Columns

• The growing crisis causes chasm within the ruling family; Premier defies calls for his resignation; Chamal unhappy,         while angry Basil unceremoniously castigates PM’s emissaries carrying the message that he should step down
• Days before mass resignations of ministers and officials, President had decided to fire Basil, Cabraal and Atygalle
• President seeks help of the very ministers he had fired recently; assigns Weerawansa-Gammanpila duo to canvass for interim govt; SJB, NPP decline invitation
• Govt. loses parliamentary strength, main opposition SJB gathers signatures for no-confidence motion

AVURUDU GAMES BEGIN; Barrier kadeema (breaking the barriers): A protest on the access road to parliament. Pic by Indika Handuwela

To keep himself in power he used some unconventional methods whilst ignoring public protests calling upon him to quit. In a nuanced speech in Parliament on Wednesday, Highways Minister Johnston Fernando said the President would not give up and hinted that the government would fight back. Foreign Minister, G.L. Peiris told Colombo-based diplomats on the same day, “He will not budge” and declared amidst laughter that there was no constitutional provision for a president to quit just because there were protests. He said that the “protests were losing steam.”

President Rajapaksa, in what appeared more to have been taken from a leaf from the Guinness Book of Records, sought the help of Wimal Weerawansa and Udaya Gammanpila, whom he unceremoniously sacked from the Cabinet of Ministers. Last Saturday (April 2), he welcomed them to the Presidential Secretariat. The duo, with other representatives of partner parties of the ruling coalition, at one time, held a news conference at the N.M. Perera Centre in Borella the same day. “We request President Rajapaksa should dissolve the Cabinet of Ministers and set up an interim government,” urged Weerawansa. Such a government, he opined, should be represented by parties now in Parliament.

Here is President Rajapaksa calling upon the duo to help him form a new government replacing the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP)-led coalition. To him, yesterday’s arch enemy had become today’s bosom friend. What would be one of the most important outcomes of such a government replacement? That was the removal from office of his highly ambitious brother, power broker and Finance Minister, Basil Rajapaksa. Strange but true, President Rajapaksa was using the two ousted ministers to axe the man who had got them expelled. It was also the same brother whose candidature he championed for the November 2019 presidential elections. In the country’s political history, this is the first time a member of the Rajapaksa clan had dealt such a hard blow on another member. In the past, like the five fingers of a hand, they have stood together and closed ranks to face threats.

President’s decision to fire three key persons

Though most were unaware, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had made up his mind to remove three key persons — Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, and Treasury Secretary S.R. Attygalle — many days earlier. Privy to this secret was the three-member Advisory Committee whose appointment was revealed exclusively in these columns last week. They are Indrajit Cumaraswamy, Shanta Devarajan and Sharmini Coorey. The official title of this Committee is Presidential Advisory Group on Multilateral Engagement and Debt Sustainability. Their real task is to advise the government on the impending talks with the IMF.

Former Central Bank Governor Cabral, like in the case of Attygalle, was asked by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to step down. To convey the bad news, officials had to intercept Cabraal at the Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar. He was travelling to London for a personal reason. He was informed that President Rajapaksa had ordered that he return to Colombo immediately. Like a trapeze artiste, upon his return, Cabraal, however, tweeted to give a different twist to his saga. He said, “In the context of all Cabinet Ministers resigning, I have today submitted my resignation as Governor, @CBSL to HE President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. @GotabayaR #SriLanka #GoSL.”

He was earlier opposed to conducting talks with the IMF and kept issuing a string of statements denying any moves to do so. There was a war of words between him and the then Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa. In fact, the latter had made many private overtures to win over Cabral but that was of no avail. He was then in cahoots with both Wimal Weerawansa and Udaya Gammanpila, both as ministers and thereafter. When premature reports of Cabraal’s resignation appeared in a section of the media, it was President Rajapaksa who denied them and declared he had “the fullest confidence in him.” However, that was short lived. Cabraal stood exposed. In the interim, however, Sri Lanka suffered considerable damage when he hurled accusations at rating agencies. One of his main tasks when he took over as Governor for a second time, after giving up his parliamentary seat, was to enhance his salary, pension backdated, and his office placed in line with the Cabinet of Ministers in the country’s precedence table. This way he sought and obtained the equivalent of cabinet rank.

For former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, there was some embarrassing moments when large crowds of protestors gathered outside his residence at Battaramulla, a little distance away from the Water’s Edge. Armed Air Force personnel had to push their way through late at night to evacuate him in a Jeep to another more secure location as the crowds continued to chant slogans against him. Those were the most ignominious moments for a man who single handedly built the SLPP and functioned as a shrewd strategist. As one of his close associates, now a strong detractor, lamented, “this is the second time it has happened to Basil. The first was when the yahapalana government won the parliamentary elections. One of the causes was because he was not approachable and lost touch with his own people. It has happened for a second time now. Unfortunately, he became unapproachable again.”

The former ministerial duo, Weerawansa and Gammanpila, in pursuit of their new assignment met Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Sunday. They conveyed their proposal for an interim government. It was their suggestion that a resignation by Premier Rajapaksa, in terms of the constitution, would lead to the automatic cessation of the Cabinet of Ministers. A source familiar with the discussion revealed that Premier Rajapaksa reacted cautiously and was non-committal.  After the duo left, he went into action by summoning ministers who were available in Colombo for a discussion at Temple Trees. He also sent two young emissaries, close relatives, to meet the then Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa to ask him to tender his resignation. The latter reacted angrily. The two close relatives spent over five hours with the former Finance Minister, it was first listening to a lecture on how he formed the SLPP and what good he had done to the Government. In between, they kept ringing Premier Rajapaksa to report to him what was being said. At that point, his position was that a resignation was not possible.

Premier Rajapaksa had been advised that he should not tender his resignation and thus open himself for any unexpected eventuality. The view was also endorsed by the ministers whom he met later that night. They said that they too would send in their resignations but urged the Premier not to do so. This is how Premier Rajapaksa took up the position that he would only resign his post as Premier if it became necessary, in other words, if Basil did not quit. Some talked among themselves about the events that led to the passage of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution. This is when the powers of the Prime Minister were pruned down. As the hours went by, even Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, had realized that there was no way he could continue in his portfolio. He too had chosen to resign.

The resignation of the ministers helped President Rajapaksa to exclude three members of the Rajapaksa family from the Cabinet of Ministers – Basil, Chamal and Namal. Chamal did not hide his disappointment. Walking along the corridors of Parliament, he was asked by Samagi Jana Balawegaya’s (SJB’s) Kabir Hashim where his satakaya (the hallmark maroon shawl) was. “I am now independent,” he replied with a smile. Another paradox would have been if Premier Rajapaksa resigned.

Opposition parties say no to interim govt.

The two former ministers, who have had many a cat-and-mouse battle with Basil Rajapaksa at Cabinet meetings, set in motion President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s proposal for an interim government. By last Monday, that was the talking point among political parties. If SJB leader Sajith Premadasa urged during a protest rally of his political front outside the Presidential Secretariat on March 15 to hand over the government to him, he was cautious. He also declared in other speeches that there were three West Asian countries that were willing to provide fuel but not to the current government. However, he refused to name them. That would have been no easy task, for raising funds (foreign exchange) would be a difficult task for even Premadasa despite all his rhetoric. Bickering has continued in the SJB over what some of his own members call Premadasa’s lack of aggressiveness. A poster at a largely attended Colombo rally, widely televised, said, “Gota go home, Sajith stay at home.”

The SJB position was explained by its General Secretary Ranjit Madduma Bandara. He told the Sunday Times, “As the main opposition, we do not want to join the ruling coalition. They are a corrupt lot. They should listen to the

people and step down. After the President and the Government step down, we can form a government and find solutions for the problems that the people are facing. We have no intention to work with the corrupt ones.

“The former elections commissioner has said that there is no possibility for an election due to the financial situation. Our view is that priority should be given to the people, not for the election. First, we should provide food, electricity and fuel to the people and reduce the cost of living. We are planning to legally challenge the ones who are responsible for bringing this country to this position. The party has already appointed a legal team. In future we plan to take legal action against them.

As the opposition we plan to form a government alone,” Madduma Bandara said the SJB was preparing to move a Vote of No Confidence on the Government. Already, 65 opposition members and 42 from “independent” groups are supporting it, he claimed. “We are a few numbers short and will get it sorted out. We have only initiated the collection of signatures. We have not even decided on a date to call a debate on the motion.”

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) also declined the invitation. NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake told the Sunday Times, “We want the Government to address the serious issues faced by the people immediately. More burdens are being placed on the people whilst the Government continues to ignore the hardships they face.” He said his Front has made clear that they stood for four different demands — for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign, the government to be removed and replaced by an interim administration which will address the needs of the people and create conditions to obtain a fresh mandate from the people.

There has also been overtures to Ranil Wickremesinghe, the former Prime Minister and the only MP of the United National Party (UNP) in Parliament. He turned them down. On Thursday, President Rajapaksa who visited Parliament later had a meeting in his office there with Wickremesinghe. He confided that he had wanted to seek the help of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but there “were some people who were blocking it.” Therefore, he said, he had to give an order. He, however, did not name them. The talks scheduled for next week in Washington DC has been delayed. On Friday, a virtual meeting took place between IMF officials and the Central Bank’s new Governor, Nandalal Weerasinghe and the new Finance Ministry Secretary Mahinda Siriwardena. Also associated were the three-member presidential advisory group – Indrajit Cumaraswamy, Shanta Devarajan and Shirani Coorey.

Govt. MPs turn independent

On Monday, Premier Mahinda Rajapaksa met President Gotabaya Rajapaksa for a meeting where they discussed the resignation of all ministers. In view of Parliament sitting the next day, Tuesday, he swore in four ministers — Dinesh Gunawardena (Education), G.L. Peiris (Foreign Affairs), Ali Sabry (Finance) and Johnston Fernando (Highways). Gunawardena is the Leader of the House and Fernando the Chief Government Whip. The next day Sabry handed in his resignation thus becoming the finance minister to serve the shortest tenure. Sources close to him said the reasons for the resignation was twofold – one was pressure from his own family. The other is the realization that once fuel stocks from India and the credit from them are fully utilized, there was no other source from which supplies were available. As Finance Minister, he would then become the object of severe public criticism.

On Friday, however, a section of the media reported that President Rajapaksa had not accepted his resignation. Sabry himself told Parliament later that he was still the finance minister. It has been all too common for Sabry, a new entrant to politics, to announce resignations and then recant. This happened many a time when he was Justice Minister and there was a controversy over the cremation of bodies of Muslims afflicted by COVID. If he had remained without a so-called resignation, he could well have attended the IMF talks in Washington DC. That would have saved time. He has very clearly been coaxed to remain in the portfolio.

The appointment of other members of the Cabinet of Ministers hangs in the balance after Tuesday’s proceedings in Parliament took a different turn. The Government has lost its majority there. However, its strength has not been put to test through a vote so far. On Thursday, two items – the Surcharge Tax Bill — with amendments and two Orders under the Ports and Airports Development Levy Act — were passed without calling for a division. There were strong indications yesterday that a minority government would continue to function as coalition leaders were holding strategy sessions to plan their courses of action.

When sittings began in Parliament on Tuesday, a onetime Minister, and Kurunegala District parliamentarian Anura Priyadarshana Yapa declared that he and ten other colleagues would “sit as independents.” The others are John Seneviratne, Susil Premajayantha, Chandima Weerakkody, Nalin Fernando, Sudarshini Fernandopulle, Priyankara Jayaratne, Jayaratne Herath. Nimal Lanza, Roshan Ranasinghe and Arundhika Fernando. But soon after Lanza, Ranasinghe and Arundhika Fernando said they were not associating themselves with Yapa’s statement and would make their position known later.

Priyadarshana Yapa, once a staunch ally of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, explained to the Sunday Times why he and a group of colleagues chose to become “independent” with a group from the SLPP: “We hold the President, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet of Ministers responsible for the ongoing unprecedented crisis. Like us, there are more in the ruling SLPP who are disgusted that our leaders are unable to see reason. We strongly believe the questions people are asking, quite reasonable, are not being properly addressed by government leaders. The Central Bank Governor ridiculed the rating agencies when they, quite rightly, highlighted certain deficiencies. He accused them of being politically biased whilst the leaders remained silent. The Government and its leaders must listen to the people. Now, there is a wide chasm, and they are listening only to what they want to know. Trust the people. Listen to what they say.”

Also opting to remain “independent” were 15 MPs from other partner parties in the ruling coalition. They are Wimal Weerawansa, Udaya Gammanpila, Vasudewa Nanayakkara, Tissa Vitharana, Tiran Alles, Ven. Athuraliya Rathana Thera, Gevindu Kumaratunga, Weerasumana Weerasinghe, Asanka Nawaratne, Mohammed Muzammil, Nimal Piyatissa, Gamini Waleboda, A.L.M. Athaullah, Jayantha Samaraweera and Uddika Premaratne.

It was former President and Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) leader Maithripala Sirisena, who announced that his group would also remain as “independents.” The group comprises: Maithripala Sirisena, Nimal Siripala de Silva, Dayasiri Jayasekara, Mahinda Amaraweera, Lasantha Alagiyawanna, Duminda Dissanayake, Shantha Bandara, Jagath Pushpakumara, Angajan Ramanathan, Dushmantha Mithrapala, Suren Raghavan, Shan Wijayalal de Silva and Chamara Sampath Dassanayake. Earlier, Deputy Speaker Tilak Siyambalapitiya resigned from the post of Deputy Speaker. He said on Friday that President Rajapaksa had appealed to him to continue in office. Hence, he had, with the approval of his party leadership, decided to remain in office. The move indicated that their decision to remain “independent” was a half hearted move to seize the momentum arising from public anger.

On Tuesday evening, the SLFP team-led by Sirisena had a meeting with President Rajapaksa. The latter pleaded that the SLFP remain and continue to extend support to him. Sirisena pointed out that his group had decided to vote against, when the vote on the declaration of the State of Emergency was taken up in Parliament. The remarks clearly jolted President Rajapaksa. He realised that the motion would be defeated. He promptly announced that he would issue a proclamation invalidating the State of Emergency. This was done. That in effect meant that there was no state of emergency nor a 36-hour curfew in force. Quite clearly, by declaring a State of Emergency, a 36-hour curfew and promulgating regulations preventing the gathering of people in public places, the Government had committed a serious blunder. It made a joke of national security. Protestors openly defied the measures and proved that the exercise of a clampdown fearing violence was futile. The protests were, by and large, peaceful. This is not the first time such blunders have been made. Once the Colombo Port was declared an essential service to forestall a strike. However, the strike went on.

This highlights the acute weaknesses in the country’s intelligence services. They are unable to project an accurate or near accurate picture of events, leading to official overreaction of bureaucrats who have no understanding of political developments. It seems ironic that the intelligence top brass believe, and have also made others above them believe, that the current countrywide protests are engineered by ‘extremists’ and have advocated a tough line. Thus, they have remained blind to the reality that many of the protesters are from the middle-income group, and they have continued to make calls to abhor violence. It is even more disturbing that this phenomenon has reached a tier higher – the political leadership level – where counter measures on the drawing boards are frightening and hard to believe. At meetings of the government parliamentary group, where most MPs have chosen to remain silent, there were a vociferous few who have called for an approach that is hostile. This has been reflected during at least three different meetings.

In Parliament, the Ceylon Wokers Congress’ (CWC’s) two members — Jeewan Thondaman and M. Rameshwaran — have decided to remain “independent”. All Ceylon Makkal Congress (one member) also decided to be “independent.”

When the Government was formed following the 2020 August parliamentary elections, it had the support of 151 MPs. It was made up of: SLPP – 145, EPDP – 2, TMVP (Thamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal) – 1, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party – 1, the National Congress – 1, and Our Power of People Party – 1. Some of the SJB members including Diana Gamage, those from the SLMC and the ACMC backed the Government during some votes including the passage of the 20 th Amendment raising the number of votes in favour of the Government to 157. Here is the breakdown for the 2020 Parliamentary composition:

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna 145, Samagi Jana Balawegaya 54, Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi 10, Jathika Jana Balawegaya 3, Ealam People’s Democratic Party 2, Ahila Ilankai Thamil Congress 2, Thamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal 1,

Sri Lanka Freedom Party 1, Muslim National Alliance 1, Thamil Makkal Thesiya Kuttani 1, All Ceylon Makkal Congress 1, National Congress 1, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress 1, United National Party 1, Our Power of People Party 1.

There was also some confusion over becoming “independents”. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe already sits as an independent. Accordingly, at least 41 Government MPs are now sitting as “independents” thus lowering the Government numbers to 104. This notwithstanding, some government leaders continued to claim that they held 117 seats, a position not backed by figures.

Foreign Minister and Foreign Secretary hold different views

Nowhere in the world does a Foreign Minister and a Foreign Secretary differ in their official view on a matter of national importance. However, in Sri Lanka there is a difference. Here are highlights of what Foreign Minister, G.L. Peiris told Colombo-based diplomats:

“In his address, Minister Prof. Peiris stated that the Government of Sri Lanka was fully aware of the severe hardships of the people and its magnitude with the most pressing issues being power cuts, shortage of gas, fuel and essential medicines. The excessive heat which has exacerbated the situation and the negative impact on various industries as a result due to the power cuts were also adding to the woes of the public. He stated that the protests and the demonstrations by the people taking place across the country was an “expression of despair” and they were crying out at a distressing situation. He also stated that 80-85% of those taking part in the protests and demonstrations were neither extremists nor politically motivated and that Article 14 of the Constitution of Sri Lanka guaranteed the right to assembly, freedom of expression. He further stated that the right of the people to protest was an indication of the vibrant democracy prevailing in Sri Lanka.

“Referring to violence that has taken place outside the residence of the President and Members of Parliament during the past few days, the Minister called on the Diplomatic corps to reflect on the gravity of these incidents and what was unfolding.

“Foreign Minister Peiris stated that the protesters had exhibited an overall contempt and expressed hatred for the entire parliamentary system and were asking all MPs to step down. The Minister explained that the Government continues to address the issues affecting the people with other governments and international agencies and is optimistic that the matters would eventually be resolved.

“Minister Peiris stated that the demonstrations were not directly against the government, a political party or the ruling party but against the entire political establishment of the country and that the very foundation of the system was under criticism.

“The Minister pointed out that some of the demands by the demonstrators were not realistic and cannot be met and that they did not seem to want a solution based on available options in keeping with the Constitution. He also stated that from focussing on the shortage of gas, fuel, essential medicines and the power cuts, the protestors were now demanding for restitution of plundered wealth and assets with some approaching the Supreme Court to prevent MPs from leaving the country until a comprehensive audit of all their private assets was done. He further stated that the call for all MPs to resign and allow academics and professionals to run the country was not feasible as there was no country in the world that was governed in such a manner. 

“The Minister of Foreign Affairs also outlined the Constitutional provisions that were currently available which included the Prime Minister taking over for 60 days in the event an incumbent President resigns, after which the MPs would have to elect a suitable leader among them to lead the country for the remaining period until an election can be held.

“He stated that while in some countries it was possible for the people to recall their elected representative, that was not so in the case of Sri Lanka. He also explained the various processes and options available under the Constitution to remove an incumbent government. The Foreign Minister pointed out that the current government still held a majority in parliament and that despite the agitation, there was no consensus on who can replace the current President, Prime Minister and the Parliament.”

One is not sure to what extent Foreign Minister Peiris’ remarks have cut water with the international community. The Delegation of the European Union issues the following statement with the diplomatic missions of the EU member states, (Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania) and with the diplomatic missions of Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

“Freedom of assembly and freedom of expression are pillars of any democratic society, when they remain peaceful. We therefore encourage all parties to continue acting with refrain. We consider the end of the State of Emergency as a positive step.

“We call on all parties to explore constructive and democratic ways out of the current crisis that has taken its toll on the Sri Lankan people.

“We stress the extreme urgency of the situation, which requires the authorities to start in-depth discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the reforms needed to bring the Sri Lankan economy back to a sustainable path.”

Now, to what Foreign Secretary Jayanath Colombage, said at a ceremony connected with a book launch declared, “We know how the great leader Lakshman Kadirgamar worked to solve the problems in the world. However, as the Foreign Secretary I am very sad about the status that we are in. Today the other ambassadors are telling us how to behave. We have fallen to a state where they are lecturing us about how we should resolve matters. We must think what happened to our proud race.

“Our country has faced dangerous times. We cannot hide that under the carpet. All of us know that we should free ourselves from these problems.  We should completely exclude the thoughts that we can develop or there is no future for the country.”

Sri Lanka enters the national new year season with uncertainty. Leaders who were voted to power overwhelmingly to usher in a new vista of prosperity and peace are disowning their actions that have led to sad and horrific events. They are blaming it on the public. They want to make them the scapegoats. Such insidious moves could only boomerang on them. History has shown many examples.