JUSTICE FOR ALL
13th May 2022

We condemn the reimposition of the State of Emergency from midnight on the 6th of May 2022, the very first instance it was available after revoking it on the 5th of April 2022. We vehemently condemn the violence unleashed on peaceful protestors on the 9th of May 2022 both at Minagogama and Gotagogama, credibly endorsed by the then prime minister and members of the government. The demands of the protestors at Gotagogama include an end to the culture of violence and impunity.

We denounce equally the counter-violence perpetrated on persons and properties. All perpetrators of violence should be brought to book forthwith. Violence is antithetical to what Gotagogama stood and stands for. By the committed and sustained peaceful conduct, the protestors at Gotagogama and all other sites of protest have earned the support, solidarity, and goodwill of the citizenry of the country and reflect Sri Lankans demanding in unison that the President goes home. Any attempt by elements with vested interests to discredit the peaceful protestors by attributing violence to them or any attempt to disrupt the peaceful protests using force or emergency should be desisted.

The attempts by the police to crack down on peaceful protests and intimidate protesters who are exercising their democratic right to dissent, shows the intention of the security establishment to create tension and violence. These attempts are more intense, induce greater fear and are effectively stifling of voices from the North and East of Sri Lanka. Excessive force by the authorities and the visible inaction to prevent harm to citizens in recent weeks has escalated violence, wreaked havoc and resulted in the death of one person in Rambukkana and injured several across other sites of protests. We note with extreme concern the attempts made to thwart the freedom of movement of citizens by the use of barricades, including those with spikes that can cause grievous injury, the use of curfew and emergency regulations. We decry these tactics of violence and intimidation against peaceful protesters and call out these acts as violations of the fundamental rights of the citizens in Sri Lanka.

Continue reading ‘“We urge all Members of Parliament, in govt and opposition, to listen to the demands of the Sri Lankan people for a genuine change in government and governance. It is imperative that all MPs take a principled stand that reflects the demands of the people to create political change in Sri Lanka”’ »

By Chandani Kirinde

UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the country’s new Prime Minister before President Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday in one of the biggest reversals of political fortune in the country.

The shock decision to appoint Wickremesinghe to the post vacated by Mahinda Rajapaksa was made on Wednesday night after the President met with the UNP leader and invited him to take over as premier.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa via Twitter wished the newly-appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe his best for stepping up to the challenge to steer the country through a “very turbulent” time. The President said he looks forward to working together with the new PM to make Sri Lanka strong again.

In what pro-UNPers term as the “greatest political comeback” Wickremesinghe holds the single national list seat the UNP won at the 2020 parliamentary election after being routed in the poll following the split in the party. He contested the election from the Colombo District and lost his parliamentary seat which he had held since 1977 but took oaths as the National List MP in June 2021.

Continue reading ‘Ranil Wicremesinghe Tells Media that he has “taken on the job to put the economy in order,” ; “Do you want people to suffer more by a prolonged political instability or resolve the economic crisis? Asks the new Prime Minister’ »

Several members of the Parliament including President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and foreign envoys extended congratulatory wishes to newly appointed sixth Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe, whilst few others expressed their displeasure.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa congratulated Wickremesinghe for taking up the challenging task to overcome the multiple crises.

“My best wishes to the newly appointed PM of #LKA, @RW_UNP, who stepped up to take on the challenging task of steering our country through a very turbulent time. I look forward to working together with him to make Sri Lanka strong again,” President Rajapaksa tweeted.

Minutes after Prime Minister Wickremesinghe was sworn in, former Premier Mahinda Rajapaksa who is in hiding extended his good wishes to his successor in a tweet.

Continue reading ‘Tweet by US Ambassador Julie Chung says Wickremesinghe’s appointment as Prime Minister and the quick formation of an inclusive Government are the first steps in addressing the crisis and promoting stability.’ »

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said yesterday that his first choice for the post of Prime Minister was SJB leader Sajith Premadasa but as he had rejected the offer to take over the Government, he had decided to appoint UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The President disclosed this in a letter he sent Premadasa yesterday in response to the letter sent to him by the SJB leader saying is willing to take over as Prime Minister subject to four conditions.

The President said that after the Cabinet decided to resign on 6 May after taking into consideration the calls for setting up an all-party interim Government to stabilise the country’s economy and solve the economic problems faced by the people, he had contacted Premadasa requesting him to take over the Government, but this had been rejected.

Continue reading ‘President Rajapaksa Tells Opposition Leader Premadasa that the best person to take over as the Prime Minister is UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe; Points out that his offer to Sajith to take over the Govt had been rejected.’ »

Completing a stunning comeback, United National Party (UNP) Leader and National List MP Ranil Wickremesinghe, who failed to secure his seat in Parliament in the August 2020 General Election, was sworn in as the new Prime Minister last evening (12).

Wickremesinghe took oaths before President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the President’s House, with Secretary to the President Gamini Senarath and Prof. Maithree Wickremesinghe also present on the occasion.

Wickremesinghe has served as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka on five previous occasions. Following a humiliating defeat for himself and the UNP at the General Election in August 2020, he entered Parliament last year through the sole National List seat won by the party.

Continue reading ‘Newly Sworn In PM Ranil Wickremesinghe Describes Himself s a “Crisis Premier” Drawing a Parallel with Winston Churchill Becomig Prime Minister of Britain to Cope with the Challenges of World war Two’ »

By
Yohan Perera

Newly appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said he had accepted his new post to save the nation from its present crisis.

“I accepted the Prime Minister’s post to save the nation and to see that people of this country get three square meals while essential goods such as fuel, gas and electricity are available. I cannot do it alone and therefore I need international help,” Mr. Wickremesinghe said.

Continue reading ‘“I accepted the Prime Minister’s post to save the nation and to see that people of this country get three square meals while essential goods such as fuel, gas and electricity are available’states Ranil Wickremesinghe;“I also intend to obtain support of all MPs in Parliament to save the nation,” he says’ »

By

Meera Srinivasan

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday appointed former PM Ranil Wickremesinghe as Premier, in a bid to restore stability in the island nation in the midst of a political impasse and stifling economic crisis.

This is the sixth time Mr. Wickremesinghe, 73, has been appointed to the office — he has never finished a full term — and will have the task of arresting the devastating impact of the island’s economic downturn, that too under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa who is fiercely detested by disgruntled citizens demanding his resignation.

Mr. Gotabaya’s older brother Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned as Prime Minister on Monday, hours after his supporters violently attacked anti-government protesters.

Continue reading ‘President Gotabaya Rajapaksa Appoints UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka’ »

By

Chandani Kirinde

In a day of dramatic political developments President Gotabaya Rajapaksa met with UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe last night amidst speculation that the latter would be appointed as the country’s new Prime Minister.

Speculation was Wickremesinghe will be sworn in today by the President after which the UNP Leader will firm up support from like-minded MPs. A new Cabinet comprising MPs from multiple parties is expected to be finalised by the President and new Prime Minister.

Continue reading ‘Gotabaya – Ranil Talks Leads to Speculation that Wicremesinghe would be Appointed as Prime Minister and that a new Cabinet comprising MPs from multiple parties would be finalized this week by the President and new PM’ »

By

Meera Srinivasan

Sri Lanka’s beleaguered President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Wednesday said he will appoint a new Prime Minister, who commands a parliamentary majority, and a Cabinet of Ministers, within a week’s time, as the island struggles to cope with its political and economic crises.

“I am taking steps to form a new government to control the current situation, to prevent the country from falling into anarchy,” he said, in a televised address, two days after his older brother Mahinda Rajapaksa stepped down as Prime Minister, amid violent attacks triggered by ruling party supporters.

On Wednesday, Mr. Gotabaya also met former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, and explored the possibility of appointing him as Premier, if a majority of lawmakers in Parliament supports the move, sources knowledgeable about their discussion told The Hindu. Mr. Wickremesinghe is considering the option, said a reliable source, requesting not to be named given the sensitivity of the talks during a grave economic crisis and an enduring political gridlock.

Continue reading ‘President Rajapaksa Meets with former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and explores the possibility of appointing him as Premier, if a majority of lawmakers in Parliament supports the move; .The UNP Leader is considering the option say Reliable Sources’ »

(Text of Address to the Nation Delivered by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on May 11th 2022)

Most Venerable Maha Sangha,
Other Religious Dignitaries,
Mothers and Fathers,
Brothers and Sisters,
Beloved Children, Friends,

At present, our country is facing the worst crisis in its history. The economic crisis that preceded this event created social and political instability due to the difficulties faced by the people.

As a solution to these problems, a common proposal was put forward by various parties to form a new government with a majority of parties represented in the Parliament. In the past, I have had many discussions with leaders of various parties and groups in this regard. I too accepted that idea and took some difficult and tough decisions to set the platform for this solution.

When the last Cabinet was replaced, a new Cabinet was appointed consisting of young MPs where a large number of former Senior Ministers as well as Rajapaksas were not appointed. Also, the Prime Minister resigned and an agreement was reached to dissolve the entire Cabinet and make room for a new Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Continue reading ‘“I am taking steps to form a new government to control the current situation.This week, I will appoint a Prime Minister who commands the majority in Parliament and can secure the confidence of the people and a Cabinet of Ministers”-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’ »

By

Meera Srinivasan

Meanwhile, Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa was evacuated from Temple Trees, his official residence in Colombo, and taken to a naval base in the eastern port city of Trincomalee on May 10 for his “security”, according to Kamal Gunaratne, Secretary to the Defence Ministry.

Addressing a media conference on May 11, he said: “The former PM is at the Naval Dockyard in Trincomalee. He will be there for a few more days. We will provide him with whatever security he needs and for as long as he wants.”
As violence intensified, the former Prime Minister was flown to Trincomalee, some 300 km north-east of capital Colombo, and home to Tamils, Muslims, and Sinhalese. He was not safe in the Sinhala-majority south, where he once commanded much respect and adoration.

Continue reading ‘Mahinda Rajapaksa Evacuated From “Temple Trees” to Trincomalee; “The former PM is at the Naval Dockyard in Trincomalee. He will be there for a few more days. We will provide him with whatever security he needs and for as long as he wants.” Says Defence Secretary Gen Kamal Gunaratne’ »

By

Meera Srinivasan

Sri Lanka’s Central Bank chief on May 11 warned that the economy would “collapse completely” unless political stability is urgently restored and a new government is appointed to run the crisis-hit country.

Addressing reporters in Colombo, Nandalal Weerasinghe, who assumed charge as Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka just over a month ago, said: “If there is no government in the next two days, the economy will completely collapse, and cannot be salvaged by anyone.”
Dire situation

His remarks came as a stark reminder of the dire situation of the island’s economy, crashing after a much-neglected Balance of Payments issue over the last two years led to a severe dollar crunch. The country is preoccupied with violent clashes and unrest this week, triggered by Mahinda Rajapaksa supporters who attacked peaceful protesters demanding the ruling clan’s resignation over the economic crisis.

Continue reading ‘“If there is no government in the next two days, the economy will completely collapse, and cannot be salvaged by anyone” says Central Bank of Sri Lanka Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe’ »

By

Tisaranee Gunasekara

“The enlightenment driven away,
The habit-forming pain,
Mismanagement and grief:
We must suffer them all again.”
Auden (September 1, 1939)

“We must love one another or die,” wrote Auden in September 1, 1939 as the world slid into calamity.

Gotagogama and the nationwide anti-Rajapaksa struggle it pioneered and symbolized seemed to be animated by this spirit of compassionate solidarity Auden was pleading for on the advent of the Second World War.

Gotagogama resistors prided themselves on being not just anti-Rajapaksa but the antithesis of the Rajapaksas. They made a conscious attempt to turn that nodal point of struggle into a microcosm of a different Sri Lanka, a place where racial and religious animosities were absent, the youth were heard and women could be both active and safe, a space of sanity, decency, compassion, and reason. A symbol of the best in us both as individuals and a nation, a microcosm of what Sri Lanka could be when her people embrace their best impulses rather than the worst.

As the days passed and the struggle spread, that spirit seemed to be spilling over and permeating other loci of resistance. Even when a young father of two was brutally gunned down in Rambukkana by the police, the protestors resisted the siren song of violent retaliation. Despite innumerable provocations by the Rajapaksas, sanity and peace prevailed.

Then Mahinda Rajapaksa, the political paterfamilias of this most egregious of political families, went to the ancient city of Anuradhapura. He visited a couple of sacred places, experienced the public’s ire in loud calls for his resignation, and had a powwow with his abiding supporters, solidifying plans which would have been laid days before were solidified.

Next morning, busloads of Mahinda devotees and hired thugs (reportedly at Rs. 2,000 a day, a reflection of the economic crisis and the resultant mass desperation) were brought to Temple Trees. Mahinda Rajapaksa gave them a speech. They poured out of the Temple Trees armed with poles and laid waste to Mainagogama, the protest encampment outside the premises. Then, with no hindrance from the police, who would have been told to stay out of it by their political masters, they made their way to Gotagogama and laid waste to it. Even the makeshift library did not escape the devastating onslaught.

Meantime, the government declared a curfew effective immediately.

From that point, events departed drastically from the Rajapaksa script. The protesters resisted and overcame the attackers. Across the country, people, ignoring the curfew, poured on to streets in solidarity.

Continue reading ‘The Rajapaksas created a moral wasteland and called it patriotism, and damned anyone not succumbing to it as traitors to the nation. The anti-Rajapaksa struggle is in the process of creating a similar moral wasteland, calling it Aragalaya where anything goes, so long as it is done to the Rajapaksas and their supporters.’ »

(Text of the editorial appearing in “The Hindu” of May 11th 2022 under the heading “The end of a brand: On the fall of the Rajapaksas”)

The resignation of Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, amidst extraordinary scenes of violence as part of the widespread public uprising against his family’s rule, marks the abrupt fall of a political brand that has been dominating the country for the better part of the last decade-and-a-half.

Venerated by large sections of the majority Sinhalese as a national hero who defeated the Liberation Tigers, Mr. Mahinda could never have imagined that his teeming support base would be replaced by swarming protesters so vehemently opposed to him that he would have to leave ‘Temple Trees’, his Colombo residence, for safety.

Thousands of protesters have been demanding the resignation of all the Rajapaksas occupying various posts, including President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, as the economic crisis became unbearable with a huge shortage of food and fuel, as well as the means to buy them.

Continue reading ‘“A larger message from the demise of the Rajapaksa brand is that muscular nationalism and majoritarian mobilisation may not be an endless reservoir of support, and will be of no avail when the masses face economic hardship”- The Hindu’ »

By Chandani Kirinde

The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) will take over the government if President Gotabaya Rajapaksa agrees to resign after appointing Sajith Premadasa as Prime Minister, a senior SJB source said. The Party will write to the President today with the proposal, the source said.

“The SJB is not willing to join a government in which Gotabaya Rajapaksa remains as President. He must resign for us to take over,” the SJB member said.

Yesterday the SJB briefed other opposition political parties including the SLPP independent group and former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on its proposal.

Continue reading ‘Political uncertainty continues with no PM, Cabinet for over 24 hours;The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) will take over the government if President Gotabaya Rajapaksa agrees to resign after appointing Sajith Premadasa as Prime Minister.’ »

(Text of Editorial Appearing in “The Morning” of May 11th 2022 Under the Heading “Protesting with cognitive violence over brute force”)

In less than 24 hours, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned, anti-Government groups retaliated against pro-Government groups, people were killed, and properties amounting to an unknown value were destroyed. Most importantly, violence, which was hardly a part of the ongoing protests, somehow took centre stage.

However, the tense situation is not over. Organised attacks by anti-Government groups and the monitoring of politicians leaving the country are still taking place, and some people are of the view that this should be the new face of the anti-Government struggle, because it brings what some consider justice without delay.

While some may view these new developments as an explosion of suppressed anger and suggest that it must be unleashed throughout the rest of the anti-Government struggle, what it will actually bring about is more chaos and instability, which in turn will worsen the impact of the economic and social crises on the people. The struggle cannot continue like this, and what happened on Monday (9) and yesterday (10) should not be seen as an example, but a lesson.

Once the curfew is lifted today (11), the people will have to rethink the future of the anti-Government struggle.

Continue reading ‘“The destruction of property and other illegal or violent activities that are becoming a part of the protests should stop, and non-violent methods of expressing opposition should again be adopted.”-The Morning’ »

By

Meera Srinivasan

Sri Lanka’s tri-forces on Tuesday received shooting orders to “bring violence under control”, authorities said, amid a spate of retaliatory attacks targeting government members.

“Defence Ministry has ordered the tri-forces to shoot at persons causing harm to life or involved in theft of property,” the Army said.

On Monday, Rajapaksa supporters assaulted peaceful anti-government protesters, who have demanding that the ruling clan quit over a crippling economic crisis, at agitation sites in different locations.

The violent mob attack in turn triggered violence by some anti-government elements, apparently outraged by the attack on protesters. They vandalised and torched vehicles and property belonging to Ministers and government MPs in many areas. Over 100 vehicles have been damaged and more than 100 structures, including homes, have been set to fire in the past two days, according to Army media.

Continue reading ‘Sri Lankan troops given shooting orders to ‘control’ violence;“Defence Ministry has ordered the tri-forces to shoot at persons causing harm to life or involved in theft of property,” says Army Spokesman’ »

By

Meera Srinivasan

The Sri Lanka Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has been tasked with probing the concerted attack on anti-government protesters, police said on Tuesday, a day after a pro-Rajapaksa mob went on a rampage at agitation sites in capital Colombo and in central Kandy district.

The death toll in the attacks, which the protesters accused the police of “simply watching”, rose to eight on Tuesday. 220 persons were hospitalised after suffering injuries in the brutal assault, and in the targeted, violent retaliation by incensed citizens. Dozens of houses belonging to Ministers and Members of Parliament, including the Rajapaksas’ ancestral village home, were torched.

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), a professional body of lawyers, called for an independent investigation and the immediate arrest of “all persons who instigated, conspired to unleash the violent mob…irrespective of the positions they held in government or of their family connections”. The BASL also sought a travel ban on them.

Continue reading ‘“Gota Go Gama” Demolished by Pro- Rajapaksa Mobs Being Re-constructed by Protesters at Galle Face Again; Deathtoll in Widespread Violence Rises to 8 while 220 are Hospitalised with Injuries;Chandrika Kumaratunga Warns of Possible Miltary Take over.’ »

Mahinda Raja-paksa, who resigned as prime minister on Monday, will not flee the country, his son Namal Rajapaksa told AFP on Tuesday.

The 76-year-old heads a political clan whose hold on power has been shaken by months of blackouts and shortages in the island nation, which is suffering its worst economic crisis since independence in 1948.

Mahinda had to be evacuated by the military from his official residence on Monday night after it was besieged by an angry crowd. But his son Namal, himself once touted as a future national leader, said the Rajapaksa family had no plans to leave Sri Lanka despite weeks of protests demanding they relinquish power.

Continue reading ‘“My father is safe,he is at a safe location,and he is communicating with the family.There are a lot of rumours that we are going to leave. We will not leave the country.We will always stand by our people” says Namal Rajapaksa’ »

Protests were held yesterday (10) in front of the Trincomalee Naval Base, where former Prime Minister and incumbent Government MP Mahinda Rajapaksa is reportedly staying, along with a number of his family members.

Video reports also show a helicopter, reportedly belonging to the Sri Lanka Air Force, being boarded by a few people at the Police Field Headquarters. Reports claim that it was boarded by Rajapaksa’s third son, Rohitha Rajapaksa, and the latter’s wife and children. Claims also state that other family members, including Chamal Rajapaksa and Basil Rajapaksa, are also at the Trincomalee Navy Base.

Continue reading ‘Protests held in front of the Trincomalee Naval Base, where former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa is Allegedly staying, along with a number of his family members.’ »

By Chandani Kirinde

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa clamped a countrywide two-day curfew last night in a bid to stop escalating violence across the country which saw houses and offices of more than 15 ruling party politicians set on fire and crowds attempting to break into Temple Trees where Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family were reportedly staying.

Army and police personnel battled crowds that had surrounded the Prime Minister’s official residence, firing tear gas several times to disperse the crowd but many of the angry protestors remained in the vicinity. They also fired into the air in a bid to disperse the crowd.

At least five persons including SLPP Polonnaruwa MP Amarakeerthi Athukorala died in a shooting incident as violence flared across the country.

Continue reading ‘Violence Perpetrated by Mahinda Rajapaksa Supporters Against Peaceful Protesters Boomerang as Furious People Turn Against Govt; Tear Gas Used Repeatedly to Disperse Angry Crowds Outside “Temple Trees”; Ancestral Home at Medamulana Torched. At least 15 SLPP Ministers and MP’s Houses Set Ablaze’ »

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday eventually resigned as mayhem unfolded on the streets after hundreds of his supporters bussed in from different parts of the country to Temple Trees to support the PM unleashed violence on peaceful protestors.

With the Prime Minister’s resignation, the cabinet of Ministers stands dissolved.

The Prime Minister sent his resignation letter last afternoon to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa shortly after he addressed his supporters during which he remained defiant saying he was someone who had never run away from a challenge but was willing to make any sacrifice to enable the country to overcome the ongoing economic crises. When asked whether he should quit or stay, his supporters cheered him to continue.

“The President will decide on the setting up of an interim Government and I will make any sacrifice if it is needed,” Rajapaksa said.

Continue reading ‘Mahinda Rajapaksa Makes Defiant Speech to Hundreds of Supporters Brought by Buses to “Temple Trees” After whch Violence is Unleashed Against Peaceful Protesters Causing Widespread Anti – Govt Anger Resulting in Counter Violence in Many Parts of the Country’ »

BY Buddhika Samaraweera

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chandana D. Wickramaratne, acting on instructions from Public Security Ministry Secretary (Retd.) Maj. Gen. Jagath Alwis, had instructed senior Police officials, including Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) – Colombo Central Nishantha Chandrasekara not to use water cannons and tear gas to disperse supporters of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) who attacked peaceful protesters in front of the Temple Trees and the Galle Face Green yesterday (9), The Morning reliably learnt.

Our sources said that senior Police officials in charge of the Western Province had on several occasions informed the SLPP supporters who had gathered in front of the Temple Trees in support of former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and those who had organised the supporters, not to enter the Galle Face Green.

Continue reading ‘IGP Chandana Wickramaratne acting on instructions from Public Security Ministry Secy Gen. Jagath Alwis, had Allegedly instructed senior Police officials not to disperse supporters of the SLPP who attacked peaceful protesters in front of the Temple Trees and the Galle Face Green on May 9’ »

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran yesterday said that former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa must be arrested and prosecuted.

“Mahinda Rajapaksa who just resigned, must be arrested and brought before the law along with all others who organised and brought the attackers to Colombo,” he tweeted on his official handle yesterday.

Continue reading ‘Mahinda Rajapaksa must be Arrested and Brought Before the Law long with Others who Organized and Transported to Colombo the Persons who Attacked the Peaceful Protests says TNA Parliamentarian MA Sumnthiran’ »

By

Meera Srinivasan

Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned on Monday, his office said, hours after his supporters brutally assaulted peaceful, anti-government protesters amid a worsening economic crisis in the island.

The resignation was accepted, according to a gazette notification, and consequently, the Cabinet stands dissolved as per the Sri Lankan Constitution.

Three persons died outside the capital in ensuing clashes, while at least 150 were injured in Colombo. Government MP Amarakeerthi Athukorala reportedly shot two people and then himself after being surrounded by a mob in the neighbouring Gampaha district, police told AFP. Homes of several ruling party lawmakers were torched, while some among anti-government protesters assaulted government supporters who turned up in Colombo, amid escalating violence on the streets.

Continue reading ‘Enraged Crowds Demolish Rajapaksa Family Memorial Monument at Medamulana; Ancestral Home also Torched. Wax Statues of Mahinda and Gotabaya’s Parents Destroyed’ »

A legislator from Sri Lanka’s ruling party shot dead an anti-government protester and then took his own life during a confrontation outside the capital, police said Monday.

Amarakeerthi Athukorala opened fire and critically wounded two people blocking his car in the town of Nittambuwa, police said, adding that one of the victims died of his injuries.

“The MP fled the scene and took refuge at a nearby building,” a police official told AFP by telephone. “Thousands surrounded the building and he then took his own life with his revolver.”

Continue reading ‘SLPP Govt MP Amarakeerthi Athukorale Fires and Injures two in Crowd Blocking his Vehicle at Nittambuwa; When Crowds Surround Building Je Takes Refuge in the MP Commits Suicide by Shooting Himself’ »

Several countries via their diplomats condemned yesterday’s violent attacks by supporters of ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) on peaceful protestors.

The British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Sarah Hulton in a tweet said: “Strongly condemn the violence against peaceful protestors today. The authorities have a responsibility to safeguard citizens’ rights to protest peacefully and to hold the perpetrators of violence to account.”

Continue reading ‘Attacks on Peaceful Protesters by SLPP Govt Supporters Condemned by USA and Germany Ambssadors and UK and Canada High Commissioners , World Bnk Country Director and UN Special Rapporteur’ »

BY Dinitha Rathnayake

An islandwide curfew was imposed yesterday (9) following supporters of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP)-led Government attack on peaceful anti-Government protesters at “MynaGoGama” in Kollupitiya and “GotaGoGama” in Galle Face, which led to over 130 sustaining injuries and being hospitalised.
Prior to the declaration of islandwide curfew, Police curfew was imposed with immediate effect, until further notice, to the Colombo South, Colombo North, and Colombo Central Police areas.

In order to assist the Police and control the situation, the Army deployed its troops in the Galle Face esplanade with immediate effect to protect civilians and maintain peace in the area. Defence Secretary Gen. Kamal Gunaratne requested the general public to support the tri-forces and remain calm and to exercise restraint.

Leave of Police officers has since been cancelled with those on leave also ordered to report to duty. The Excise Department has meanwhile informed that all liquor shops are to remain closed until further notice.

Continue reading ‘SLPP -led Govt Supporers Including State Minister Sanath Nishantha Unleash Violence Agaiist Unarmed Demonstrators and Demolish Structures at “Gotagogama” in Galleface and “Mynagogama”in Kollupitiya; Protesters Allege Police and armed Forces Attacked them Instead of the Mobs’;130 Persons Injured’ »

Shots were fired from inside the Sri Lankan Prime Minister’s official residence Monday, as thousands of protesters breached the main gate and torched a truck at the entrance, an AFP reporter said.

Police also fired tear gas to push back protesters retaliating against an attack on them earlier in the day by those loyal to the outgoing premier Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Police sources confirmed that shots were fired in the air to prevent the crowd breaching the inner security ring of the residence where Mr. Rajapaksa, who resigned as premier earlier in the day, was holed up.

Continue reading ‘Thousands of Angry Demonstrators Surround Prime Minister;s Official Residence “Temple Trees” After Mahinda Rajapaksa Supporters Attack Peaceful Protesters;Police Fire GunShots in the Air and Tear Gas Cannsters to Dispel Crowds After Main Gates are Breached’ »

BY Dinitha Rathnayake

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa sent his letter of resignation to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday (9) after violent scenes were witnessed in Colombo.

Speaking to The Morning, Prime Minister’s Secretary Rohan Weliwita confirmed that the letter was sent to the President yesterday evening.
In the letter addressed to the President, Premier Rajapaksa noted that the ongoing situation is crucial to the country, adding that the country is facing many issues.

“According to the request made by the President at the Cabinet of Ministers meeting held on 6 May in support of forming a new Government, I hand over this letter,” the letter stated.

Continue reading ‘Mahinda Rajapaksa Sends Resignation Letter to Gotabaya Rajapksa saying he is Stepping down to Enable President to Form a new All-party Interim Govt;With the PM resigning the present Cabinet gets Automticlly Dissolved’ »

A large number of supporters of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa are expected to gather outside his official residence Temple Trees this morning amidst reports that he will hand in his resignation today(May 9).

Members of local authorities led by the SLLP as well as trade unionists affiliated to the party who met with the Prime Minister on Saturday pledged to bring their supporters to urge him not to resign, but the Prime Minister is expected to announce that he is stepping down from his post.

The Prime Minister visited the Sri Maha Bodhiya and Ruwanveli Saya in Anuradhapura yesterday and following his return, met with a delegation of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) who are in discussions to set up an all-party interim Government for which all the main parties have extended support.

Continue reading ‘Mahinda Rajapaksa Likely to Step Down s Prime Minister Despite Pressure not to do so from Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Rank and File; paying Homage at Sri Maha Bodhi and Ruwanweliseya at Anuradhapura seen as Prelude to Resignaton Today(May 9)or Later this week’ »

By

Kelum Bandara

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP for the Jaffna district M.A. Sumanthiran, in an interview with Daily Mirror, airs his views on the present status of the economy and the political crisis.

Excerpts:

Q The TNA has taken a different stand regarding the no confidence motion against the government. Why is it?

Continue reading ‘“The president is the head of the govt. The call-out by the people is for the president to resign. That is the main call. Everything else is subsidiary to that. Without that happening, we just rearrange some chairs in the Cabinet and continue.” – M.A. Sumanthiran MP’ »

By Dr. Ram Manikkalingam

(The writer is a Visiting Professor at the University of Amsterdam and Director of the Dialogue Advisory Group.)

Sri Lanka is at a political deadlock. Protesters want the President and parliamentarians to go home. Parliament wants the President to go home. And the President wants the protesters to go home. But no one is going home.

Meanwhile, we cannot change the President without changing the prime minister. We cannot change the prime minister because no party leader wants to be saddled with the economic crisis. And we cannot manage the economic crisis because there is no new prime minister. How do we get out of this triple deadlock?

It is very hard for the protesters to shift tack, because there are many tens of thousands. It is difficult for parliament to move, because at least 113, out of the 225 members, must agree. But it is easier for the President to change course because he can take a decision and implement it on his own. So what can he do that meets the concerns of the protesters?

Continue reading ‘By declaring his willingness to terminate the executive presidency, and only be in office until the constitution is amended, President Rajapaksa could help end the political deadlock in Sri Lanka.’ »

By

Kishali Pinto Jayawardene

Bright smiles of determined young Sri Lankans contrast starkly with the tear gas and water cannons used by the police this Friday to smash tents and scatter protestors outside the newly established ‘HoruGoGama’ (‘thieves, get out’) on the road to Parliament. On the one side, there is youth, optimism and hope. On the other side, there is the threatening paraphernalia of the State.

Politicians scoring brownie points

As the Speaker fluttered and flapped his hands in response to remonstrations of the Opposition that university students and other protestors, including the elderly, had been teargassed on Friday as they were hooting Members of Parliament sweeping by in their calvacades, his incredulity went so far as to ask as to where these events had occurred. Was he perchance, under the impression that the protests were happening on Mars rather than right outside the House?

The promise that he would ask for a report from the Inspector General of Police (IGP) on the matter, was scarcely reassuring. This is not a Speaker who inspires public confidence, to put it politely as it were.

The Government was similarly non-responsive, with senior party leaders waving copies of the Order Paper and screeching to high heaven in a concerted attempt to block the no-confidence motion against the President and the Government, presented by the Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) Opposition.

The House exploded with accusations and counter-accusations across the divide as politicians delighted in scoring brownie points from the misery of the people. Outside, protestors lay siege to the chamber, ‘HoruGoGama’ being the latest in the series of ‘protest villages’, this time around aimed at occupants of the legislature.

Continue reading ‘Bright smiles of determined young Sri Lankans contrast starkly with the tear gas and water cannons used by the police to smash tents and scatter protestors. On the one side, there is youth, optimism and hope. On the other side, there is the threatening paraphernalia of the State.’ »

By

Meera Srinivasan

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has thanked Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin for his initiative to provide humanitarian aid to Sri Lanka, which is in the grip of a grave economic crisis.

In a letter dated May 4, 2022 and addressed to Mr. Stalin, Mr. Rajapaksa said the passage of a resolution to send food, essential items and live-saving drugs was indicative of the Chief Minister’s “good intentions”. “I wish to thank you and the Tamil Nadu government on behalf of the people of Sri Lanka, for viewing the country’s crisis from a humanitarian standpoint, rather than as a problem concerning another country,” Mr. Rajapaksa said.

On April 29, the Tamil Nadu Assembly unanimously adopted a motion to send relief material worth ₹123 crore to the people of Sri Lanka. The support would entail 40,000 tonnes of rice, over 100 life-saving drugs and 500 tonnes of milk powder for children.

Continue reading ‘“I wish to thank you and the Tamil Nadu government on behalf of the people of Sri Lanka,”; Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa sends letter thanking Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin for his initiative to provide humanitarian aid to Sri Lanka.’ »

By

Meera Srinivasan

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s move declaring a state of emergency late on Friday has sparked wide criticism within Sri Lanka, as well as from the international actors who contended it was unhelpful and counterproductive, coming amid peaceful citizens’ protests.

Government critics and civil society groups fear that the emergency regulations, which give sweeping powers to the police and armed forces, could be used to quell public dissent that has intensified in recent days. Several thousand Sri Lankans are agitating on the streets relentlessly, blaming the ruling Rajapaksa brothers’ “misgovernance” for the island’s unprecedented economic downturn.

Leader of Opposition Sajith Premadasa said in a tweet: “Under no circumstances @GotabayaR will you hold this country down with nothing but fear & violence. The state of emergency runs counter to seeking any solution to the crisis. JUST RESIGN.”
The Bar Association of Sri Lanka, a professional body of lawyers, expressed “grave concern” over the move. “Declaration of a state of emergency is not the answer to the present situation in the country including the spate of public protests and strikes which have occurred. We re-iterate that the state of emergency must not be used to stifle peaceful protests and dissent or to make arbitrary arrests and detentions. The protests in turn must not be violent and must remain peaceful at all times,” it said in a statement.

Even before the Emergency came into effect from Friday midnight, police unleashed water cannons and tear gas on students protesting outside Parliament on Thursday and Friday, neither of which seems to have deterred demonstrators going by the crowd since.
The Colombo-based NGO Centre for Policy Alternatives said it is “alarmed” by the “violent”, and “intimidatory” tactics used by authorities, with the declaration of state of emergency “being the latest move to crush dissent and other democratic rights”, despite peaceful citizens mobilizing peacefully.
Canada’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka David McKinnon said in a tweet: “Over the past weeks, the demonstrations across #SriLanka have overwhelmingly involved citizens enjoying their right to peaceful freedom of expression and are a credit to the country’s democracy. It’s hard to understand why it is necessary, then, to declare a state of emergency.”
Echoing the sentiment, the European Union said: “A month of peaceful demonstrations has shown how Sri Lankan citizens fully enjoy their right to freedom of expression in the oldest democracy in South Asia. State of emergency will certainly not help solving the country’s difficulties and could have a counterproductive effect!” Several other Colombo-based diplomats took to twitter to question the President’s decision.
Unfazed by the criticism, the government defended the Emergency, saying it was imposed “to ensure political stability which is a vital condition in overcoming the current socio-economic crisis in the country thereby assuring public safety and uninterrupted supply of essential services.”
Issuing a statement on Saturday, the Department of Information said: “The current agitations being held throughout the country including the capital for the last several days have posed a grave threat to the security of public life,” although the protests have remained peaceful.

There have been no reports of demonstrators resorting to violence or damaging any public property. They gather in public spaces and chant anti-government slogans together. People desperate for fuel and cooking gas have at times blocked roads, causing traffic snarls. Protesters’ resolute challenge to the government has drawn celebrated artistes, progressive scholars, professionals, business leaders to the movement.

Curiously, the government claimed that essential services, including the distribution of fuel, were “interrupted”, public transport was “crippled”, and the daily functioning of hospitals was “disrupted” by the protests, apparently referring to Friday’s Hartal. Transport in Sri Lanka has been affected for months owing to a persisting fuel shortage, and hospitals have been struggling to find essential drugs, and are repeatedly putting out appeals for help.

This is the second instance of the President declaring an Emergency in the last five weeks, after a similar move early in April. The declaration would need to be ratified by the Parliament within 14 days, or it will lapse. The Parliament is adjourned till May 17.

Courtesy:The Hindu

By the Sunday Morninng Political Editor

The proposed 21st Amendment Bill presented to Parliament by the main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) was gazetted last Friday (6).
The gazetting of the proposed 21st Amendment to the Constitution has now put into motion the moves to repeal the controversial 20th Amendment and revert to an advanced form of the previous 19th Amendment, as well as the abolition of the Executive Presidency.

Once the Bill is gazetted, it could be tabled in Parliament in one week, which in this case could be on 17 May. Afterwards, a one-week period is given for the piece of legislation to be challenged before the Supreme Court and the Court is granted a period of three weeks to make its determination in such an event.

Continue reading ‘End of Executive Presidency Drawing Near? 21st Constitutional Amendment Bill Abolishing the Executive Presidency Presented to Parliament by the Samagi Jana Balavegaya Gazetted on May 6th;’ »

By Lucien Rajakarunanayake

I was 14 plus when the first hartal took place in what was then Ceylon. We had only print and radio for news, yet the LSSP-led mass protest did have echoes of workers and people’s action, police shooting, 10 persons killed, and the overall failure of the government leadership.Sixty-nine years later, the present Hartal is certainly a country and nationwide rising of the people, moving from the fuel, milk and gas queues, to a decisive political movement, calling for a complete change from the corrupt governance in Sri Lanka.

There is hartal action in all parts of the country today, with almost all public and private sector services halted, and a call for a nationwide change in the process of governance and the politically manipulated economics of the country.The Parliament is certainly the place of most interest of the people, in what is an electoral democracy; and where the key interest of Members of Parliament would be in resolving a situation of national crisis. But the Parliament of today is certainly furthest from such need and reality.

The key issue in Parliament yesterday was the election of a Deputy Speaker – an office of no attachment to politics or government. Instead, it was a complete farce in the parliamentary process. The Deputy Speaker who resigned – for no reason of politics, governance or parliamentary process, whose resignation papers even went to the President — re-contested for the same office! Ranjith Siyambalapitiya was re-elected with a large majority, defeating one of the best MPs in the House, who is also the son of another Speaker, and a member of a minority community.

Continue reading ‘The mass struggle of today – the hartal – is the call for true democracy, which was not the best from 74 years of freedom in 1948, and much worsened and hugely corrupt after 1977.’ »

By Bishop Duleep de Chickera

People’s protests today, occupy the public space as the people clamour to create and occupy democratic space. This receives public attention and worries the oppressor.

Today’s protests demand change. The sovereignty of the people has been brazenly ursurped by callous and arrogant legislators. They must go if the people are to breathe as lawful citizens, once again.

Something breathtaking is happening at Galle Face. A popular, breezy green has been turned into a vibrant, gusty arena. All who value freedom are welcome; and they come. All except those who have contaminated every nook and corner of our lives. As the protest grows, space for those who were everywhere, shrinks.

The protest-space gathers people who have never before stood in protests. They come to learn that governance, both bad and good, is their business. The energy of the protest-space is infectious. Those afraid to raise a voice, or pick up a pen, are being set free. They return to discover themselves in their diversity, in the security of each other and in the resounding cries for rights and protection against representatives turned tormentors. The protest-space is more than crowds and noise. It changes fear into freedom, silence into resistance and indifference into a yearning for truth and justice.

Continue reading ‘Young protesters make sacrifices and pay a price. Camping at the GGG, through sun and rain, deprives them of an income and postpones personal dreams. Whatever the outcome, history will recognise these young visionaries who dared to imagine the protest-space and make it real.’ »

An emergency Cabinet meeting called by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa ended last night amidst conflicting reports of the imminent resignation of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Soon after news broke that the President had asked the Prime Minister to resign, a spokesman for the PMs office denied the claim.

Continue reading ‘Several Ministers in Newly Appointed Cabinet Call for Resignation of Mahinda Rajapaksa so that a New Prime Minister Could be Appointed; President Gotabya Su too wants his Brother to Step Downn s PM but Mahinda remains Non Committal’ »

By Chandani Kirinde

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa last night declared a state of emergency with immediate effect as public protests calling for his resignation intensified.

The emergency regulations which give wide powers to the armed forces to detain and arrest persons as well as quell public protests were declared under the Public Security Ordinance and came into operation throughout Sri Lanka with effect from midnight on 6 May.

The announcement from the President’s office came after he held an emergency Cabinet meeting to discuss the prevailing situation in the country.

Continue reading ‘President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declares a state of emergency with immediate effect From May 6 Midnight as public protests calling for his resignation intensify; announcement from the President’s office came after he held an emergency Cabinet meeting to discuss the prevailing situation in the country.’ »

By

Meera Srinivasan

Several hundred people gathered outside Sri Lanka’s Parliament late Thursday night, hours after police tear-gased students who marched to the spot as part of ongoing citizens’ protests against the ruling Rajapaksas.

Their agitations continued all day on Friday, braving fresh rounds of water cannons and tear gas unleashed by police, as the Parliament convened.

Meanwhile, nearly 2,000 worker unions from the public and private sector joined a massive Hartal on Friday, in one of the largest strike actions in Sri Lanka in recent history. Train and bus transport came to a virtual standstill across the island, with only private vehicle seen on the road. Employees at most commercial establishments, including banks, did not report to work.

The demonstrators chanted anti-government slogans outside the Parliament complex, in the latest escalation of agitations demanding that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resign, taking responsibility for the economic meltdown in the island.

Continue reading ‘Island -Wide Hartal Launched by Over 2000 Trade Unions Paralyses Sri Lanka While Protests by Students Outside Parliament Continue Day and Night Despite Use of Tear Gas and ater Cannons by Police’ »

Ranjith Siyambalapitiya who was elected as Deputy Speaker on Thursday by way of a secret ballot in Parliament resigned from the post last evening.

.In a letter addressed to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the Kegalle District SLFP MP said that his decision to take up the post has turned public opinion against him and he did not want to be an enemy to the people.

Continue reading ‘Kegalle District SLFP MP Ranjith Siyambalapitiya who was elected as Deputy Speaker on Thursday Sends Resigntion Letter to President Rajapaksa on Friday Saying his decision to take up the post has turned public opinion against him and that he did not want to be an enemy to the people.’ »

By

Chandani Kirinde

Ranjith Siyam-balapaiaya was re-elected as Deputy Speaker in a secret ballot held in parliament yesterday with 148 MPs voting for him and 65 for the Samagi Jana Balawegaya nominee Imtiaz Bakeer Markar. Siyambalapitiya’s name was proposed by MP Nimal Siripala De Silva and seconded by Susil Premajayanth while Bakeer Markar was nominated by SJB MP Ranjith Maddumabandara and seconded by Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella.

A secret vote was held to elect the Deputy Speaker with a ballot box placed in the Well of the House and MPs casting their ballot after each one’s name was called out. The votes were subsequently counted by parliamentary officials and the results announced by Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena.

Siyambalapitiya won by a majority of 83 votes while three votes were spoiled. Eight MPs including Mayantha Dissanayake, S. Nohathalingam, Udikka Premaratne, Imran Maharoof, C.V. Vigneswaran, Wimal Weerawansa, R. Sampanthan and John Seneviratne were absent during the vote.

Continue reading ‘Leader of Opposition Sajith Premadasa saiys Deputy Speaker Election vote exposed the nexus between the SLFP/SLPP dissidents and the ruling party.’ »

Reacting to the election of Government MP Ranjith Siyambalapitiya as Deputy Speaker of Parliament yesterday (5), the main Parliamentary Opposition, the Samagi Jana Balawegeya (SJB), as well as the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), claimed that the MPs formerly of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Government camp and who now sit independently in Parliament are still secretly supporting President Gotabaya Rajapaksa whilst fooling the public.

SJB and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa said in Parliament yesterday that the façade of opposition put up by these independent MPs had disappeared.

“During the voting process, the true nature of various people has been revealed to the whole nation. Now everybody sees through the fake message they have been trying to give out through their pretence. Today, Siyambalapitiya has also unfortunately become a protector of this Government. The protestors will take note of this. However, I can say that we are genuinely opposed to the President and the Government,” he said, following the secret ballot that reinstated Siyambalapitiya as the Deputy Speaker.

SJB MP Dr. Harsha de Silva claimed that only the 65 MPs who voted for the Opposition’s candidate, SJB MP Imthiaz Bakeer Markar, are standing with the protestors.

Continue reading ‘Deputy Speaker Election Voting Has Exposed the Truth that So Called “Independent” MP’s who Claimed to Have Defected From the SLPP Led Govt are Fooling the People and Secretly Supporting President Gotabaya Rajapaksa Charge SJB and TNA’ »

SLFP MP Ranjith Siyambalapitiya was today re-elected Deputy Speaker by a majority of 83 votes in a secret ballot.

A total of 148 members voted for Mr. Siyambalapitiya and SJB MP Imthiaz Bakeer Markar obtained 65 votes. Three votes were rejected.

Continue reading ‘SLFP’s Ranjit Siyambalapitiya who Resigned Last Month is Re – elected Deputy Speaker With 148 Votes; SJB’s Imtiaz Bakeer Markar gets 65; 3 MP’s Spoil their Vote; SLPP, SLFP and So Called Independents Back Ranjit while SJB,TNA and JVP Support Imtiaz’ »

BY Pamodi Waravita

Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena yesterday (5) refused to enter the no-confidence motion (NCM) against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa into the Order Book of the Parliament immediately, stating that he needs to first consult the Attorney General about its legality, while the NCM against the Government will be placed in the Order Book of the Parliament today (6).

“At the party leaders’ meeting, the Speaker agreed to place the NCM against the Government in the Order Book. But he insisted on consulting the Attorney General about the NCM against the President,” Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) MP and Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Spokesperson M.A. Sumanthiran PC told The Morning yesterday (5).

Continue reading ‘Speaker Refuses to Enter No Confidence Motion Submitted by SJB Against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa into Parliament Order Book Saying he has to Consult Attorney – General About Motion’s Legality’ »

By Chandani Kirinde

The main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) yesterday handed over two No-Confidence Motions, one against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and another against the Government, to Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena.

The No-Confidence Motion against the Government was handed over after weeks of speculation on whether the Opposition can muster enough votes to get it passed. The motion was signed only by members of the SJB even though the party has been in talks with other groups opposed to the Government to get them to vote for the motion.

Yesterday several SLFP members met with SJB counterparts.

The motion also comes as over 50 SLPP MPs who have chosen to sit in Opposition are in talks with the President to set up an all-party interim Government as a short-term measure to overcome the economic problems facing the country.

Continue reading ‘Among Allegations Stated in the No Confidence Motion Against President Rajapaksa is that he has continuously made decisions based on the counsel of a soothsayer W.M. Gnanawathi alias ‘Gnanakka’,while also using public funds to construct her temple and provide her with military protection.’ »

By

Jamila Husain

Hours after the main opposition SJB handed over a No-Confidence Motion (NCM) against the President and another against the Prime Minister to Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena last afternoon, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said he was confident of winning the NCM against him as he held the majority support in Parliament.

The Prime Minister, speaking to Daily Mirror said that he would not let this NCM hinder his work to resolve the ongoing economic crisis, as the majority of MPs in Parliament supported him and had pledged support to his Premiership and his solutions to resolve the ongoing crisis.

“I am very confident of winning the NCM. I have the numbers with me in Parliament. If I lose the numbers, I will step down,” Rajapaksa said. The Prime Minister further said that reports circulating of his resignation today are false, and he will not resign from the Premiership.

Continue reading ‘“I am very confident of winning the NCM. I have the numbers with me in Parliament. If I lose the numbers, I will step down, If the President tells me to go, I will leave immediately. But there has been no such request,” says Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’ »

By Chandani Kirinde

Finance Minister Ali Sabry yesterday told Parliament that the country’s economy is at a critical level and warned that painful reforms lie ahead irrespective of who is in power.

In a detailed statement to the House on the present fiscal situation in the country as well as the way forward, Sabry admitted that wrong policies of the current administration had contributed to the present plight of the country, saying the tax cuts given in late 2019 after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa took office is a historic mistake.

“Revenue foregone due to the tax cuts introduced in late 2019, which was estimated to be more than Rs. 500 billion, has resulted in sovereign rating agencies to downgrade Sri Lanka to near default levels. In my opinion this is a historic mistake,” Sabry said.

He also said the 2022 Budget was no longer feasible and that the Government plans to present a new Budget shortly keeping with the new ground realities.

Continue reading ‘“Nightwatchman” Finance Minister Ali Sabry Admits that “ wrong policies of the current administration had contributed to the present plight of the country” and tells “Parliament that the country’s economy is at a critical level “and warns that “painful reforms lie ahead irrespective of who is in power.”’ »

BY Buddhika Samaraweera

Following an order issued by the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court and a heated debate between Police and protestors outside Temple Trees in Kollupitiya, vehicles parked on the pavement in the area and the constructions of the protest zone generally referred to as “MynaGoGama” were removed yesterday evening (4).

The heated debate took place when the Police produced a court order to the protestors and instructed them to dismantle the constructions. The protestors argued with the Police and asked that the Police first remove the buses that had been parked on the pavement.

Shortly after that, a group of pro-protest lawyers were seen advising the protestors that according to the court order, both the constructions and the vehicles needed to be removed. The lawyers further said that the court would consider the matter again on 9 May, and that protestors should be patient till then.

Following this, Police removed all their vehicles from the pavement, and soon after, the protestors followed suit by dismantling all their temporary constructions.

Continue reading ‘“Myna Go Gama” Opposite “Temple Trees” Dismantled Following Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Order not to Cause Obstruction on Pavements to Pedestrians; Kollupitiya Police Remove Their Vehicles While Protesters Take Down Their Temporary Constructions’ »

BY Buddhika Samaraweera and Dinitha Rathnayake

The arrest of 13 protestors in front of the entrance road to the Parliament in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte yesterday (4) has been criticised by Amnesty International, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), and the Parliamentary Opposition.

A total of 13 persons were arrested by the Maharagama Police while staging a protest in front of the entrance road to the Parliament yesterday afternoon, and were enlarged on personal bail in the evening after being produced before the Kaduwela Magistrate’s Court.

Continue reading ‘13 Protesters Arrested by Maharagma Police for llegedly Obstructing at Entrance Road to Parliament in Kotte and Enlarged on Personal Bail after Being Produced Before Kaduwela Magistrate’ »

by Tisaranee Gunasekara

“Ain’t it nice to fly?

But peace won’t be still of its own free will”

– Gil Scott-Heron (Free Will)

The Rajapaksa’s, an immovable object; the popular resistance, an unstoppable force; their meeting has created an impasse. Can it be unblocked constitutionally and peacefully before it is sundered anti-constitutionally and violently?

More than a month since the Mirihana protest changed the Lankan political landscape in unimaginable ways, the Rajapaksa’s continue to retain the levers of power. Gotabaya Rajapaksa is still the President and Mahinda Rajapaksa is till the PM (though the latter is widely expected to resign this week).

The President’s personal lawyer, a political novice with no base, and thus completely dependent on the Rajapaksa’s for survival, is in charge of the key portfolio of Finance. Basil Rajapaksa continues to act as the trouble-shooter – and possibly policymaker – behind the scenes.

The soothsayer-economics which gave us slash-and-burn tax cuts, money printing binge, exchange rate mismanagement and abracadabra fertiliser fiasco continues to inform policy. Two cases in point: VAT has been hiked – adding to inflationary pressures – while the 2019 tax bonanza to high earners remains untouched; had it not been the opposition from the Opposition, SriLankan Airlines, headed by a Rajapaksa business acolyte, would have gone ahead with plans to lease 21 planes, while people suffer and die for the lack of medicine.

At the ground level, the popular resistance continues, intent on evicting not this or that Rajapaksa but the entire family from politics. The popularity of President Gotabaya and PM Mahinda has plummeted, according to a survey by the Institute of Health Policy (IHP). Another national survey by the Centre for Policy Analysis (CPA) reveals that more than 87% percent of respondents want the whole Rajapaksa family to leave Lankan politics.

Both surveys identify economics as the main reason for the anti-Rajapaksa groundswell. In the CPA survey, 90% of respondents say that their income or the income of an immediate family member has been affected by the current crisis. Only 9% remain immune to the ongoing economic conflagration. 88% say they or an immediate family member had to stay in queues for essentials in the past month. Only 4.4% blame COVID and 2% blame international economics for their economic plight. A solid 62% blame the economic mismanagement by the Gotabaya Government for the country’s and their suffering.

The Rajapaksa Inc. is incapable of grasping the gravity of the crisis, and believes that both economic woes and popular resistance will melt away with time. Buying time and staying put seems to be their strategy.

Continue reading ‘Interim Government or all-parties Govt, any arrangement that permits the Rajapaksa’s hold onto the levers of power will worsen the crisis and drag Sri Lanka to a new low.’ »

by Uditha Devapriya

What happens to a mass scale uprising when it loses its radical potential? It loses direction, focus, and the will to continue. The protests unfolding in the country have cut across ethnic and social divisions, unifying disparate classes and groups that once warred with each other.

One middle-class protester, a private university student, celebrates the IUSF’s entry into the protests and claims that class is a fictional construct that does not matter, that the common enemy is the State, and that the Rajapaksas are their nemeses. Yet when a prominent State university lecturer notes the irony of public university bashing upper middle-class protesters joining hands with the IUSF, she is put down for promoting class divisions.

In a thoughtful post on social media, Dr Chamindra Weerawardhana acknowledges the urge among (predominantly young) protesters to belittle ethnic and class distinctions, but notes that it does the protests no credit to erase those distinctions away. Celebrating a Sri Lankan identity based on a common opposition to political elites, Dr Weerawardhana notes, does not weaken such demarcations but in fact reinforces them. Historically marginalised groups, to give the most obvious example, have been facing the brunt of State power over the last five decades, making any comparisons between them and other more privileged groups and communities rather meaningless, if not downright farcical.

At the ethnic level, there has been much debate over whether the protests ought to incorporate demands for de-militarisation in the north-east, the acknowledgement of war crimes, and opposition to continued harassment of minorities across the country. The Galle Face protests soured a little when a choir brought in to sing the national anthem, ostensibly as a show of unity against the Rajapaksas, did not include the Tamil version. Several tweets and social media posts later, amidst much debate and discussion, the event was re-enacted, this time with the Tamil version intact. Yet that did not keep the debates away.

Continue reading ‘It would be a betrayal of the Galle Face mandate, as it stands, to ignore legitimate concerns, like minority rights, on the pretext that they tend to dilute what the protesters are targeting, namely the removal of the Rajapaksas.’ »

By

Sanja De Silva Jayatilleka

It’s The People vs The Political Class, in the Aragalaya. The People are winning because they are clearer, more intelligent and are way ahead of the politicians. The parliamentarians who can’t seem to get what the people have made crystal clear, can play silly buggers only until the people stop letting them.The People have come together for a common cause, irrespective of their other differences. They have managed to distil the essence of their demands into a couple of slogans which cannot be more explicit.

The Parliamentarians, in the meantime, are still thrashing around, unable to come to a common position, nor able to persuade an adequate number into a majority to support any of their proposals.These things take time, they say. The Constitution doesn’t provide for that, they say. They look for solutions within their comfort zone, while the people, they represent, have long left that and are taking risks in a previously unchartered zone, packed with risk and danger. The politicians are not planning to follow their example anytime soon.

The People knew that the solutions had to come through the legislature. They did everything they could to send their message through their protests, which are spread across the island so no one could possibly miss it. But, increasingly, it is dawning on the people that their message is just not getting through. The ugly truth is revealed that the representatives of the people have been living in a parallel universe once they crossed the Diyawanna, in which they began to believe they acquired some special status which elevated them above the people who are pretty much a sideshow.

Continue reading ‘The People said ‘Gota Go Home’. They said ‘MR Go Home’ The People expect the Rajapaksas to vacate forthwith so the country could be saved from plunging further into the abyss’ »

Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) Leader MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday (3) presented over 100 files pertaining to various alleged cases of corruption in Sri Lanka, implicating a string of high profile politicians including the ruling Rajapaksa family, Government MP Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Opposition and Samagi Jana Balawegaya Leader Sajith Premadasa, and United National Party Leader and Opposition MP Ranil Wickremesinghe.

“Corruption is not limited to one man’s actions. It is not like stealing a coconut from a neighbour. Corruption on this scale is done with the blessings of the State, which is protected by the people’s mandate,” claimed Dissanayake, at an event organised by the JVP-affiliated Voice against Corruption (Dooshana Virodi Handa) yesterday.

“There is a ring of businessmen and politicians, a handful of dealmakers, some public officials, some officials of investigative authorities, some media owners, and even some in places where the law is supposed to work, who are involved in such corruption.”

Dissanayake first spoke on information about a number of cases which were investigated internationally.

Continue reading ‘JVP- led NPP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake Presents Over a 100 Files pertaining to Allegations of Corruption Against Politicians such as Maithripala, Basil, Namal, Mahindananda, Cabraal, Sajith, Ranil and Yoshita at Conference Organized by “Dooshana Virodi Handa”( Voice against Corruption)’ »

BY Ruwani Fonseka and Dinitha Rathnayake

Despite intense speculation and statements that Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa would be resigning from his post today (4) after making a special statement in Parliament, the Prime Minister’s Office maintains that Rajapaksa will not be stepping down today, and that the special statement will be about the current situation of the country.

Media Secretary to the Prime Minister Rohan Weliwita and Co-ordinating Secretary to the Prime Minister G. Cassilingham have both confirmed that the Prime Minister will not be stepping down, and that any information or reports to the contrary are “false”.

Speaking to The Morning yesterday, Weliwita said that the planned statement in Parliament is not about his resignation.

Continue reading ‘Even if Mahinda Rajapaksa Steps down as Prime Minister in Deference to the Maha Sangha’s Request, the SLPP will Nominate Mahinda again for the Post of Interim Govt Premier says Basil Rajapaksa’ »

BY Dinitha Rathnayake

Sajeewa Chamikara of the Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform (MONLAR) has alleged that a hotel named Sinharaja Green Eco Lodge is causing great damage to the Sinharaja environment through the development of a road leading to the hotel, and that the hotel project is linked to Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff Lieutenant Commander Yoshitha Rajapaksa.

“Until recently, the hotel operated under the name Sinharaja Green Eco Lodge, which was the name given to the hotel by the first owner. However, the board has been removed now and a by-road leading to the hotel is being repaired. This is a 1.5 km stretch of road. Those constructing the road are excavating the forest for the soil used to expand the road. There are a number of species of lizards, geckos, amphibians, snakes and frogs that only live in this area and most of them face a severe threat of extinction,” he claimed.

“Moreover, many areas of the Eastern Sinharaja have not been bio mapped, thus we do not know the extent of the damage that can be caused by a road going through this stretch of the forest. The road construction through the area, which has a number of cloud forests, has also not adhered to any environmental guidelines.

Continue reading ‘Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform (MONLAR) Alleges that activities Concerning “Sinharaja Green Eco Lodge” Linked to Yoshita Rajapaksa is Damaging Sinharaja Rain Forest Environment but Yoshita and Hotel Owner Deny any Connection .’ »

The main Parliamentary Opposition, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), handed over two no-confidence motions (NCMs), one against the incumbent Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP)-led Government and the other against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, to Speaker of Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana yesterday (3).

A group of SJB MPs led by SJB and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa presented the two NCMs to Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena at the Speaker’s official residence last afternoon.

Continue reading ‘Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Submits two separate no-confidence motions against the incumbent Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP)-led Government and against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to Speaker of Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana on May 3’ »

By

Ranga Jayasuriya

Soon after the military victory against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a nihilistic terrorist group of its right, Mahinda Rajapaksa, the then-president embarked on cultivating a full-pledged personal cult. That was not a fantasy that was exclusive to MR himself, many of his peers, and predecessors here and abroad had similar ambitions. Like them, he emerged from a semi-feudal, stagnant and prejudicial social setup.

MR was a Jonnie come late to this cabal, he came to a generation late, by when even much of Africa had shed their old guards, though not necessarily, had replaced them with a competent and committed new generation of leaders. That vacuum is a result of the social-cultural structures from where politics emanates itself.

But MR took to the building of a dynastic enterprise like a duck in the water. A large cut out of the president greeted the new arrivals at the airport as if he owns the country. Peans were sung in honour of Maharajanani (the great monarch), Rajapaksa’s siblings and his extended family occupied all government positions that mattered. The Rajapaksas became the state. Its institutions were relegated to rubber stamps to do his bid on his accord. It was the rule of the family!

Mahinda lavished public funds on his dynastic enterprise. He built a long list of vestige projects and named every other project after him. That was the sense of entitlement of the man. He genuinely thought he was destined to be the reincarnated Dutu Gemunu. So, he introduced the 18th amendment to the Constitution, which removed the mandatory term limits of the presidency, effectively making him the president for life, even before Putin tried the same ploy much later.

Continue reading ‘Gotabaya Rajapaksa proved to be not just ignorant but criminally liable for the self-made disaster of the agricultural sector through his idiotic ban on chemical fertilizer.’ »

By

Kelum Bandara

Political unrest still prevails in the country, with the chorus urging President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to step down. An interim government representative of all the parties with MPs in Parliament has been proposed by some parties and groups in the meantime to run the country for a short period –may be one year- to work out solutions to public grievances such as the shortage of LPG, fuel and soaring cost of living.

The 40 MPs who declared independent of the government are the key proponents of the interim arrangement to douse tension and figure out a way forward. These 40 MPs operate under three banners after deciding to sit independently in Parliament- the 11 –party alliance, Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) independent group. The group has taken a rebellious posture and is keen on a new government replacing the current Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Cabinet. They held talks even last Tuesday and discussed the basic frame of governance under such an administration.

In the meantime, the President also announced on Wednesday that he is willing to form such a government with a Cabinet inclusive of members of all the parties with parliamentary representation. The opposition parties- Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) – have taken to the streets, mounting pressure on the government. The Galle Face protesters persist with their demand.

Continue reading ‘Prime Minister Mahinda Raiapaksa is obviously having friction with his brother President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and is not ready at all to relinquish office’ »

By
Jamila Husain

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in a conversation with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa today said the President, under the 20th amendment, has the authority to make decisions to resolve the ongoing political crisis and he would extend his fullest cooperation to any decisions made by the President.

The Daily Mirror learns that Prime Minister Rajapaksa had informed the President that he did not have to wait to make any decisions, but could do so immediately as he had the power to do so.

Continue reading ‘President Rajapaksa in a Private Conversation Urges Prime Minister Rajapaksa to Resign but Mahinda tells Gotabaya that he wont resign because he is engaged in an economic recovery project and that the executive President could use his powers and sack him if he so desired.’ »

By

Nirupama Subramanian

It was sometime in 1997. In Colombo, in the basement banquet hall of a five-star hotel, the “milk man of India” was addressing a press conference to announce a $20 million joint venture between the National Dairy Development Board and Sri Lanka’s state-owned MILCO.

It would be called Kiriya — kiri being the Sinhalese word for milk. Varghese Kurien was upbeat about his new project. He had come at the invitation of then President Chandirka Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. He said the aim was to make Sri Lanka self-sufficient in milk. We want to replicate Operation Flood here, he said.

By then, I had been about a year or so in Colombo as the Sri Lanka correspondent of The Indian Express, long enough to realise that fresh milk was an exotic commodity, and milk powder ruled the market — rows of neatly stacked packs of full-cream milk powder on supermarket shelves, and in the refrigerated sections, tubs of creamy yoghurt made with imported milk powder, and a full range of cheese, all flown in from Europe and Down Under.

Continue reading ‘How Sri Lanka’s Milk Powder Importers, Trade Unons and Govt Politicians Sabotaged the “Kiriya” Joint Venture Dairy Project Between India’s NDDB and Lanka’s MILCO Initiated by the “Milkman of India” Dr.Varghese Kurien to make the Island Selfsufficient in Milk.’ »

By Arun Janardhanan

The Tamil Nadu Assembly’s move to pass a resolution Friday urging the Centre to allow the state Government to send humanitarian aid to the people of Sri Lanka came in the wake of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central Government not responding to its similar requests made earlier. The resolution was brought by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led Government in the midst of its escalating tussle with Governor R.N. Navi over various issues.

MK Stalin

After moving the resolution, which was passed unanimously by the House with the support of all parties including the BJP, Chief Minister (CM) and DMK President M.K. Stalin again wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to issue necessary directions to the Ministry of External Affairs to process and facilitate the early movement of essential relief items, such as food and medicines, that the Tamil Nadu Government has proposed to send to the neighbouring country, which has been reeling under an unprecedented economic crisis.

The state Government’s initial plan is to send 40,000 tonnes of rice worth INR 800 million, 137 types of life-saving medicines valued at INR 280 million, and 500 tonnes of milk powder worth INR 150 million to Sri Lanka.

Continue reading ‘How and Why the DMK Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M.K. Stalin took the Initiative in Sending Humanitarian Aid to Sri Lanka in General and the Island’s Tamil People in Particular’ »

By

Nirupama Rao

(Nirupama Rao, a former Foreign Secretary, was India’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka. She is the author of The Fractured Himalaya: India Tibet China 1949 to 19aaa62, Penguin Viking, 2021)

India is Sri Lanka’s only neighbour. It follows that what happens in Sri Lanka, especially if it involves the suffering of Sri Lankans, concerns India. The numerous ties that bind the two countries are too myriad to enumerate in this column. Suffice it to say that Sri Lankans, whether Sinhalese or Tamil, are our first cousins removed only by the Palk Strait.

In geopolitical terms, Sri Lanka’s location is the pivot-literally that cockpit guarding prime navigaton routes, that key neighbourhood watch-over the vast expanse of the southern Indian Ocean.

Conversely, from Sri Lanka, the southern Indian pen-
insula is within touching distance, which is why any talk of Chinese infrastructure projects in the northern part of the island is strategic anathema to India. India has reached out to Sri Lanka in response to Colombo’s distress signals and our help has been timely and provided some relief to a beleaguered people. The political situation in the island is however not amenable to such first-aid solutions.

Continue reading ‘India must guard against being identified in the eyes of ordinary Sri Lankans as propping up an unpopular regime whose legitimacy is increasingly being questioned on the streets.’ »

China will be treated equal to all other external creditors and will not be given any preferential treatment when Sri Lanka carries out its debt restructuring, the island nation’s Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said on Friday (29).

Sri Lanka on April 12 announced that it was suspending all foreign debt repayments as it had run out of foreign currency reserves and it will be restructuring all its external debts.

A Sri Lankan delegation led by Finance Minister Ali Sabry including Weerasinghe held talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on its plans for debt sustainability while requesting an IMF funding to overcome the financial crisis.

China was in discussion with Sri Lanka on lending a 1 billion US dollar to repay existing Chinese loans due in July and another 1.5 billion US dollar credit line to purchase goods.

Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka Will not Give Preferential Treatment to China in Debt Restructuring says Central Bank Governor; “We have made it very clear. If we offer a concession to one creditor, then we have to give the same concession to all the creditors.” Says Dr.Nandalal Weerasinghe’ »

By

Chandani Kirinde

The Sri Lanka Parliament marks the 40th anniversary of its move to Sri Jayawardenepura, Kotte today. It comes at a particularly tumultuous and trying time for parliamentary democracy in the country with the public focused on their elected representatives more than ever before.

When the country’s first executive president J.R. Jayewardene declared open the new Parliament building on 29 April 1982, it was the culmination of a process which began as far back as 1967 to construct new building for the House of Representatives to accommodate more members as alteration or extension to the existing building at Galle Face was deemed not viable.

When plans for a new Parliament were first mooted, land close to Galle Face Green by the side of the Beira Lake parallel to the land where the old Parliament stands was earmarked for the project but the construction of a new parliament took the backseat as successive governments grappled with social and economic turmoil and investment in such an ambitious project would have met with public disapproval.

Continue reading ‘When the “Temple of Democracy” was Relocated 40 Yeas ago from the side of Beira Lake at Galle Face to an Island in the Diyawanna Oya at Kotte’ »

Hundreds of Buddhist monks called on the President and the Government to immediately implement the Mahanayaka Theras’ proposals to resolve the prevailing economic crisis.

The monks who gathered at Independence Square warned that if the proposals were not implemented, the Mahanayaka Theras would issue a Sangha Convention edict calling on monks to shun politicians.

The monks called on Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to resign forthwith to make way for the appointment of an interim government comprising parties represented in Parliament.

Continue reading ‘Buddhist Monks Threaten to Shun all Politicians if Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa does not resign forthwith to make way for the appointment of an interim government comprising parties represented in Parliament.under resident Gotabaya Rajapaksa’ »

A Sangha Convention held at the Independence Square yesterday (30 April) called on Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to step down to facilitate a smooth transition of power to an all-party interim government, aimed at creating political stability, rebuilding public faith in governance, and facilitating economic recovery.

The decree of the Sangha Convention calling for the Prime Minister’s resignation was read out at the Independence Square by Ven. Ogalanwatte Chandrasiri Thera.

Continue reading ‘Buddhist Clergy Intervenes in Politics Again; Sangha Convention Passes Decree Demanding the Resignation of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Setting up of an all party Interm Govt; threatens rejection of all politcians if Mahnda Does not step down’ »

By

Kishali Pinto Jayawardene

There is a trace of helplessness and more than a touch of cruel ridicule to dramatic protest scenes being played out this week in front of Temple Trees, the official residence of the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka.

The State has become a satire

The loud chanting of ‘pirith’ by Buddhist monks on megaphones to drown the sound of the youth clamouring for Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to leave, makes the Rajapaksa apparatus of the State, now tottering in its defences, more the stuff of a Sunil Perera satirical parody than a Terminator, as it were. Did it have to come to this?

That a Prime Minister, who as an activist, launched the Jana Ghosha (‘Peoples’ Roar’) movement of opposition parliamentarians, has to resort to megaphone religious chants to make daily existence more palatable for himself and his entourage?

In any event, the genius in the Prime Minister’s staff who thought of this less than intelligent strategy to drown out the protests, missed a key point. Buddhist practices reflected in the recital of verses are typically to ward off evil influences and afflictions. So, are peaceful demonstrations equated, in the thinking of this Government, to ‘evil influences’?

Continue reading ‘The Government and the Presidency have to bear responsibility for the decimation of the nation and for its shameful regression, socially, financially and legally, with worse to come.’ »

By The “Sunday Morning” Political Editor

No Confidence Motions (NCMs) against the President and the Government are to be submitted to Parliament this week, it is learnt.

The NCM against the President was drafted by a team of legal experts led by Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP M.A. Sumanthiran PC while the NCM against the Government is being moved by the main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB).
MP Sumanthiran told The Sunday Morning that the NCM against the President was ready and would be presented to Parliament most probably on Wednesday (4) along with the SJB’s NCM against the Government.

Continue reading ‘Two No Confidence Motions Against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa as well as Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to be Submitted to Parliament on the same day this week’ »

By

Lucien Rajakarunanayake

This is just after the first ever single day, countrywide, strike action in Sri Lanka.As the protests against the Rajapaksa Brotherhood continue, we may be moving to the next big Hartal in this country. After the historic Hartal in 1953 – which saw country-wide civil-disobedience and strike, where 10 people were killed, and Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake resigned.

While the protests at Galle Face and near Temple Trees continue, with recorded Pirith chanting seen as a key government weapon against the Mahindagama protesters, and the SJB activists walk from Kandy to Colombo, the Gota Go game is fast moving to a Play in Parliament.

Who has 113? This number is the focus in the parliamentary play about sending Gota home, and removing the Cabinet led by Mahinda. Everyone in the parliamentary field is looking for a catch on 113 – the majority number in the 225-member House.
Can the Podujana team of Gotabaya be sure of its hold on 113? Will the so-called dissident team of 40 who have crossed over from the government to opposition benches be able to gather 113, or are they serious about it? Can the Sajith Premadasa-led SJP team be able to show a winning 113, even with JVP, and some other independent support? How can the Sumanthiran-led Tamil-politico team create a new record with 113?

The 113 votes in parliament have become the real Gota Go Home battle, the emerging drive against Mahinda R, as well as the political number against the Rajapaksa Rajapavula.

In many debates on TV, radio and in social media, there are those who insist that Gota should not be made to resign; they ask, “Who is there to succeed him?” Can it be just any other member of the 225-member parliament? How educated, politically experienced, and honest (if possible) would such a presidential nominee be? This is an interesting play in the Pohottuva moves to keep Gota in today’s place, and because Mahinda Mama cannot seek another presidential position.

These Pohottu players, and their supporters, including lawyers, academics, and many Sinhala- Buddhist nationalists, are playing on the 113 watch and catch, hoping for a fade away of Galle Face activists and the Mahindagama protesters, not sullied by the Political Pirith Play.
Whatever the Gota-Mahinda way down politics of today produces, it is important for Sri Lankans to see the new need to bring new, and big changes to the 225 in parliament, with the power of 113 plus.
What we need after the Gota/Mahinda and Rajapavula are hard facts brought by the JRJ constitution and played with great success by the present Rajapavula.
Do we need to give elected Members of Parliament (MPs) any vehicles at all? If we do, can’t they manage with small vehicles? Let’s not forget that we had enough MPs from North, South, East and Central who did come for their parliamentary duties by bus and train.
How much will or should an MP be paid per month, and what should the cost of their daily meals in parliament be, paid for by the people?
How can laws or regulations be passed to make sure that MPs do not give spouses, children, cousins and in-laws, too, of public paid jobs in the public offices they function – including as Ministers of both Cabinet and State?

There is much more of this need to cut down on Parliamentary expenditure, and save public money that is hugely wasted by all parliamentary players today. This is not just Rajapaksa crookedness, but the warped play of almost all MPs today – the 225 with 113 plus.
What party or group in Parliament today will seriously think of a change back to the electoral system, where MPs were elected from area electorates and not whole districts? It was that electoral system which made the MPs known to the people, and good servers to the public and not as corrupt political thieves. We certainly need 113 and many more to restore honesty to politics and governance.
How many in today’s Parliament will be willing to give a 113 or more vote to stop the current system of appointed members of Parliament, bringing in hugely defeated members by the public vote, and other players in politics who have had no role in service to the public? Let us think of those Appointed MPs of the very early Parliaments, before that system was brought into ridicule and the mockery it is today. This would also need 113 plus for good democratic play.
The action that continues at the Galle Face Green and the new protests near Temple Trees, as well as protests in many parts on the country, call for a major return to Democracy, with the true spread of the democratic process – and far away from the Rajavasala Balaya of the Rajapaksa Bunch.
This is the real play of the 113 and plus in Parliament, not only to get rid of both Gota and Mahinda, brother Basil, old Speaker player and the very hopeful Namal – son and nephew.
Let the prayers and hopes of the people rise above the chants of the Rajapaksa Players, with a truly democratic play of 113 and more in the Parliament of the People.

Courtesy:The Island

By

Dr.Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu

The situation in the country is one of dynamism as well as stalemate.

Dynamism on account of the determination, creativity and resilience of the Gotagogama demonstrators, the extension of their efforts to the Mainagogama demonstration outside Temple Trees to the sheer celebration of Sri Lanka’s diversity and the unity of its peoples, to the presentation of the 21st Amendment in Parliament by the SJB Opposition and their mammoth march from Kandy, culminating in Colombo on May Day as well as the Hartal; stalemate because the Rajapaksas show no sense of shame and indeed self-respect to heed the call of the people and GO.

The concession of some elements of the 19th Amendment being reintroduced is being suggested by them. However, both Gotabaya and Mahinda Rajapaksa intend to stay in Government, tinker with the Constitution, shuffle the pack of ministers, in the belief that in the longer or long haul the protests will evaporate and eventually be abandoned.

They are being disabused of this attitude and belief on a daily basis, but admittedly insufficiently so far, to heed the message of the country. Consequently, pressure must intensify to demonstrate to them that they cannot govern the country – yes, the country must be made ungovernable under their remit, by peaceful and non-violent action. Peaceful non-cooperation should be considered, with the consent, cooperation and active participation of the private sector as well to succeed.

Continue reading ‘As the chief executive of the country, elected to provide strong and decisive leadership Gotabaya Rajapaksa has failed miserably. Forcing Gotabaya to go is the immediate issue. Once he is gone Parliament can act to install a head of state and an interim government which will bring in the necessary reforms’ »

By Arundathie Abeysinghe

The worst fears of Sri Lanka’s tea and apparel sectors have become a reality as they are losing their orders to competitors, and India, Sri Lanka’s neighbour, is a major beneficiary.

As Sri Lanka is facing a severe dollar crisis, its capacity to import food, gas, fuel, medicine, and essential items has been severely curtailed, and the island nation has sought assistance from its neighbour India to purchase necessary commodities. China has also provided loans, which many doubt Sri Lanka will be unable to pay.

Continue reading ‘Economic Crisis Causes Sri Lanka’s Tea and Apparel Export Sectors to Lose Orders to Competitors with Big Neighbour India Being the Major Beneficiary’ »

By

Jamila Husain

Former President Maithripala Sirisena today said President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had agreed to form an interim government under a new Prime Minister for a short period, but this was denied by senior officials in the President’s office who attended the meeting.

Continue reading ‘Former President Sirisena’s Claim that President Rajapaksa had agreed to form an interim government under a new Prime Minister for a short period is denied by senior officials in the President’s office who attended the meeting with dissident SLPP MPs’ »

Confusion reigned yesterday disappointing many as political leaders failed to deliver and be sincere to a protesting nation.

A meeting between President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and a group of dissident SLPP MPs ended yesterday with plans to nominate five representatives from the group to devise the modalities of setting up an all-party Government but all main Opposition parties have rejected any power sharing while the President remains in office.

The President told the group led by former President Maithripala Sirisena that he would agree to the interim administration mooted by the group if all political parties supported it.

Continue reading ‘Maithripala Sirisena says Gotabya agreed to interim setup with new Prime Minister and Cabinet but President’s office says no such undertaking was given and that Mahinda still has majority support in Parliament’ »

By

Jamila Husain

In a meeting held with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and the government parliamentarians last evening, 117 MPs said Mahinda Rajapaksa should continue as the Prime Minister and further informed the President and Prime Minister both should continue.

109 MPs were physically present while 8 MPs could not attend due to other appointments. After many heated arguments, the MPs were of the view that the President and Prime Minister should continue and discussed the present crisis and the way forward.

Continue reading ‘Mahinda Rajapaksa to Continue as Prime Minister with the Support of 117 MPs of the SLPP – led Government.’ »

Following queries made by Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Parliamentarians, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has stated yesterday (28) that he has not asked Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to resign, and neither does he have any intention of doing so, The Morning learnt.

This had been communicated by the President to the SLPP MPs during a meeting held yesterday in the presence of the PM, sources within the Government told The Morning.

At the meeting, several SLPP backbenchers, along with some senior MPs, had inquired from the President as to his stance on the Premiership and whether he plans to request Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to resign to pave the way for an all-party interim government.

Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka Podujana Party Backbencher MP’s ask President Rajapaksa whether he plans to request Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to resign to pave the way for an all-party interim govt; Gotabaya Replies that he has not made such a request so far, and does not intend to do so in the future either.’ »

By Meera Srinivasan

It is not just Sri Lanka’s angry citizens and political Opposition who are challenging the Rajapaksa administration’s “failed” response to the country’s dire economic condition. Increasingly, prominent capitalists and big businesses are shedding their habitual caution and openly criticising the political impasse that is further threatening the country’s crashing economy.

MAS Holdings, among the biggest names in the apparel industry in the region, issued a statement last week “unconditionally supporting” protesters’ call for change and good governance, and urging leaders “to heed the voice of the people and act on it”.

Continue reading ‘Prominent Capitalists and Big Businesses in Sri Lanka are Shedding their Customary Caution and are Openly Criticising Rajapaksa Govt and Extending Support for the AntiGovt Protests’ »

The government group meeting presided over by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa held this evening ended inconclusively over remarks made by certain politicians.

The President has spoken about the current issues plaguing the country and allowed the floor to the others.

Parliamentarian Tissa Kuttiarachchi, at this stage, fired a few salvos at Dulla Allahapperuma for allegedly conspiring to remove the sitting Prime Minister. Dullas Allahapperuma reacted angrily, saying that he was not a part of such a conspiracy.

Prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said that Dullas wouldn’t do such a thing being one of his closest political allies. The Prime Minister said that he was responsible for bringing Dullas to politics.

Continue reading ‘President Gotabaya Rajapaksa Tells Govt MP’s that he never wanted Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to Resign as Prime Minister and States that he Values his Elder Brother More than anything’ »

By

Neshella Perera

A Sri Lankan opposition legislator has been prohibited from taking part in anti-government protests for a period of two weeks, a court ordered on Thursday (28) as protests in the crisis-hit island nation continued across the country demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Local police in the Eastern district of Batticaloa obtained the court order preventing Shanakiyan Rasamanickam, a legislator from the opposition Tamil National Alliance (TNA), and his associates taking part of any protest within the district for 14 days.

“Shanakiyan has been restrained from demonstrating against the government by a court order obtained by the Kaluwanchikudy Police,” TNA spokesman M A Sumanthiran tweeted.

Continue reading ‘Kaluwaanchikkudi Police Obtain Court Order Restraiing TNA Parliamentarian Shanakiyan Rasamanickam and his Associates from Participating in Anti-Govt Protests in the Btticaloa District for 14 Days’ »

Over a thousand trade unions in Sri Lanka effectively shut down the country on Thursday (28) in a one-day token strike, demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his government over the country’s worsening economic crisis.

Unions representing ports, railway, petroleum, health, banking and education sectors are taking part in the strike across the country, in solidarity with protestors with no party affiliation gathered outside the presidential secretariat in Colombo and at other protest sites around the island.

Continue reading ‘One-day token strike Launched by Over a thousand trade unions in Sri Lanka demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his govt over the country’s worsening economic crisis effecively shuts down the country on Thursday (28)’ »

As the sun goes down the numbers swell on Galle Face Green, a promenade facing the Indian Ocean in downtown Colombo where families and lovers typically come to stroll and fly kites. These days it hosts a more purposeful crowd. Families are there, but so are farmers, students and their professors, Buddhist monks, Catholic nuns, Muslims and members of Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority.

A makeshift settlement has sprung up. There are teach-ins at the “People’s University” and slapstick plays for children. The capital’s classiest choir has even led a rousing rendition of “Do you hear the people sing?”. This is Gota Go Gama: “Gota Go Village”. “Gota” is short for Gotabaya. The whole carnival takes aim at the president, the 72-year-old Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and his family: Go, Gota, just go.

The Rajapaksas are not used to being treated this way. They have dominated Sri Lanka’s politics since Gotabaya’s elder brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa, won a presidential election in 2005. As defence secretary, Gotabaya oversaw the armed forces in a ghastly civil war against Tamil rebels. Tens of thousands of trapped civilians were killed in the denouement.

Continue reading ‘“The Rajapaksas have always been as thick as any Sicilian family. Whatever their differences, they knew they needed to stand together. From now on, it seems, the Rajapaksas stand separately.”- The Economist’ »

By

Prof. Asoka N.I. Ekanayaka

Nothing is more ludicrous and laughable than desperate government politicians who voted for the monstrous 20th amendment like Charitha Herath and Alahaperuma, now proposing that the Prime Minister and cabinet (but strangely not the President!) should resign with the formation of an all party coalition government of some kind in order to save the country. One wonders whether these men might fancy being in such a dubious interim administration.

How dare such failed politicians make such preposterous suggestions, who have themselves during the past two years been shameless lackeys of a corrupt and criminal family government that has ruined the country, and therefore bear collective responsibility for the current catastrophe? That they fall short of calling for the prompt resignation of a President who is hated by millions of protestors on the streets and regarded as the ‘villain of the piece’ is revealing. It shows that underlying such self serving suggestions by SLPP/SLFP politicians and their partners in government these past two years, is the desperate need to save their own political skins where millions of enraged protestors up and down the country are out for their blood.

The plain truth is that all the 160 MPs (156 voting for + 4 abstaining) who supported the abominable 20th amendment that contemptuously robbed the sovereignty of the people by giving tyrannical power to an ordinary soldier turned president, stand condemned for their part in the ruination of the country, the effects of which may last for generations. Along with the President and Prime Minister and a monumentally corrupt family oligarchy every one of the 160 MPs is guilty by association in the unforgivable crime of ruining the economy and pauperizing millions whose misery and suffering resulting in disease and premature death is incalculable.

That is why Sajith Premadasa the SJB leader is correct in declaring that his party is not agreeable to sitting in any coalition government with the members of the Rajapaksa family. Logically this prohibition must include refusing to sit in any interim administration with any of the 160 MPs who have been shameless lackeys of this Rajapaksa government these past 2 years upholding it in power and enjoying the manifold benefits thereof – blood sucking political leeches all, feeding off a moribund carcass of a super rich family oligarchy that has fattened itself on the wealth of a nation

Continue reading ‘MPs who were Shameless Lackeys of the Rajapaksa Regime and Voted for 20 A are now in desperation posturing as independent groups, making a show of crossing over to the opposition and pretending to distance themselves from the Rajapaksa family The bottom line is that those who have been part of the problem can never be part of the solution.’ »

In two seemingly contradictory statements yesterday (27), President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said that he is, in principle, willing to form an all-party government with the political parties represented in the Parliament, following the resignation of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet of Ministers, while Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had never asked him to resign from his position and believes the President would never make such a request.

The President conveyed his stance on an all-party government in a letter directed to all political party leaders in the ruling faction, as well as the leaders of political parties that represented the Government after the 2020 General Election and currently sit independently in the House.

The structure, tenure, and portfolios of this all-party government, which is to be established after the resignation of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet of Ministers, need to be agreed upon following discussions, the President said in the letter.

Continue reading ‘President Rajapaksa Says he is Willing to Form an All -Party Govt after Prime Minister and Present Cabinet Resign but Mahinda says Gota has not and will not ask him to resign’ »

.By

— With assistance by Asantha Sirimanne, and Anusha Ondaatjie

Ahead of the November 2019 election, Sri Lankan presidential challenger Gotabaya Rajapaksa proposed sweeping tax cuts so reckless the incumbent government thought it must be a campaign gimmick.

The finance minister at the time, Mangala Samaraweera, called a briefing to assail the “dangerous” pledge to reduce the value-added tax to 8% from 15% and scrap other levies. To him, it was simple math: Sri Lanka collected relatively less revenue than nearly any other country, and its high debt load had forced it to seek cash from the International Monetary Fund.

“If these proposals are implemented like this not only will the entire country go bankrupt,” the minister warned, “but the entire country will become another Venezuela or another Greece.”

It took about 30 months for his prediction to come true, in what’s become a cautionary tale for populist leaders navigating through a world of war, disease and high inflation.

After Rajapaksa won the 2019 election, reviving one of Asia’s most powerful dynasties, he passed the tax cut immediately in his first cabinet meeting. He then quickly restored presidential powers held during the 10-year rule of his strongman brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa, a period that saw the family end a nearly three-decade civil war before getting voted out in 2015 by a citizenry wary of increased oppression and indebtedness to China.

Instead of learning to govern with more humility, Rajapaksa rushed to restore the family’s brand of populist authoritarianism laced with appeals to nationalism among Sinhalese Buddhists, who make up 75% of the population.

Continue reading ‘A Powerful Dynasty Bankrupted Sri Lanka in Just 30 Months; policy mistakes led to shortages of food, electricity and medicine for the poor prompting angry protesters to hit the streets yelling “Go home Gota!” and “Gota is a madman!”’ »

BY Buddhika Samaraweera and Dinitha Rathnayake

Nearly 1,000 state, semi-government, and private sector trade unions are to engage in a joint token strike and hartal today (28) in support of the ongoing protests across the country demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, and the current Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna-led Government.

Speaking at a media briefing held yesterday (27), the trade union representatives said that the decision to launch the strike and hartal was in support of the strongest people’s struggle ever seen in the history of Sri Lanka.

Continue reading ‘Nearly 1,000 state, semi-government, and private sector trade unions Launch joint token strike and hartal on April 28 in support of the ongoing protests across the country demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna-led Govt.’ »

By

Jamila Husain

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa is presently facing one of his toughest challenges in his political career with certain sections of the population calling on him to step down with the present crises. In an exclusive interview with Daily Mirror, Mahinda Rajapaksa has urged the people to be patient, stating it was not practical for him and the President to resign because they had been elected through a mandate. He further said, there was no split between the two brothers and they were resolving the issues to restore normalcy soon.

Excerpts –

Q
Prime Minister, today, I am meeting you at a time when certain sections of the population are calling on you to resign and go home. Just last year no one would have imagined this. What do you feel about this?

A’
It is alright for me to see this. In a country like Sri Lanka there is democracy where people are against me and for me, so people can express their views and opinions. They have a right to do that. Back then when I delivered what the public wanted by ending the war, doing development, bringing in investments, strengthening the economy etc., they wanted me. But today certain sections do not want me anymore, so they are calling on me to go. So that is alright. That is human nature to forget what has been done for the people of this country. They are free to express their opinions because of the very democracy that we protected and gave them.

Q;
You polled in with the highest preferential votes at the 2020 General Elections. But today people are on the roads against you and the President. What can you say about that?

A’
Only certain sections of the people are saying this. There are some groups within these sections who are those who were always against us. It is these people who are asking us to go. But it is not practical. We came in through a mandate. Just because certain people want us to go does not mean we will go. We have got a mandate and if people want to change us, they can do it through an election.

Continue reading ‘“At this moment I still hold the majority seats in Parliament. But I do not know if this would change. That is politics. If a majority of the MPs feel I must go, then I must go. There is no question about this.”- Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’ »

By Meera Srinivasan

The Rajapaksa administration has lost public confidence, going by citizens’ persistent calls for the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and their government. However, neither of the ruling brothers appears inclined to step down, and Mr. Gotabaya’s move appointing a new Cabinet, without three other Rajapaksas [two of his brothers and a nephew], has made little difference to the protesters.

They continue agitating day after day, near the sea–facing Presidential Secretariat and outside the Prime Minister’s official and private homes, braving the scorching sun, thunderstorms and police barricades put up to deter them. The protests have only intensified in recent weeks as citizens struggle to find or afford essentials such as cooking gas, fuel, food, and medicines, amid severe shortages and inflation — a record 21.5 % in March 2022.

In two critical initiatives this month, Colombo announced a default on its near–$51 billion foreign loans and held talks with the International Monetary Fund in DC for support in ‘restructuring’ its debt. The Fund said its technical discussions with the Sri Lankan delegation were ‘fruitful’ and promised to “support Sri Lanka’s efforts” to overcome the current economic crisis, but it is yet to spell out the actual extent or nature of assistance through a possible structural adjustment programme. It may take weeks, or even months, for the IMF package to materialise, according to experts.

Continue reading ‘Governance Comes to a Standstill in Sri Lanka With President Gotabaya and Premier Mahinda Stubbornly Remaining in Office Despite Public Pressure While Ruling Coalition Gets Fragmented and MP’s are divided in their loyalties between the two brothers.’ »

Cabinet Co-Spokesman Dr. Ramesh Pathirana said yesterday (26) that the Cabinet of Ministers has approved two key proposals to prepare the 21st Amendment to the Constitution Bill.

“The Cabinet approved the appointment of a subcommittee to immediately assist the Legal Draftsman’s Department to draft an initial Bill for the 21st Amendment to the Constitution. This Amendment is to be brought in as a solution for the economic and political crises by achieving political and social stability. It aims to bring back power to the Parliament and to strengthen democracy,” said Dr. Pathirana while addressing the post-Cabinet media briefing held yesterday.

Cabinet Spokesman Dr. Nalaka Godahewa noted that there are already two private member Bills for constitutional amendments that have been submitted to the Speaker of the House Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena.

Continue reading ‘Govt Decides to Bring 21st Amendment to the Constitution;Cabinet SubCommittee to be Appointed to Liaise with Legal Draftsman’s Dept; Parliamentary Select Committee will be set up to Approve Final Draft’ »

Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said yesterday that a copy of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution Bill submitted by the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) has been forwarded to the Cabinet along with other proposals for amending the Constitution to the Cabinet of Ministers to expedite the process.

The Party leader’s meeting to has been scheduled for Thursday to discuss the matter, the Speaker said in a letter he sent Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa yesterday.

The letter was sent in response to one sent by Premadasa to the Speaker requesting that the process of enacting the constitutional amendment bill be expedited.

Continue reading ‘Speaker “Delays” Passage of SJB Proposed 21st Amendment for Constitutional Change by Sending Private Members Bill to Govt for Cabinet Approval instead of Forwarding it to Attorney -General as Required’ »

By
Alan Keenan

Sri Lanka is embroiled in nationwide protests amid deepening economic woes and increasing political volatility. In this Q&A, Crisis Group expert Alan Keenan analyses the implications of the crisis, which could have lasting political and economic effects.

What has been happening in Sri Lanka?

Protests, which had been building from late February in response to Sri Lanka’s worst economic crisis in nearly 75 years of independence, have now morphed into a nationwide uprising. Protesters are demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and removal of the Rajapaksa family from politics.

The protest wave gained momentum as the results of the government’s financial and economic mismanagement became increasingly visible amid rapidly disappearing hard currency reserves and widespread shortages. As prices of petrol and other basic commodities spiked, and imported goods became more expensive and harder to find, the public expressed its growing frustration through ad hoc protests and nightly vigils in middle-class neighbourhoods. Average Sri Lankans are furious at the collapse of living standards and government ministers’ repeated statements betraying indifference to the immense hardships they are facing. Popular anger grew after the president addressed the nation on 16 March, refusing to accept any responsibility for the economic problems, and a special All-Party Conference on 23 March produced no solutions to the crisis.

Organised in large part through social media, including under the banner of #GoHomeGota, protesters have shifted from calling on the president to resign to calling for the whole Rajapaksa family – including the prime minister and former president, Mahinda Rajapaksa – to exit politics. They are also demanding thorough investigations into the alleged large-scale corruption and political crimes widely attributed to the ruling family and their associates. Since 9 April, thousands of peaceful protesters have been continuously camped outside the president’s offices in central Colombo. While the Rajapaksas’ reputation for political repression had earlier deterred many protesters, growing anger seems to have overcome fear.

Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka’s Economic Meltdown Triggers Popular Uprising and Political Turmoil’ »

By Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema

Sri Lanka approaching the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has had an impact on the ongoing discussion for a $ 2.5 billion assistance sought by the Government of Sri Lanka, as well as future loans, Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong said yesterday (25).

“The Sri Lankan Government going to the IMF has had an impact on the discussions,” the Chinese envoy said, speaking to a group of selected senior journalists, adding that debt restructuring, which is an important fact in IMF negotiations, would have an impact on future loans.

He added that both the Governments of China and Sri Lanka were still engaged in discussions on the financial assistance package that includes a $ 1 billion loan facility and a $ 1.5 billion line of credit.

Continue reading ‘IMF talks have affected $2.5 bn Chinese assistance says Qi Zhenhong; Chinese envoy says debt restructuring would impact future loans and that Sri Lanka is yet to settle $ 390 mn in fuel payments to China’ »

By Anura Gunasekera

Chaminda Lakshan, an unarmed 41-year-old father of two, a member of a group of anguished citizens, waiting for days for a meagre fuel ration, at a price they could ill afford, was shot dead by the police, at Rambukkana, on the 19 April.

He joins a long list of citizens, who have been murdered on government order, simply because they dared to protest against the institutionalised suppression of democratic dissent, or for voicing genuine grievances or unpalatable truths; about a dozen journalists, from Subramanium Sughirdharajan, in January 2006, to Isapriya, in May 2009, three civilians, including a child of 14, who took to the streets to plead for uncontaminated drinking water (Rathupaswela – August 2013), 22-year-old Roshen Shanka (Katunayake – May 2011) who, along with thousands of other workers, protested when government proposals undermined the security of the Employees’ Provident Fund, and fisherman, Anthony Warnakulasooriya (Chilaw – Feb 2012), protesting against a fuel price hike. Let us also not forget the Welikada jail massacre of November 2012 which ended in the death of 27 prisoners, some reportedly executed at point blank range; bear in mind the Aluthgama incident (June- 2014) which ended with four deaths, many wounded and enormous loss of property and assets; add to that around dozen custodial deaths of suspected criminals, under transparently ridiculous, identical circumstances, which strain public credulity; collectively, a grim litany of extra-judicial killings, in all societies viewed as a violation of a citizen’s most basic right.

Continue reading ‘President’s Gazette Notification deploying the Tri-Forces to maintain public order in 25 specified districts in the context of the ongoing turmoil is another example of Gotabaya Rajapakse’s inflexible mind-set in which there is no space for basic common sense,’ »

By

Kishali Pinto Jayawardene

From the young girl who handed out a red flower to a policeman at a barricade at Galle Face Green to the actor who walked with a cross on his back from Katuwapitiya, one of the sites of the infamous attacks by homegrown jihadists on Easter Sunday in 2019, to the protest site in Colombo, change is in the air.

Powerful affirmations of defiance

Resistance and non-violent disobedience to the dictates of a Government that has stopped listening to the people are the most important tools that peaceful protestors have in their arsenal. We have seen this from the times of the Gandhian struggles in India to the Vietnam War and the George Floyd protests in the United States. The iconic anti-Vietnam war protests used music and art as their weapons. Some of the greatest songs of that era are etched in the minds of generations thereafter, Bob Dylan’s ‘Blowing in the Wind’ and Phil Och’s ‘What are you fighting for?’ are two classic examples.

So as young protestors strum their guitars and sing their versions of the Italian anti-fascist protest song, ‘Bella Ciao’ outside the Presidential Secretariat, they must surely not be scoffed at. Their singular mark at Galle Face and elsewhere is coruscating anger against Sri Lanka’s political establishment, irrespective of political personalities.

I see that as a powerful affirmation of what is needed in Sri Lanka where conventional interventions of ‘civil society’ as we know it, are coloured and sullied by political bias. This bias has crippled the governance process as much as actions of politicians themselves.

This is what enabled the politicisation of the judiciary and the Office of the Chief Justice to insidiously occur with the complicity of the Bar, legal academics and self-styled ‘activists for well over two decades. The defeat of well meaning Constitutional amendments and the hollow shells of useless mechanisms such as a Constitutional Council also came about as a result. It is to the good therefore that a 21st constitutional amendment, proposed by the opposition as a private member’s bill, has the restoration of the CC to its proper form with a preponderance of non-political members.

Continue reading ‘Neither the JVP nor the SJB must sully Sri Lanka’s peoples protests. To do so will only enable the Government to claim that this is not an apolitical struggle but ‘engineered’ by opposition saboteurs.’ »

BY

Tisaranee Gunasekara

“Beyond the barricade
Is there a world you long to see?”
Do you hear the people sing (Les Misérables)

“I’m 89 years old,” the grandmotherly protestor holding a hand-drawn placard says. “For the last…89 years I have not gone through so much misery. Every time in the night when the light goes off, I cry… I’m going to the polima (queue) in my old age trying to get gas. I stand in the polima to get a packet of milk in my old age… What is the meaning of this? Haven’t they got a heart?” (Newswire – 6.4.2022).

That misery is worse now, and will become infinitely more in the coming months. The discussions with the IMF seem to have ended inconclusively. Other than trying to lease national assets (the list reportedly includes Katunayake, Ratmalana, and Mattala airports and the southern part of the Colombo Port), the Rajapaksas have no economic plan. They have abandoned even the pretence of governance, their energies focused on staying in power.

The Rajapaksas will not go into the powerless night peacefully. They have a world to protect, and will protect it to death, the country’s and ours. Already one life is lost, two children made fatherless. The residents of Gota-Go-Gama marked the wanton murder of Chaminda Lakshan by laying wreaths outside the Temple Trees.

Nothing, however, was farther from PM Rajapaksa’s mind than political obsequies. Just hours previously he had informed Neth FM that he will remain prime minister, even in the event of an interim government being formed. “What use of interim governments when people with varying policies can’t see eye to eye?” he asked rhetorically, pertinently.

The Rajapaksas know what they want. The opposition doesn’t. The Rajapaksas are concentrating their energies and efforts on jamming every constitutional highway and byway to their ouster. The opposition is too busy squabbling over power that is not yet – and may never be – theirs. The SJB and the JVP are wasting time and energy on who can organise a bigger march, probably as a prelude to a future presidential contestation between Sajith Premadasa and Anura Kumara Dissanayake. The 11 party ‘Independent group’ is opposed not to the government but to Basil Rajapaksa; their aim is a palace coup to install Dulles Alahapperuma as prime minister under a President Gotabaya.

Continue reading ‘If the opposition continues to quibble and meander, this historic opportunity to save and remake Sri Lanka will be dissipated and the current stalemate will end in a Rajapaksa or a Rajapaksa-Shavendra or – the worst possibility – a Shavendra solution.’ »

.
By

W.A. Wijewardena

The Sri Lankan team headed by Finance Minister Ali Sabry has been in negotiation with the officials of the International Monetary Fund, popularly known as IMF, for a credit facility to overcome Sri Lanka’s acute Balance of Payments or BOP problem. The team had been jubilant over its success as revealed by a media statement issued by the Ministry of Finance.

However, IMF’s Sri Lanka mission chief Masahiro Nozaki has told Reuters by email that discussions are still at an early stage and a pre-condition for a Fund facility has been having a debt sustainability scheme in place.

What this means is that it is a tough negotiation for the Sri Lanka team. Obviously, it should be the case because Sri Lanka had allowed the economy to be paralysed by refusing to go to IMF despite the mounting pressure for same for more than 15 months. The decision to avoid IMF had been made by the chief policymakers of the Government made up of President’s Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera, Central Bank Chiefs W.D. Lakshman and later Ajith Nivard Cabraal, and the Treasury Secretary S.R. Attygalle. They had convinced the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa who is a green horn in economic matters that they had an effective homegrown policy that obviates the need for seeking IMF’s intervention.

In fact, Governor Cabraal had presented this homegrown policy in a six-month road map revealed on 1 October 2021. It had overestimated the inflows of foreign exchange to the country, and as a result, the forex situation deteriorated by the day. The drying up of the foreign exchange in the formal banking systems and the depletion of the Central Bank’s foreign reserves to near zero level caused an acute shortage of raw materials for industries and essential goods for consumers causing long queues to appear on one side and thriving of a black market for dollars on the other. Finally, the rupee was floated without adequate preparation driving it to wild fluctuations in the market. By this time, all the four policy leaders have lost their jobs.

Continue reading ‘IMF Staff Report on Sri Lanka Sheds Light on Five Policy Actions Recommended for Sri Lanka to Address Economic Challenges and Work Together with IMF to Map Pathway for Country’s Economic Recovery’ »

Despite several barricades, including those with hidden spikes, along most roads leading to “Gota Go Gama” at Galle Face Green, the Inter-University Students’ Federation (IUSF) protest march managed to reach the Green by using alternative routes yesterday (24), attracting national attention in the process.

Even though the IUSF had originally planned to march to Galle Face from Colombo Fort, the protestors chose to take an alternative route instead of physically engaging with the Police or attempting to push down the barricades.

Continue reading ‘Police place Barricades on Roads to Block Inter – University Students Federation March from Fort to “Gotagogama” at Galle Face but undergrads circumvent Obstruction by taking longer route through Maradana,Borella, Cinnamon Gardens,Colpetty to reach Destination Instead of Clashng with Cops’ »

By
“The Sunday Morning”Political Editor

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran is initiating a move to present a No-Confidence Motion (NCM) in Parliament against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, it is learnt.

Sumanthiran told The Sunday Morning that he, together with several lawyers, were engaged in drafting an NCM against the President.

“The idea to present an NCM against the President was reached after protestors at Galle Face presented an impeachment motion against the President and urged political parties to support the move. However, an impeachment process is a lengthy one and that is when we looked at converting it into an NCM against the President,” Sumanthiran explained.

Continue reading ‘TNA Parliamentarian Sumanthiran Initiates Move to Pass a No Confidence Motion Against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Parliament While Group of 39 “Independent”MP’s get ready to Present No Confidence Motion Against Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and Government’ »

By Marianne David

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has to resign for someone else to take over in order to ensure political stability, which is an important factor in Sri Lanka’s negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other lenders, asserted Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP M.A. Sumanthiran in an interview with The Sunday Morning.

MA Sumanthiran

“So long as there is political instability, our negotiations won’t go anywhere. People need immediate relief and that has to come through an IMF programme, which is also going to take time, so we can’t delay this. Those things have to be immediately rectified and political stability shown if we are to negotiate properly with the IMF and other lenders,” he pointed out.

The TNA MP pinpointed the tax cuts introduced by the President in 2019 as the trigger for the ongoing economic crisis: “Soon after the President won the election, he wanted to hold a General Election as early as possible and in order to give sweetness to the people, made heavy tax cuts. That’s the immediate trigger that caused the ratings to come down and as a result we couldn’t borrow. When we couldn’t borrow, we started dipping into the reserves and now we’ve come to this point. This President and this Prime Minister who was Minister of Finance at the time both must bear the blame.”

Sumanthiran also backed former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s suggestion for a new budget to be immediately introduced, development activities to be halted, and that money be given as welfare to the people. “I think that is a good suggestion that will immediately benefit the people who are struggling,” he emphasised.

As for the stance of the northern people in relation to the ongoing protests calling for change, he highlighted the resounding silence from the south when things were far worse in the north, adding however that the north was nevertheless supportive of the people’s protests. “Aerial attacks and carpet bombing were commonplace, but the rest of the country didn’t care. That is no reason to withhold support now. They may want to support the current protests; they think they are legitimate and particularly the youth are coming forward to do that, but they can’t forget the fact that when this was 100 times worse, these people did not open their mouths,” he noted.

The MP lauded the youth being at the forefront of the ongoing struggle and their stance: “We have seen very positive signs in the protest at Galle Face – some of those placards they hold, even seeking forgiveness for not acting on behalf of the Tamils and Muslims and so on. There is a lot of goodwill and apparent recognition of wrongdoing. If that genuine feeling progresses, then certainly we are looking at progressive changes.”

Following are excerpts of the interview:

Continue reading ‘“Abolition of 20th Amendment is of no use because it just takes away some of President Gotabaya’s powers and share it with Prime Minister Mahinda . Again it will be just a family affair. That is not going to solve the current issues. The Executive Presidency must be abolished in toto” – TNA Parliamentarian MA Sumanthiran in Interview’ »

By

Sanja De Silva Jayatilleka

With the law enforcement authorities under the new Cabinet having resorted to lethal violence against unarmed civilian protestors for the first time in this protest, the very day after its appointment, every word uttered in Parliament which delays or distracts from the process of relieving the President and his regime of their present duties, will find those responsible with blood on their hands.

They would do well to support the immediately possible, wherever the amendments come from, before attempting the rather more difficult, and at least prevent further bloodletting of the already suffering people of this country.

As new Ministers appear one after the other to announce increase in prices of fuel, flour, transport, etc., added to the increasing lack of life-saving medicines, the already heavily burdened people of this country who had no part in bringing the economy to this sorry pass, feel progressively more desperate and flood the streets in protest with every likelihood now of being shot in cold blood by the authorities. One cannot really dismiss any further, the possibility of great misfortune being imminent.

In this urgent situation, the people expect the Government, and the Opposition, to put their heads together to formulate a dignified, expeditious exit for the President and for the regime, and to begin urgently the process of transition to an interim government acceptable to the people in order to arrest this disaster from escalating into a calamitous tragedy that they as legislators could have avoided. All their other petty agendas must take second place to this most urgent of tasks.

Continue reading ‘The Multitude of Humanity Engaged in the “Aragalaya” (Protest)at Galle Face wants Gota to Go Home with his Entire Cabinet.They are not Demanding a Change of Cabinet or Abolition of the Executive Presidency’ »

By

Lucien Rajakarunanayake

The President’s new appointments as Cabinet and State Ministers has caused some political confusion and issues of power sharing. But, he must be glad that one woman, State Minister, Geetha Kumarasinghe, with whatever her performance abilities, has asked the people to quickly stop the call for “Gota Go Home”.

These words keep echoing at Galle Face and every other place that anti-Gota and anti-Pohottuva protests are taking place. Calling for silence on ‘Gota Go Home’ shows total ignorance of the Gotabaya performance, from the time he came to a position of power in the Mahinda Rajapaksa presidency, as Secretary/Defence.

Continue reading ‘The Rambukkana Tragedy points to the deadly process of bad governance that has been the hallmark of bad Rajapaksa Governance under Gotabaya Direction. This is the stuff of deadly misgovernance which has brought the call for “Gota Go Home”.’ »

By Chandani Kirinde

UNP MP Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday said that he had requested the postponement of the No-Confidence Motion (NCM) against the Government till Finance Minister Ali Sabry finishes his discussions to get emergency funding for the country and briefs Parliament on its outcome.

“There is no point bringing a no confidence motion before that,” Wickremesinghe said in Parliament yesterday.

“Both sides are trying to see if they have 113 MPs but let me tell you one thing. A Government with 113 won’t be able to solve these problems. At least 170-180 MPs will have to get together on both sides to work to overcome this situation,” Wickremesinghe said.

Continue reading ‘Ranil Wickremesinghe MP states in Parliament that he had requested the postponement of the No-Confidence Motion (NCM) against the Govt till Finance Minister Ali Sabry finished his discussions to get emergency funding for the country and briefed Parliament on its outcome. “There is no point bringing a no confidence motion before that”says UNP Leader’ »

Catholic Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith yesterday charged that the 2019 Easter Sunday attack was used by a Presidential Election candidate to garner support by putting forth promises of upholding national security.

“The 2019 Presidential Election was focused on national security, whilst creating an unrest and instilled fear among citizens, where people pitted against each other,” he claimed speaking at a service at the St. Anthony’s Shrine in Kochchikade yesterday to commemorate the lives of the victims, as the country marked the third year since the Easter attacks.

He said the summary of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) to probe the Easter Sunday attacks report revealed that creating conflicts between ethnicities was also part of the ploy.

The Cardinal also charged that the former President, the intelligence units and the Police concealed details of the impending attacks despite having prior knowledge and thereby failed to ensure public safety.

Continue reading ‘Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith States that the 2019 Easter Sunday attack was used by a Presidential Election candidate to garner support by putting forth promises of upholding national security. raps President Gotabaya for not bringing perpetrators of Easter attacks to book, failure to fulfil his promises and concealing facts revealed in the PCoI report’ »

By

Ruwani Fonseka

Former Minister of Mass Media Dullas Alahapperuma has written a letter to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and the cabinet of ministers to make way for an all-party interim government in order to manage the country’s economic crisis.

In the letter dated today, Alahaperruma suggested that a small cabinet that represents all political parties that represent parliament must be appointed without delay for a period of no more than one year.

Continue reading ‘Ex-Mass Media Minister Dullas Alahapperuma writes letter to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and the cabinet of ministers and the appointment of a new all-party interim government for a one year period to help manage the country’s economic crisis.’ »

By

Andrew Fidel Fernando

( Colombo-based journalis,t Andrew Fidel Fernando, is the author of ‘Upon a Sleepless Isle’)

Having swept to power in a landslide victory in late 2019, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa wasted no time declaring unequivocally that his would be a Sinhalese ethno-nationalist state. He chose to be inaugurated at the island’s ancient Buddhist capital, Anuradhapura, the military and Buddhist clergy in heavy attendance.

In the shade of the grand Ruwanwelisaya stupa, built by a legendary Sinhalese conquerer who had vanquished a Tamil to ‘unite’ the island, Mr. Rajapaksa said this in the first three minutes of his address: “We knew from the outset that this country’s Sinhalese population… primarily contributed to this victory. I knew that I could win the presidency through Sinhalese votes alone. I asked the Tamil and Muslim populations to share in that victory. But I did not receive the response I anticipated.”

Continue reading ‘There are strong signals now that in the course of their vehement turning against the Rajapaksas even the Sinhalese voters who so gleefully ushered them in have awoken to the treachery embedded within majoritarian politics.’ »

By Chandani Kirinde

The main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and the independent group of over 40 MPs in Parliament yesterday stepped-up calls for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the Government to step-down first for an-all party interim arrangement to be set up to resolve economic and political crises.

Lawmakers of the two groups intensified their attacks on both the President and the Government amidst reports that several more ruling party MPs have decided to sit in opposition which would result in the SLPP losing its majority in the House.

Three SJB/SLMC MPs who had joined the Government to support the 20th Amendment to the Constitution moved to opposition benches yesterday which leaves the Government which once commanded the support of two thirds of the members of the 225 legislature at around 117 MPs. Digamadulla District MP Faisal Cassim announced in Parliament yesterday that he along with MPs M.S. Thowfeek (Trincomalee District) and Ishak Rahuman (Anuradhapura District) have decided to function as independent MPs.

The harshest criticism of the Government came yesterday from MP Anura Priyadharshana Yapa who along with nine others moved to opposition benches on Tuesday.

Continue reading ‘Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and independent groups of over 40 MPs in Parliament Intensify calls for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the Government to step-down immediately for an-all party interim arrangement to be set up to resolve economic and political crises.’ »

By

Vishvanath

All the signs are that the countrywide anti-government protests are getting out of control. One person has already been killed in an incident, where the police opened fire on a group of protesters who blocked a level crossing at Rambukkana, for nearly 15 hours, on Tuesday (19). What sparked the latest wave of protests was a massive fuel price hike. The police have said a mob tried to set a fuel bowser on fire, and they had been left with no alternative but to use force, but eyewitnesses have denied this claim. About a dozen other protesters were also injured in the incident and rushed to hospital. But the youth protest in Colombo has remained orderly, peaceful, and more effective than those conducted by others elsewhere.

Never in one’s wildest dreams would one have expected the Galle Face protest to snowball into something like the Occupy Wall Street movement in the US, with protesters braving inclement weather and overcoming daunting challenges. It was thought initially that some youth would gather near the Presidential Secretariat, spend a day or two there and disperse after shouting slogans until they were blue in the face, or would be driven away by the riot police.

The Galle Face Green is not a place where a large number of people could stay for days on end, or, at least, that was what, many apparently thought, would be the case. The place lacks sanitary facilities, drinking water and shelter for a large crowd. But thousands of youths have been campaigning for ten days consecutively in what looks like a ‘leaderless’ protest. Temporary toilets, and tents have come up, and food and beverages continue to flow in thanks to well-wishers. Thousands of people visit the protest site daily. The protesters have blocked the entrance to the Presidential Secretariat effectively, forcing President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to operate from the President’s House. They are even projecting anti-government images onto the old parliament building, making it a huge attraction to the public.

Continue reading ‘The Galle Face protest has marked a defining moment in Sri Lankan politics. What the Galle Face protest signifies is the failure of not only the government but also the Opposition to live up to people’s expectations all these decades.’ »

By Chandani Kirinde

A breakaway group from the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) yesterday joined other parties in Parliament, calling on the Government to step down immediately while warning that a delay in doing so could lead to violence as public anger over increasing shortages and rising costs worsen each day.

Former President Maithripala Sirisena who, along with a group of 40 SLFP MPs, 11-party alliance and SLPP MPs, sat in Opposition said people have lost faith in the Government and appointing new members to the Cabinet will not restore faith in them.

“The demand from the public is for the entire Government to step down and a new administration in which people have confidence in be set up. Then we can find solutions to the problems people face. The Government has failed in its two years in office, and we join people in demanding the Government’s resignation,” Sirisena said.

Continue reading ‘Pressure Increases Within Parliament on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa,Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and SLPP Govt to Step Down.’ »