eyebrow as it were, while opening the new Defence Headquarters at Akuregoda, completely bypassed President Sirisena’s own responsibilities as Minister of Defence and abysmal failure as the Head of State at several levels.
Sri Lanka’s outgoing President Maithripaa Sirisena has caused public outrage by pardoning a death row prisoner who had murdered a Swedish teenager in 2005. Jude Jayamaha, from a wealthy, high-profile family, walked free from prison following President Maithripala Sirisena’s highly unusual decision to pardon him.
The victim’s sister, Caroline Jonsson, said the killer had shown no remorse.
Sri Lankans criticised the move online.
Mr Sirisena is not standing in next Saturday’s presidential election. He had failed to get support from his own party to contest the poll.
President Sirisena announced last month he was considering a request to grant Jayamaha a pardon, saying he had behaved well in prison and had been jailed aged 19 “over an incident of impatience”.
Victim Yvonne Jonsson, a dual national whose mother was Sri Lankan, was beaten to death in the stairwell of the apartment block where her family was living in Colombo in 2005 after an argument.
During the trial, the court heard that her skull had been fractured into 64 pieces.
By
M.A. Sumanthiran MP
In less than a week, Sri Lankan citizens all over the island will go to the polls to select the country’s eighth executive president. There is no denying that, irrespective of the result, this election will mark a crucial turning point in Sri Lanka’s political history. A stark choice faced voters in the 2015 presidential election.
The people were called upon to choose between perpetuating authoritarian rule and turning a democratic corner. Despite the failures and disappointments of the past five years, I still believe our people made the correct choice that January day.
The 2019 presidential stakes have the same zero-sum quality.
As the country’s largest Tamil party, it was incumbent upon the TNA to make its position on the presidential candidates known to the people. That announcement was made last week. The TNA has endorsed the candidacy of Sajith Premadasa as the ‘better man’ in the 2019 presidential race.
Predictably, the announcement has brought out the worst in the Sinhalese extremists gravitating around Premadasa’s challenger. Allegations of “secret deals” and monetary hand-outs in exchange for the endorsement abound, ironically from the same political formation that admittedly paid to enforce a boycott and disenfranchise thousands of Tamil people in the North and East in 2005.
Our announcement has also escalated the unitary-federal rhetoric, as the SLPP seeks to misrepresent proposed constitutional definitions about the nature of the state, brought about by nearly three years of all-party deliberations, to monger old fears about separatism.
I believe a brief explanation of the terms under discussion is necessary to set the record straight.
By Shreen Abdul Saroor
“We see only Muslim villages have been developed, but not the Tamil villages. The only way for Catholic and Hindu villages to get developed is to vote for Gota.” -Namal Rajapaksa in Mannar.
“We have to act against Muslims. We Tamil youth have to think and act.”
– leaflet by Kiran youth front for SLPP.
Mannar voters who are living in Puttalam are banned to come in hired private buses to cast their votes – Assistant Election Commissioner, Mannar.
If Muslims do not vote for Gota they will get it properly
– Ali Sabri, PC
Whatever the reason given, in 2005 the vast majority of the Tamils from the North and East and even in Colombo did not go to the polling booths to exercise their franchise. The result, as they say, is history.
Yet it is imperative for that history to now be reflected upon seriously. The President who got elected partly due to the decision taken by Tamils not to exercise their franchise ruled over the entire country for the next 10 years, with grave effects for all.
On the eve of another Presidential election, where some are calling for new boycotts or putting up candidates deliberately to draw votes from the main contenders, the lessons of the 2005 boycott are particularly worth considering.
We have only five more days before we know, what fate lies ahead for minorities in this country. In every campaign platform in the north and east, what I see is racism and hatemongering centred around minorities.
Divide and rule has been the norm of Sinhala Governments since independence, but in this election it has reached a level we have never witnessed before.
By
Ranga Jayasuriya
When the UNP Presidential hopeful Sajith Premadasa and his backers bulldozed the former’s nomination as the party’s presidential candidate through the UNP executive committee -after a series of mass rallies and implicit threats of party division- their objective was just to have their man on the party ticket. It is unlikely that they thought beyond the nomination until that very moment.
The UNP’s depleting grassroots voters might have preferred Mr. Premadasa over the others, but he also had serious deficiencies in reaching out beyond them.
In the end, the dogged internecine campaign for Sajith’s presidential candidature forced the other probable contender, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya to pull out. ( He was reportedly promised the post of prime minister if Sajith wins the presidency, though how that can be accomplished under the provisions of the 19th amendment, without the incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe voluntarily resigning – other than, short of ousting him from the party leadership through a inner-party coup – is open to question.)
Ranil Wickremesinghe who insisted on running for the presidency until the last moment was a poorer choice. His confidantes deserted him and the Executive committee members that he himself appointed dithered. He finally gave up, paving way for Sajith’s presidential candidature.
The Presidential election campaign has almost reached its final stage today. You have ample clues to decide on which candidate to support if you look at the behavioural pattern in most election campaign stages. Most of the people seen on SLPP election platforms today are either owners of arrack factories, liquor bars, illicit rock or sand quarries and gem pits who ought to be behind bars today National People’s Power Presidential candidate JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said
He was addressing a National People’s Power Presidential election rally held in Wariyapola recently.
Jude Shramantha Anthony Jayamaha convicted for the brutal killing of the 19 year old Yvonne Jonsson at Royal Park in 2005 has been granted presidential pardon and most likely will be released today, highly placed sources confirmed to Sunday Observer.
Accordingly the documents relating to the release has been forwarded through the Secretary to the Ministry of Justice to the Prisons Commissioner.
By
Tisaranee Gunasekara
“We have now sunk to a depth at which the restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men.”
– George Orwell (The Adelphi – January 1939)
“The first duty of the Memory Police was to ensure disappearances,” writes Japanese author Yoko Ogawa in her tale of an island where things disappear, and disappeared things cease to have any meaning. We can become that island, if we give full rein to our dashed hopes. If Gotabaya Rajapaksa coasts to victory on the tide of our despair, our freedoms will disappear from reality and from memory. Accustomed to our subject-hood, we will forget that we were once citizens who had the right to hold a mirror before our leaders and call them by the names they have earned.
It’s a popular fairy tale trope: the hero kills the monster and claims his reward, a lifetime of happiness with the imprisoned princess.
In January 2010, the ITN held a musical show titled ‘Jaya Jayawe’ (Victory! Victory!). The show opened with a lullaby retelling the ‘heroic saga’ of ‘King Mihindu’ and ‘Chief General Gotabhaya’ who defeated the ‘demons’ threatening the motherland. It ended with a song praising the mother of Mahinda and Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
A political fairy tale with a happy-ever-after ending was what the Rajapaksas claimed for themselves, post-war. They had defeated the Tiger. Now, Sri Lanka was theirs forevermore, to do with as they wish – or so they believed.
That dream of transforming Sri Lanka from a messy democracy into a familial fief was interrupted in 2015. A singular political coalition took on and defeated the Rajapaksas.
The crimes, errors and idiocies of the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration had turned what should have been a full stop into an ellipsis. Today, the Rajapaksas are back to reclaim the absolute power they deem to be theirs by right of conquest.
In 2010 and even in 2015, the Rajapaksas made some attempt to camouflage the true nature of their project. This time, the aim of grabbing political and national power for the exclusive use of the family is displayed unadorned. Brother has succeeded brother.
By
Jayadeva Uyangoda
Who is winning? This seems to be the question many people these days are keen to find an answer to.
Whenever this question is put to me, my usual answer is one that disappoints the interlocutor: “It is difficult to say. But I can tell you a little bit about what I speculate as the current trend…” Such an imprecise answer can hardly please those who are impatient to hear something to confirm what they wish to be the outcome of the presidential election scheduled for next Saturday.
The difficulty in predicting possible election outcomes is largely due to the rapidly changing dynamics of the ongoing election campaign. The fact that Sri Lanka does not have credible and professional public opinion surveys at election times only adds to the difficulty. What we occasionally hear as survey results are nothing but calculated election propaganda.
Even without weekly data from sample surveys of the patterns of changing voter preferences across the country, some facets of the electoral dynamics can still be discerned.
Although the campaign has started with three dozens of candidates, four candidates quite expectedly emerged leading – Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Sajith Premadasa, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, and Mahesh Senanayake. The final race is now narrowed down to one between two candidates, Rajapaksa and Premadasa.
By
Sanjana Hattotuwa
The room was paid for, in cash, by someone else. The hotel was chosen because of its location close to the HQ of the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence in 2014. Well before election day on January 8, full access to key websites was given to trusted individuals outside Sri Lanka, to post updates from where they were in the event of complete internet shutdown or pervasive social media block. New SIM cards were bought and a fax machine – because broadband blocks don’t apply to what can be typed out and sent out through other networks and means. Technical investments were made to strengthen key sites and accounts providing updates leading up to, on the day of and just after the election. Data packages from multiple ISPs were procured. In case one network failed or created friction around the production or promotion of critical updates, we could switch to another. A hotel room was converted into an operations hub, with traffic routed through the hotel’s Wi-Fi masked using a VPN. Encrypted messaging apps were used to coordinate movements and operations, as well as to push out updates, in the event key websites were blocked. Contingency plans in the event of a sudden raid were drawn up, to switch information and news operations off-site seamlessly.
Results on the night of the 8th stopped for hours on end. The risible explanation given to some TV stations that called up was that the Election Department’s FTP servers had failed. Something else was going on, and the count, as well as the final results, were being held up. Conversations around this time at Temple Trees, involving the armed forces, the Rajapaksas and other influential members of the regime, featured heavily in the news cycle in 2015. Some who were part of these discussions, a few weeks hence, had entirely forgotten what was covered and who was present. Those of us who didn’t sleep that night were on edge, as music videos, repetitive ads and movies played uninterrupted on channels that were supposed to be broadcasting an endless ticker of results and other updates from the count. TV anchors, at first, noted delays, with no explanation as to why. And then they just didn’t appear anymore.
By C.A.Chandraprema
By this time next week, the results of the presidential poll would be rolling in. It is very unlikely that the final result would have been announced by the time the newspapers hit the newsstands. Indeed the Elections Commission has said that the final result may not be announced till Monday Nov. 18. Be that as it may, the likely scenario at this election is that the government would be defeated.
The Lanka News Web website which can hardly be described as pro-Rajapaksa, observed somberly after the Elpitiya PS election that over 75% of the electorate had voted against the government. Earlier in February 2018, the government had lost the local government elections. The difference in the number of votes between the newly formed Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna on the one hand and the UNP and its allies Mano Ganesan, P.Digambaram, Rishard Baithiudeen and Rauff Hakeem on the other, was 1.4 million.
It is of course true that some of the UNP’s other allies such as the TNA contested separately at that election. However, even the addition of the TNA’s votes would still not close the gap. The fact that the JVP has fielded their own leader as a candidate queers the pitch even further. If not for the JVP’s votes Maithripala Sirisena would not have become President in 2015 despite the tsunami of minority votes that he got.
(TEXT OF A PERSONAL STATEMENT ISSUED BY Dr. DAYAN JAYATILLEKA ON THE CULT OF INTOLERANCE AND IRRATIONALITY)
I was horrified to hear a question that Dilka Samanmalee asked Ali Sabry PC on Derana 360. She said that “Dayan Jayatilleka has made a statement that Gotabhaya Rajapaksa was responsible for the Easter attacks because he had paid Zahran”.
Of course, being a highly trained and respected lawyer, Ali Sabry PC rightly omitted all mention of me in his reply, just as I expected he would. Dilka Samanmalee did not source the alleged quote; she did not mention when and where I had said anything remotely like this or tantamount to this. She did not do so because there is no proof—not a shred of evidence; and there is no proof because I said no such thing!
I have never been in the habit of taking legal action against the media because my late father may not have approved, believing as he did in self-regulatory media ethics. But I have to say I am tempted.
I have not written a single article on the election, as I have done during every election since 1982, whatever post I have held at the time.
By
Disna Mudalige
The currently held portfolios in Parliament, including the post of Prime Minister, will have to be freshly appointed once the election results are released, and the person who has the confidence of Parliament will become the Prime Minister, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday.
The Prime Minister made this response to a question directed at him during the ‘Talk with PM’ event attended by University academics at the Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel, Colombo, yesterday.
Wickremesinghe was questioned whether he would remain the PM after November 17.
by Tamara Kunanayakam
“[T]here is no friendship when nations are not equal,when one has to obey another and when one only dominates another.”
Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prime Minister of India in Closing Speech at the Asian-African Conference, Bandung, 1955
Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement (ACSA), the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) and Millennium Challenge Compact (MCC) are agreements integral to US national security and self-defense strategies, whose goal is “American Self-Preservation,” an ideology incompatible with the Charter of the United Nations and international law.
MCC, crude and dogmatic alignment with US National Security Strategy
A clarification of MCC’s role in America’s national security and ‘self-defense’ strategies is required. The alignment is crude and dogmatic, designed to advance US influence globally and secure allies and partners by imposing upon developing countries, mostly those branded “failed states,” fundamental political, legal and economic reform of the state apparatus and a ‘rule of law’ that benefits US interests in the long-term.
MCC’s central role was ‘codified’ in the 2002 National Security Strategy of US President George W. Bush, which for the first time contained the controversial doctrine of ‘pre-emptive’ war. It elevated development aid to the level of defense and diplomacy as one of the three pillars of the global “War on Terror.” The current President’s 2017 National Security Strategy (NSS) links US military strategies to the imperative of political and economic reform, claiming consolidation of its “military victories” were made possible only by “political and economic triumphs built on market economies and fair trade, democratic principles, and shared security partnerships”.
One of the most novel and coercive features of MCC is the ‘pre-emptive’ method used to administer aid – it “will reward countries that have demonstrated real policy change and challenge those that have not to implement reform.” Before receiving aid, the country must successfully pass 16 eligibility criteria devised by the Bush Administration ranging from civil liberties to ‘days to start a business.’ In a March 2018 speech on US-Africa relations, the then US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, described the coercive essence of MCC that goes far above and beyond the particular project targeted. Referring to a $524 million compact signed with Cote d’Ivoire to improve its education and transportation sectors, Tillerson declared, “This was only possible after the country had implemented policies to strengthen economic freedom, democratic principles, human rights, and to fight corruption. Spurring reforms before a dollar of U.S. taxpayer money is even spent is the MCC’s model.”
Continue reading ‘MCC, ACSA, SOFA with the USA Are Incompatible With International Law’ »
New Democratic Front (NDF) presidential candidate, Sajith Premadasa yesterday said that he, if elected President, he would appoint a new Prime Minister who could command the confidence of the majority in Parliament.
Issuing a special statement, Premadasa has said that not a single MP who faces allegations of bribery and corruption will be appointed to his Cabinet.
“I will hold a free and fair election as soon as possible and establish a new stable government. I will take in professionals and qualified women into parliament from the National List. Young people and women will be given opportunity and support to contest the coming general and provincial council election.”
New Democratic Front (NDF) presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa said once voted into office he would appoint a new prime minister who he felt could command a majority in parliament.
“I will not include any individual accused of corruption in my ministerial cabinet,” he said making a special announcement at a private TV station.
His remarks came after Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe recently told reporters that he would continue to remain in his position as PM during Premadasa’s tenure as president as well.
Sajith Premadasa is saying that he will appoint a Cabinet of Ministers who are young vibrant and free of corruption allegations if he wins the Presidential elections on Nov 16.
“I will appoint a new, first-time Prime Minister who will be endorsed by the majority,” he said in an address broadcast on his Facebook page.
In the short 11-minute speech he said that the main question he has been asked on the campaign trail is how he would transform the current corrupt political structure of the country.
(Text of a Statement Issued by the Tamil National Alliance on November 6th 2019 Under the Heading ” Presidential Election – 16th November 2019)
An Election for a President to be democratically elected for Sri Lanka is due to be held on 16th November 2019.
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) -The Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK) as the party with the third largest number of seats in Parliament desires to state its position, in regard to the said election. The Election is being contested by the candidate of the New Democratic Alliance – Mr. Sajith Premadasa the candidate of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa the candidate of the National People’s Power, Mr. Anura Kumara Dissanayake – the candidate of the National People’s Party, General Mahesh Senanayake amongst several others. The contest as of now appears to be primarily between the first two candidates referred to above.
The people expect the newly elected President to be genuinely committed to –
(1) Democracy, opposed to Authoritarianism and Totalitarianism, that could lead to dictatorial tendencies,
(2) the protection and preservation of the independence of the different institutions of governance, the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary, the Services, in particular, the Public Service, the Police Service, and the Armed services and the different institutions in control of the said services,
(3) Fundamental Rights and Human Rights and
(4) Justice and Equality and committed to enabling all citizens irrespective of ethnicity or religion, to genuinely partake in Governance, both nationally and regionally leading to the creation of a united undivided and indivisible country in which all citizens, while preserving and protecting their specific identity, feel they are equals and that they belong to one country, just as much as the country belongs to all of them.
The above are lofty aspirations and it would be the duty of the voter to make a well informed judgement as to who best could be entrusted with this great responsibility. An error in judgement could lead to disastrous consequences.
By Lasanda Kurukulasuriya
In the face of intense public pressure, the government appears to have backpedaled on its decision to hurriedly sign the controversial Millennium Challenge Corporation compact with the US before the Nov.16th presidential election. Conflicting news reports indicate there is still much ambiguity as to the government’s intentions, and no clarity as to whether the deal will be brought to parliament ahead of its signing.
Criticism of the MCC deal has come not only from the parliamentary opposition but from diverse quarters including environmental groups and the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL). Among the numerous financial grants received in Sri Lanka, the US’s Millennium Challenge Corporation compact seems to be the most unwanted, even as it is thrust upon its recipients with great determination by the donors.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera have vigorously worked towards finalising the $480 million project in isolation from the wider public. The MCC compact unexpectedly got rubber stamped at last week’s cabinet meeting, with President Maithripala Sirisena finally giving his consent to its signing. He had vehemently opposed it previously.
It is reported that a fundamental rights petition has now been filed in the Supreme Court saying the MCC is highly prejudicial to the interests of national security, territorial integrity and the fundamental rights of the citizenry, and violates the constitution. The petitioner, according to reports, seeks an order staying the signing of one or more the US agreements – the MCC pact, ACSA and SOFA.
By Nisthar Cassim
Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) presidential aspirant Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and his ally Ali Sabry PC, made a very strong and seemingly compelling case for the Muslim community to back the former last week at the packed National Muslim Collective Forum at the Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo, with a key highlight being the continuous applause for various statements made by both Rajapaksa and Sabry.
“Under my leadership, I will leave no room for any form of extremism or terrorism by any group,” Rajapaksa said, drawing applause. “I will ensure trust among all communities, promote harmonious co-existence so all can live with dignity as Sri Lankans. We will ensure an environment in which all can follow their religion, do their businesses well, and be gainfully employed. This I will wholeheartedly promise,” he added.
“Trust me,” Rajapaksa appealed to Muslims, adding that any responsibility assigned to him in the past had been 100% fulfilled by him. This remark too was applauded by the audience.
“This new mandate I am seeking is not from one community, but from all Sri Lankan Buddhists, Tamils, and Muslims. I will rebuild the economy and ensure security for all, so trust me and support me,” reiterated Rajapaksa during his speech.
(Text of a media release issued by the Leader of the Opposition Mahinda Rajapaksa on November 6th 2019 under the heading “UNP presidential candidate’s stand on the Unitary State”)
The chapter on constitutional reform in the manifesto of the UNP presidential candidate contains provisions to replace the unitary state with a formulation that describes Sri Lanka as an ‘undivided and indivisible’ state. This is accompanied by the pledge that governmental power will be devolved to the provinces to the ‘maximum extent possible’. Identical provisions can be seen in the draft constitution tabled in Parliament by the Prime Minister in January this year.
The UNP manifesto also contains provisions to expand the powers and functions of the provincial councils, to set up a second chamber in Parliament made up of provincial council representatives in order to curb the powers of Parliament, to allow the provincial units to raise funds independently, to place district and divisional secretaries under the provincial councils and to create a Constitutional Court which will adjudicate in disputes between the center and the provincial units. Like the draft constitution, the UNP presidential election manifesto also aims to turn Sri Lanka into a loose federation of virtually independent provincial units.
By Radhika Coomaraswamy
Many of us were hoping for a new dawn in 2015. The hope for a “Yahapalanaya” government now leaves ashes in the mouth of many people. It is true they brought us back our freedom and strengthened independent institutions but they failed fundamentally in convincing people that democracy and freedom should be the pillars of our social fabric.
Dysfunction at the top, alleged corruption, bureaucratic performance and resulting chaos has made people clamour for strongmen and dictatorships. The values on which diverse groups came together in 2015- democracy, freedom and social justice- have now become dirty words among many.
In this article I will not focus on personalities. I will just reiterate the case for democracy, freedom and social justice as absolutely crucial for our society and our position in the world and urge the public to vote accordingly. All the candidates must address these issues.
It is obvious that lessons must be learnt and the manner of doing business drastically changed from what failed in the last few years but that is no reason to give up on our values altogether.
The country’s leading Tamil political party, the Ilangai Thamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK), yesterday announced it was giving support to NDF presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa in the forthcoming Presidential election. Party sources said that this was an independent decision by its central committee and was not based on any political negotiations or on any conditionality.
“We compared the policies and past performances of the two main candidates and decided that Sajith Premadasa was the best choice for the Tamil people at present,” a party official told the Daily News. ‘ITAK’ translates as ‘Sri Lankan Tamils’ Political Party’ and is the oldest and biggest Tamil political party since Independence and is the dominant party within the overarching Tamil National Alliance (TNA).
The Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kacchi (ITAK) pledged its support to National Democratic Front (NDF) presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa yesterday.
ITAK parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran made the announcement at a press briefing in Vavuniya yesterday.
Sri Lanka’s Election Commission chief Mahinda Deshapriya withdrew the censorship he slapped on state-owned ITN after protests that his action was supporting Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the main opposition candidate at November 16 presidential polls.
Deshapriya shocked his own fellow commissioners by firing a letter to ITN saying that they are prohibited from broadcasting any politically-oriented programs or interviews from Monday till results of the November 16 presidential election are declared.
However, within hours, he backed down. In another letter to the ITN on Sunday afternoon, Deshpriya said he was withdrawing his original order against ITN.
ITN’s broadcast of an interview on Wednesday night was seen by Deshapriya as unfavourable to Rajapaksa.
By
Anuja Prakash
It’s hard to believe that I was only 8 years old at the time. But a child is observant. Children are also curious. That’s what makes parents nervous.
My uncle was visiting with his family from the UK. In those days, families couldn’t fly back home every year. So every visit was celebrated gloriously. It wasn’t just a family affair. Households and tiny villages celebrated the return of their prodigal son or daughter. The most faithful local hiring car (taxi service) was enlisted pretty much for the entire stay. Visits near and far were planned, along with fun trips to the temple, beach, park and of course the cinema.
It was 1979. My uncle, being still young, decided to take in the latest Tamil movie that had hit the theatres. I was the youngest of all his nieces and nephews. Most times the younger children were kicked out of the group that went to the movies. But my very kind and ‘feeling very happy’ uncle decided that every single person in the family should make it to the movies. Yes!
And so I remember one of my first movies – “Niram maaraathe pookal”. I didn’t know at the time, how this movie would be the beginning of a revolution on our streets.
by C.A.Chandraprema
UNF presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa launched his election manifesto in Kandy on Thursday. It’s called “Sri Lankawe idiri gamanata seemawak netha: Ekwa gamana yamu.” Loosely translated this would mean “There are no limits to what Sri Lanka can achieve: Let’s go on this journey together”. If there was one section of the population that was waiting eagerly for the launch of this manifesto other than the members of the UNF itself, it was the groups of political parties around the Tamil National Alliance led by R. Sampanthan and the Tamil Makkal Koottani led by C.V.Wigneswaran. The various political parties around these two groupings had held a meeting last Wednesday to decide on whom they were going to support.
However that meeting had ended inconclusively and the decision taken was to wait for the launch of the UNP manifesto which was going to take place the next day. The Northern Tamil political parties had been dithering for weeks unable to make up their minds. Even by the time the postal voting began, they had not made up their minds and only C.V.Wigneswaran had issued a statement calling on the Tamil people to cast their postal votes for a candidate of their choice. The other political parties did not say even that. It was after the end of the first day of postal voting that the UNP candidate released his manifesto. It must be said that the UNP did not disappoint the Tamil political parties that had been waiting for oxygen from the south.
Election Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya yesterday banned state-owned ITN from telecasting any politically-oriented program after accusing it of broadcasting an interview which he said was unfavourable to opposition candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The sweeping censorship of the state television broadcaster also caused a rift within the independent commission. One of the three members said there had been no decision, through consensus or a majority vote, to impose censorship and questioned the ability to carry it out.
The censorship order followed a complaint that remarks of former additional solicitor general Wasantha Navaratne Banda broadcast over ITN on Wednesday night was harmful to Rajapaksa.
In a one-page letter address to the ITN, Deshapriya said the network was also banned from carrying out any live coverage until after results of the November 16 presidential election were declared.
By
Meera Srinivasan
Sri Lanka does not need a military response to tackle prevalent national security concerns; the country needs a sound political response, according to Anura Kumara Dissanayake, leader and presidential candidate of the leftist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP).
In an interview to The Hindu on Thursday, at the JVP headquarters near the Sri Lankan Parliament, Mr. Dissanayake sought to debunk the “national security” pitch made by prominent contestant Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a former Defence Secretary, drawing many who want a “strong leader”.
His main opponent and the ruling United National Party’s (UNP) candidate Sajith Premadasa, too, has promised to involve former Army commander Sarath Fonseka in national security affairs.
Challenging both, Mr. Dissanayake said the “national security threat”, which has emerged a key election issue following the Easter Sunday terror bombings, must be compared to the civil war years. “The LTTE had its own army, navy and even an air force. They controlled parts of the country. That situation warranted a military strategy and response in the interest of national security.”
By
Meera Srinivasan
Sri Lanka’s Presidential hopeful Sajith Premadasa on Thursday promised to complete the constitutional reform process initiated by the current government, if elected to the office.
The ruling United National Party’s (UNP) candidate released his election manifesto in the central city of Kandy, a fortnight ahead of Sri Lanka’s presidential election.
“The Constitution reform process on the executive President acting with the concurrence of the Prime Minister, devolution and electoral systems begun by this Parliament will be completed without delay, along with all stakeholders,” his manifesto said, adding that the “new constitution” will be approved by the people through a referendum.
By
Veeragathy Thanabalasingham
Two weeks ago, the chairman of the National Elections Commission (NEC) came out strongly against using the war victory of 2009 as a campaign prop in the November Presidential election.
Prohibiting such usage he said credit for the war victory could not be claimed by any political party as it belonged to the State of Sri Lanka. The NEC Chairman may have deemed it illegal, but the question is, can one expect any political party to respect his instruction?
It is a fact that war victory has been profusely exploited by political parties as a campaign theme in all the elections so far, not only after the end of the war in May 2009, but also well before that.
Militarism has dominated political opinion of the majority of the Sinhala people. This was an inevitable outcome of the intense campaigns conducted by the Southern Sinhala polity in politicizing the military operations against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during the last four decades. And it remains so even today, despite the fact that ten years have passed since the war ended.
A regrettable reality is that politicians are not allowing the country to move on from the military might/military victory mindset.
By
Lucien Rajakarunanayake
The manifestos of the three front runners are now out with hardly any serious discussion on the substance of these electoral junk papers. Public meetings are held by the two lead players at locations that obstruct traffic, and show the cheering crowds, with purple or green flags in flutter, and the Swan and Pohottuva symbols paraded for cheers. The third man with his compass symbol must surely take readings from it as to where he would be at the finish.
The many pages, sections and paragraphs of the manifestos make a whole lot of political promises from free fertilizer to digital advances from one, to free meals, uniforms and sanitary pads from the other. One area hugely ignored by the two lead players is that of corruption. It is the stuff that saw the fall from power of the two brothers included, in 2015, and remains the stuff of deceit and unpopularity of the current government – Sirisena- Wickremesinghe – Premadasa.
How much of corruption will there be in the issue and distribution of free fertilizer or in the giving of free meals, uniforms and sanitary pads? Moving away from all the dirt of corruption that has plagued our governments and society in the past seven decades, and much more since 1978, the promise-talk keeps moving on to the War Heroes. There is now a huge race building up on how the War Heroes, their wives, widows and families would be looked after with the best of favours, grants and facilities, making one wonder why there must be any talk of free fertilizer or sanitary pads.
By
Yohan Perera, J. A. L. Jayasinghe and L B Senaratne
New Democratic Front (NDF) Presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa in his election manifesto launched yesterday, pledged to bring in a new constitution which will build a strong nation, to create a democratic pluralistic society and to devolve maximum power to provinces.
He also pledged to set up a second chamber which will comprise provincial council representatives. At the same time, the NDF candidate pledged to create an undivided indivisible nation.
“A strong nation requires the judiciary to be independent of government. To ensure this, the new Constitution will create an independent public prosecutor, appointed by the Constitutional Council. We will move the judicial interpretation of the constitution away from the Supreme Court to a new Constitutional Court which will also adjudicate disputes among different levels of Government, among provinces and the Central Government. and among the provinces themselves,” it said.
Out of 225 members of Sri Lanka’s parliament, 102 members are from political families, whose ancestors of close relatives have also been in the house, a legislator has said, which if correct, tops the hereditary peers of the UK’s House of Lords.
Bimal Rathnayake, a member of Sri Lanka’s Marxist People’s Liberation Party said one research had shown that 102 members of the current parliament came from hereditary political families.
He said children of existing or former legislator find it easy to get elected, riding on the heritage of their forefathers.
“About 80 members of them are highly spoiled children of politicians who have come to parliament on the strength of their parents and do not even attend a funeral of constituents,” Ratnayake said.
By
Col (retd) R Hariharan
Foreign relations have occupied an important place in Narendra Modi’s vision for India during his just concluded first term as Prime Minister. In fact, ‘Neighbourhood First’ was the central theme when he started off as Prime Minister, inviting the Heads of State of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries for his inaugural function in 2015. However, Pakistan’s continued refusal to give up the use of extremist jihadi outfits operating from its soil to bleed India has prevented SAARC from evolving into a full-fledged effective regional grouping. So, India’s relations with its neighbours have, perforce, been bilateral rather than multilateral.
However, after his resounding victory in the May 2019 general elections, Prime Minister Modi invited the heads of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiativefor Multi-Sectoral Technical Economic Cooperation) countries – Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan – for his swearing inceremony on 30 May 2019. This probably indicates Prime Minister Modi’s shift of focus from ‘Neighbourhood First’ to ‘Act East’ involving the BIMSTEC nations. In fact, Prime Minister Modi is slated to visit the Maldives to address the Majlis (parliament), followed by a visit to Sri Lanka within the first ten days of assuming office for the second term. This seems to indicate that India’s foreign policy priority will now be to build strong relations with its IOR neighbours, particularly Sri Lanka and Maldives.
This will also be in keeping with Prime Minister Modi’s SAGAR (Security and Growth for All), launched in 2015, for developing the blue economy of Indian Ocean Rim Countries. The maritime initiative seeks to create a climate of trust and transparency, respect for international maritime rules and increase in maritime cooperation with Sri Lanka, Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, and Bangladesh. Though SAGAR has had moderate success, its importance is increasing more than ever before. The growing strategic power play between China and the USA and its allies in the Indo-Pacific is affecting the strategic interests of India and the BIMSTEC countries.
By
Dr.Asanga Welikala
Sri Lanka will elect a new president on 16 November 2019. While unusually that will be neither the current President nor the current Prime Minister, what is less well understood is that the office itself to which the new president is elected will be a new office in terms of its powers and functions.
That is because certain provisions of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, enacted in 2015, cease to operate with the election of Maithripala Sirisena’s successor, with the net effect of further reducing the powers of the presidency.
That will not render the office a titular or ceremonial presidency as under the 1972 Constitution, as some experts have tried to argue, because the president continues to be directly elected by the whole country and in possession of key constitutional functions within the Executive. But it does mean that some important powers and functions so far associated with the office will no longer be available to the new president, together with limitations that have already come into effect with the 19th Amendment.
That the 19th Amendment made fundamental changes to the scope of presidential powers is generally well known. But there is still a lot of confusion about what precisely those changes are, and what consequences they have. Many politicians especially do not seem to appreciate that the presidency is no longer the over-mighty institution it once was.
At least part of the explanation for the constitutional crisis of October-December 2018 was that even those in the highest positions of authority were ignorant of how the 19th Amendment had changed the 1978 Constitution. This lack of knowledge cannot be once again a reason for constitutional crises after the next election. Economic analysts have pointed out persuasively how we can scarce afford new crises.
What follows is an attempt to explain the powers and functions that will – and critically, will not – be available to the President who will be elected to office in November. So as not to vex the general reader, I will avoid making copious references to legal provisions and authorities, as well as avoid too much detail on the minutiae of presidential functions.
I will instead provide a descriptive account of the main features and principles of the framework of executive power after the 19th Amendment, without at the same time oversimplifying the complexities of the system.
By Chandani Kirinde
In a major breakthrough, the Cabinet of Ministers yesterday approved the implementation of the $ 480 million Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant, based on a proposal by Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera.
While authorising Minister Samaraweera to sign the Compact Agreement with the MCC on behalf of the Sri Lankan Government, Cabinet also approved tax exemptions for related projects, as well as the enactment of a new Act to give legal effect to the signed agreements. “This is a great victory for the Government and augurs well for the future,” the Finance Ministry said in a statement.
The US Embassy said it welcomed the Cabinet decision. It added that the MCC grant included investments to reduce traffic congestion in Colombo, modernise the bus service, and upgrade inter-provincial roads in the centre of the country. It also includes support for Government initiatives to improve land administration.
“Sri Lanka will retain oversight and control of all aspects of the proposed projects,” the US Embassy added.
(Full Text of a Statement Issued by Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Moscow, Dr.Dayan Jayatilleka Regarding Accusations Made against him at a Press Conference in Colombo)
I was shocked to see on the 6:55pm Hiru News on Tuesday Oct 29th 2019 (yesterday) a media briefing by a few MPs described as Catholic MPs of the SLPP, in which one of them, notably Arundika Fernando, accused me of conspiring with Minister Mangala Samaraweera and someone named Thusitha Halloluwe to engage in false propaganda which implicates Presidential candidate Gotabhaya Rajapaksa in the Easter terror bombings. Not a shred of proof is presented for this accusation. The accusation itself is totally false in every single aspect.
I am not engaged in any effort with anyone to implicate any Presidential candidate in the Easter massacres. Like most others, especially Catholics, I eagerly await the appointment of a High-powered Independent Commission to investigate all aspects of that atrocity and the backgrounds and motivations of all those who may be involved, be they individuals or agencies, domestic and/or foreign.
I have not had any contacts or communication with Minister Samaraweera for at least 15 years. As for the other gentleman named, I am afraid I don’t know who he is.
By Dinasena Rathugamage
SLPP Presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa, campaigning in Vavuniya, yesterday, urged the Tamils to repose their faith in him. They should be not be cheated by politicians unlike in the past, he said stressing that he was focusing on doing his utmost for the welfare of the people.
He said he would rehabilitate more than 250 former LTTE cadres still held in custody and reintegrate them into society under his rule.
By
Romesh Madushanka
SLPP presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa today pledged to take the Tamil community in the North and East to the future from the past to which they have been confined.
Mr. Rajapaksa, who is in the North attending election rallies, said some people did their best to confine Tamils to the past.
“I am ready to show you the future and I have an action plan to do that. We have already forwarded our plan to generate employment and educational opportunities,” he said addressing a rally in Vavuniya.
By D. C. P. Amarasekere
With only a few weeks left for the 2019 Presidential Election, two questions seem to dominate our social conversations and news coverage: “who will win?” and “what will be Sri Lanka’s political destiny?”
In the absence of country-wide scientific polling, the first question is typically answered by using anecdotes, quasi-scientific, social media or social network specific speculations or gossip. The second question, which categorically stems from the liberal quarters of society, is a long-winded lament about the “cruel dilemma” of having to choose between a “neo-conservative” coalition and weak political formations putting up a brave fight to hold on to the last straw of the country’s democracy.
By
Dr.Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu
A year ago, the country withstood a serious challenge to its governance and government. The Constitutional Coup launched by President Maithripala Sirisena marked a low point in the constitutional and political development of the country in as much as the decision of the Supreme Court and the role of civil society and other political actors in reversing it, held out and indeed holds out the hope that at the end of the day, democratic principles, practices and institutions lie firmly embedded in our body politic.
The actions of President Sirisena ran fully counter to the reform platform and positions he had espoused in his election campaign of 2015. Leave aside the basic tenets of democratic governance, then and indeed thereafter, the trend was towards restoring the balance of political and constitutional power in favour of Parliament and away from the executive presidency, the powers of which were to be considerably clipped, if not the office abolished. Maithripala Sirisena, who had been shopping around for a new Prime Minister even before the debacle of the Local Government elections in February 2018, now proceeded, second time around, to get the Prime Minister of his wishes.
He sacked Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister, appointed his erstwhile rival for the Presidency Mahinda Rajapaksa in his place and prorogued Parliament, in a not so transparent effort to buy time to buy the votes to support his new Prime Minister in the House. He went further and set a date for a general election, oblivious or aware and not giving a damn, that Parliament could not be dissolved before four and a half years of its term lapsed unless Parliament by a two-third majority requested its own dissolution.
By
Kishali Pinto Jayawardene
This week, a citizen called into a popular (Sinhala) political programme on national television and asked the Minister being interviewed as to why it was that, one year following the 52-day old ‘coup’ in October 2018 installing former President Mahinda Rajapaksa as Prime Minister, no legal action had been taken against rowdy parliamentarians who smashed the Speaker’s microphone, poured water on his chair and threw chili paste into the eyes of policemen guarding him.
As the caller pointed out acidly, if an ‘ordinary person’ had destroyed public property and assaulted law enforcement officers, jailtime would have been certain.
Refuting the anti-incumbency factor
This is a valid question. True to type, the Minister on the receiving end of this enraged query, stammered and stumbled, first saying that the Rajapaksa-led Joint Opposition had opposed taking action against the culprits who belonged primarily to their party and then complaining that the Attorney General has yet to revert on the matter.
So, as Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe pats his Government on the back as he did this Saturday night, for constitutionally tackling the ‘coup’ sans spilling a drop of blood, more searching questions arise. The grossly unequal manner in which the law is worked against ‘the powerful’ and ‘the powerless’ defeating ‘yahapalanaya’ (good governance) promises is a major reason as to why this administration has evoked public anger.
By
Michael Safi and Martin Chulov
The Islamic State leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, has been killed in a raid by US special forces on his Syrian safe house, Donald Trump has announced, ending a years-long hunt for one of the world’s most-wanted terrorists.
Trump said the “impeccable” two-hour operation was conducted on Saturday night in the province of Idlib, one of the few areas of the country still outside Syrian regime control, and that US officials had confirmed Baghdadi, 48, was among those killed.
“US special operations forces executed a dangerous and daring night-time raid in north-west Syria and accomplished their mission in grand style,” he said.
The US president, facing impeachment proceedings and under bipartisan fire for withdrawing troops from the Syrian border, basked in the demise of the self-styled caliphate leader, whose final moments he described in vivid, indulgent detail.
“[Baghdadi] running into a dead-end tunnel, whimpering and crying and screaming all the way,” Trump said.
Cornered, Baghdadi detonated a suicide vest and killed himself and three of his children, Trump said. “He died like a dog, he died like a coward. The world is now a much safer place,” he said.
By Chandani Kirinde
Her impeachment from the Office of Chief Justice seven years ago made headlines across the country and was flashed across the world. While a lot has been written and said about the infamous manner in which Dr. Shirani A. Bandaranayake was removed from office, little was known about her side of the story. That is until now.
In her recently released memoir ‘Hold Me in Contempt’, Bandaranayake lets readers in on her personal and professional struggles during this trying period, when she stood helpless but strong in the face of a relentless campaign against her from a Government which at the time enjoyed unprecedented power.
The decision to put pen to paper detailing hitherto unknown facts about what led to her impeachment was driven by her desire to set the record straight as “there was no clear picture as to what had actually taken place.”
“I thought I should put it down on paper because 10 years down the line no one will know what happened. Even my husband and son did not know certain details which I recounted in the book,” Dr. Bandaranayake told the Weekend FT.
By
S.S. Selvanayagam
The Court of Appeal (CA) today issued notices on Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera and SSP Anuruddha Bandara Hakmana and HQI Senadhipathi K.D. de Silva of Mullaitivu returnable for November 8.
The bench comprising Justices Yasantha Kodagoda (President/CA) and Arjuna Obeysekara after having satisfied on the material placed and submission made ordered to issue notices.
MP Shanthi Sriskandarasa filed the contempt of court application seeking court that they be directed to plead and show cause as to why the court should not take steps to deal with him for the offences of contempt as provided for by Article 105(3) of the Constitution.
M.A. Sumanthiran PC with Kesavan Sayanthan instructed by Judith Dharshika Ariyanayagam appeared for the petitioner. The petitioner is a National List MP of Illankai Thamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) and resident in the Mullaitivu District.