Columns

• Gazette notification declares high-security zones, but activists say they are reviving Aragalaya on behalf of people
• Coal tender cancellation may lead to longer power cuts; concern over aggravating food crisis
• Opposition parties claim Govt may lose parliamentary majority before November budget
• Dullas-GL group says they have been denied right to speak in Parliament
• SJB meets Elections Commissioner, calls for local and provincial council elections before March next year

By our Political Correspondent

The newly designated HSZs are the Parliament Complex, the Supreme Court Complex, the High Court Complex, the Colombo Magistrate’s Court Complex, the Attorney General’s Department premises, the Presidential Secretariat, the President’s House, the Headquarters of the Sri Lanka Navy and Police, the Ministry of Defence and Sri Lanka Army Headquarters in Akuregoda, Sri Lanka Air Force Headquarters in Colombo, the Prime Minister’s Office, Temple Trees, and the official residences of the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and the Commanders of the Tri Forces.

Judging by their demarcated boundaries, many residential and commercial buildings will fall within these HSZs. All diplomatic premises in these areas, however, will be excluded from coming under the HSZs.

In many ways, the gazette evokes a return to the war years when the threat of terrorist attacks turned many parts of Colombo into mini fortresses. It prohibits processions within the HSZs without permission from the Inspector General of Police or the Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of the Western Province. It also prohibits construction work and parking of vehicles within HSZs without a permit from the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, who has been designated as the Competent Authority under the gazette.

Occupants of residences inside HSZs must produce a list of their permanent or temporary residents to the Officer in Charge (OIC) of the area’s police station. A change in occupancy must be notified to the OIC within 24 hours. Each employer of either government department or private institution must submit a list of all their employees. Police have the authority to enter and search any premises coming under the HSZs.

Persons taken into custody in connection with offences under the orders announced through the gazette can only be granted bail by a High Court. Those convicted in relation to offences mentioned in the gazette are liable to be punished under Section 26(2) of the Official Secrets Act, including through the imposition of a prison term ranging from six months to two years and a fine.

The gazette issued by President Wickremesinghe, in his capacity as Minister of Defence, came at an unusual time as Sri Lanka faces its toughest ever resolution at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions in Geneva and as its delegation struggles to muster support from enough countries ahead of a vote on the resolution due before the sessions end on October 7. The continued arrests of those connected to the ‘Aragalaya’ (Struggle), and the detention of three student activists under a 90-day detention order through the Prevention of Terrorism (PTA) Act have already drawn condemnation from some sections of both local and international human rights activists, including local political parties representing the minorities.

Meanwhile, the new UNHRC draft resolution also recognises “the severe economic crisis which deteriorated in Sri Lanka since late 2021 and the profound impact this has had on the people of Sri Lanka.” As reported by the Sunday Times last week, if the resolution is adopted, political leaders and officials responsible for the “economic crimes” could face travel bans, freezes of illegal assets accumulated abroad and legal action by countries empowered to exercise universal jurisdiction.

Defiant protesters

The designation of the HSZs comes as Aragalaya activists are attempting to revive the people’s movement that forced former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country after months of street protests. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-affiliated Socialist Students’ Union announced on Friday night that it would go ahead with its protest in Colombo scheduled for yesterday, Saturday (24th) despite the new gazette designating the HSZs.(Please see related story on page 6)

Other trade unions and several political parties are also gearing for a new round of protests across the country in the coming weeks demanding a reduction in the cost of living and an increase in wages for low-income earners.

Meanwhile, the “Repeal PTA” mobile signature campaign launched by the Tamil National Alliance calling for the repeal of the PTA reached Galle Face on Thursday after travelling across the country from Kankesanthurai. In addition to TNA MPs, several MPs from other political parties including the Samagi Jana Balawegaya, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, the Frontline Socialist Party and leaders of a number of trade unions and civil society organisations were present when the vehicle reached Galle Face.

The protests are restarting at a time many of the key individuals who had been involved extensively in the struggle have been arrested or ordered to give statements to the police.

Police trying to disperse JVP youth wing members who were marching towards the newly declared High Security Zone in the Fort to hold a protest there yesterday. Pic by M.A. Pushpa Kumara

“We have no intention of surrendering,” insisted Ceylon Teachers’ Union General Secretary Joseph Stalin. Mr Stalin, who was recently released from remand custody after being arrested over violating a court order in relation to a protest, said police had so far filed three separate court cases against him over his work with the struggle. “What we are seeing is unconditional repression, but President Wickremesinghe and the Rajapaksas who are behind him must understand that no country has won through repression. They should be working to prevent people from going hungry. They know what’s coming. We will continue our struggle until they all go home.”

Looming power crisis

There are also palpable fears within the government that a looming power crisis resulting from the controversy surrounding the tender to buy coal for the Lakvijaya power plant could again provide opportunity to opposition groups to muster crowds for far bigger street protests. On a request by the Ministry of Power and Energy, the Cabinet this week cancelled the coal tender awarded on August 25 to the United Arab Emirates-based Black Sand FZE. Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara said on Twitter that the tender had been cancelled after the selected supplier communicated its inability to perform the tender citing concerns on the impact on legal cases filed and payment guarantee risk.

“Lanka Coal Company will publish a new International Open Competitive Tender that will allow any suitable supplier that has the ability to provide coal on a long-term credit basis,” Mr Wijesekara said. To fulfill immediate demands, the balance cargo of 19 coal shipments ordered through last year’s tender will be advanced, he said.

Former Jathika Hela Urumaya leader Ven. Omalpe Sobitha Thera recently filed a fundamental rights case in the Supreme Court challenging the coal deal and the process of awarding the tender.

The cancellation of the tender, however, could also significantly increase the duration of power cuts. Power sector regulator, the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), on Thursday gave approval to the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) to increase the duration of scheduled power cuts by one hour to 2 hours and 20 minutes. This was because of the unavailability of electricity from Laxapana Stage 1, the lack of fuel availability at the West Coast power station, and the sudden increase in demand. A day earlier, the regulator had denied the CEB’s request to increase the duration of power cuts on the grounds that the Board had not justified the extension of the power cuts with proper reasons. PUCSL Chairman Janaka Rathnayake told a private television channel this week that existing coal stocks were sufficient only until October 28. “If we have not received any fresh stocks by then, we will have to close all three units of this (Lakvijaya) power plant. That means we will lose about 820 Mega Watts from the national grid. That would mean that we will have to extend the power cuts by 8 to 10 hours,” he warned.

The government is also having to deal with rising discontent among religious leaders, particularly among the Buddhist clergy over the sharp increase in electricity tariffs; a move that has resulted in monthly electricity bills at some temples soaring. Some temples have already protested the increase in their monthly electricity bill by switching off all their lights or by stopping the broadcast of pirith through loudspeakers. More widespread protests are expected during next month’s Vap Full Moon Poya Day.

The issue has become so serious that the Mahanayaka Theras wrote to President Wickremesinghe requesting a solution. The President also wrote back on Friday. In his letter, the President had noted that even under the new electricity charges, the highest monthly electricity bill of the 33,214 registered Buddhist temples and other religious and social services is less than Rs. 4,000. Only some 9,800 locations that consume more than 180 units of electricity have higher charges, according to the President’s Media Division. The President had pointed out that it was practical to install solar panels at religious shrines that have to pay high electricity bills. These panels could be provided to these establishments at a cost or they could be provided with the required funds to import the panels, he had informed the Mahanayaka Theras.

Aggravating food crisis

The government also continues to face accusations that it is not doing enough to combat malnutrition. There were heated exchanges in Parliament on Thursday when opposition MPs alleged that the government had failed to provide children with nutritious meals. Anuradhapura District Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Parliamentarian K.P.S. Kumarasiri, who is part of the breakaway group led by Dullas Alahapperuma, alleged that more than 20 students from at least three schools in Vilachchiya in his district had fainted due to hunger. He also referred to a widely publicised report in the media that in a school in Minuwangoda in the Gampaha district, a student had brought coconut kernel for lunch as she had nothing to eat. Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, however, said he spoke to the principal who had denied the report.

The Health Minister’s response drew an angry retort from SLPP dissident Anura Priyadarshana Yapa. “Since the prices of foodstuff have gone up, people have been unable to buy food and this has resulted in malnutrition among children. The Health Minister needs to acknowledge that. Then we can look into finding solutions. Don’t be so arrogant. Acknowledge there is a problem and then provide solutions to it. That’s what a government is for,” he told the minister.

“I am not dismissing the incident in Vilachchiya as false. I will look into it,” Mr Rambukwella said. While no one was denying there was a problem, the Health Minister implied that some incidents and figures were being cooked up to bring the government to disrepute.

In a front-page story last week, the Sunday Times reported how the President’s Office had directed state institutions to ensure that no citizens should starve due to lack of food and that children should not be victims of malnutrition.

The directives came as the latest UN report warned that acute food insecurity has risen dramatically in Sri Lanka. These reports say that millions in Sri Lanka are ‘moderately acute food insecure’ with 66,000 people being ‘severely acute food insecure’.

SLFP hit by rebellion

As President Wickremesinghe deals with multiple issues that could lead to renewed agitations on the streets, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) chaired by former President Maithripala Sirisena is facing a crisis within his own party. More than half of SLFP MPs have so far defied the party’s position and have accepted ministerial posts in the government. Mr Sirisena had earlier acted to remove MPs Shantha Bandara and Suren Raghavan from their positions within the party after they accepted state ministerial posts.

This, however, failed to deter a further six MPs from accepting ministerial portfolios. Nimal Siripala de Silva and Mahinda Amaraweera, two Senior Vice Presidents of the party, took oaths as Cabinet Ministers earlier, while Party Treasurer Lasantha Alagiyawanna, Assistant Secretaries Ranjith Siyambalapitiya, and Jagath Pushpakumara along with Chamara Sampath Dasanayake were also sworn in as State Ministers recently. It appeared for a while that Party Chairman Sirisena was content to let the matter slide by issuing mere media statements deploring the conduct of MPs who accepted ministerial posts for “personal gain”, more content at the time with having his son made the party’s organiser for Polonnaruwa as a possible successor to himself.

The position has changed now after Mr Sirisena successfully amended the SLFP’s constitution enabling the party chairman to remove members from their respective positions at his discretion. The party’s Central Committee (CC) approved the amendments during a heated meeting at the party head office at Darley Road earlier this month. A section led by MPs Nimal Siripala de Silva, Mahinda Amaraweera and Chamara Sampath Dasanayake vehemently opposed the amendments, but their opposition failed. A subsequent legal challenge to the amendments was also dismissed.

Mr Sirisena has now used his new powers to crack the whip, or the “Madu Waligaya” (String Ray Tail) at those who defied him by removing the six MPs including Ministers De Silva and Amaraweera from their party posts. SLFP General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekara confirmed letters have been sent to them, informing the MPs of their removal. They will now be called before a disciplinary panel and asked to explain.

The chairman’s decision to remove the MPs from their posts was approved “unanimously” by the CC, SLFP Senior Vice President Rohana Luxman Piyadasa told the Sunday Times. He denied that the party has now suffered a serious split due to the decision to remove so many veteran SLFPers from their posts. “Our party organisers fully support this. In fact, the rumbling was over why there appeared to be a delay in removing those who took up ministerial posts from their party positions,” he said.

Prof. Piyadasa noted that even former Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike had acted to remove those who violated party discipline and this was nothing new. He was scathing in his criticism of the MPs who took up ministerial posts. “Some of them sat in the same media conference where we announced that the party would not accept ministerial posts and then simply went ahead and took their oaths. There must be discipline within the party if we are to move forward.”

Right of dissident MPs to speak in Parliament

The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) faction led by former Minister Dullas Alahapperuma, meanwhile, again renewed its complaint this week that its MPs were being left out when time is allocated for speeches in Parliamentary debates. As they are still SLPP MPs, time for them to speak has to be allocated from the government side. The 13-member group has complained repeatedly to Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena that the Office of the Chief Government Whip was not allocating them time but was adopting a different attitude to other breakaway factions now sitting with the opposition.

The group held a news conference outside the Parliament complex on Wednesday to protest against the move. Prof. G.L. Peiris, who continues to remain SLPP Chairman, raised the matter inside the House again on Thursday. “Thirteen MPs in this House have been denied their right to speak. This has been the case since August 31,” he complained about his own party. He has the unique distinction of being the chairman of a party and leader of its own breakaway group.

The point the group was making was that other SLPP groups now sitting with the opposition were being given time to speak while their group was being deliberately left out, said Wasantha Yapa Bandara, one of the MPs in the Peiris/Allahapperuma combo. “Groups led by Wimal Weerawansa, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa as well as MP Nimal Lansa, who are all sitting as independents, are allocated time from the government side. By our estimation, our group should be allocated at least 18 minutes during every parliamentary debate, but we have been completely excluded.”

The group has been allocated time to speak on several occasions after taking the matter up with the Speaker but Mr Bandara said there should be no need for them to appeal to the Speaker to intervene for them to be allowed to speak. “It is ironic that the government is appealing for all sections to join an all-party government while treating those in the opposition in this manner,” he remarked.

A spokesman for the main SLPP parliamentary group said, the Peiris/Allahapperuma faction cannot have one foot here and one foot there. “They are trying to have the best of both worlds, an opportunistic approach which should not be encouraged,” he said. It seems, the Peiris/Allahapperuma faction is falling between two stools as a result, while other SLPP breakaway groups are treated differently.

Currently, 60% of debate time is allocated to the government while 40% is allocated to the opposition. In an attempt to resolve the issue, offices of the Chief Government and Chief Opposition whips are now trying to hammer out an agreement where the ratio is changed to 55% for the government and 45% for the opposition, Mr Bandara said.

The matter is reminiscent of the issue earlier faced by the then breakaway faction of the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) during the Yahapalana government. At the time, then Speaker Karu Jayasuriya refused to recognise the UPFA group led by Mahinda Rajapaksa as a separate opposition group in Parliament on the grounds that the UPFA had formed a national unity government with the United National Party. This was despite the UPFA faction under Mr Rajapaksa being the largest opposition group in Parliament. Accordingly, Mr Rajapaksa was denied the post of opposition leader, which went to Tamil National Alliance Leader R. Sampanthan, while JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake functioned as Chief Opposition Whip. The UPFA faction under Mr Rajapaksa had to rely on the government at the time to be given to speak.

Govt.’s majority under threat

The developments come as some in the opposition claim they are within striking distance of eliminating the government’s parliamentary majority. Most agree that they now have more than 100 MPs, though estimates vary between 100 and 113 vary. Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Kumara Welgama, who sits as an independent in Parliament and whose interview appears elsewhere in this newspaper, said the opposition has about 101 MPs by his estimate and expressed confidence that they will have the numbers to topple the government if they wished by the upcoming budget in November. With talks on forming an all-party government now at a standstill, the government is also redoubling efforts to lure more MPs to its side. The numbers game could shift either way come the budget.

Time for mini polls

A move to dissolve Parliament, however, would have to be approved by a two-thirds majority. This is unlikely. As such, opposition parties are now starting to make a push to hold the Local and Provincial Council polls. The SJB made the first move towards this end when its General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara handed over a letter to the Election Commission (EC) asking it to make preparations to hold the local council elections. The letter commends the EC’s position stated on several occasions that provisions in the Local Authorities Elections (Amendment) Act allow for the EC to hold the election at any time after September 20, 2022. It notes that local councils have already completed their four-year terms though the Minister of Local Government extended their term by another year using powers vested in him. As such, the SJB requests the EC to gazette the dates for the local council elections and take steps to conduct a free and fair poll before March next year.

While the Act does empower the EC to hold the local council election after September 20, the Commission must also take steps to ensure that all registered voters are given an opportunity to vote, EC Chairman Nimal G. Punchihewa told the Sunday Times. “The 2022 electoral register won’t be finalised until October 31. We are also compiling a supplementary list of voters who are turning 18 and that will only be finalised by mid-November. If we gazette the dates before then, about 250,000 young people will be deprived of their right to vote,” he explained. As such, the EC is likely to wait till at least mid-November before it gazettes the date for the polls.