Columns

•  President Dissanayake vows to persist with war on corruption; action against those involved in robbing the country
• UNP’s Rajitha says those who backed Wickremesinghe will contest the polls under the gas cylinder symbol
• All weapons issued to private citizens withdrawn; some had even five pistols

By Our Political Editor

The United National Party (UNP), once at the forefront of the freedom struggle for Sri Lanka, (then Ceylon), has become the casualty again, as political parties talk of alliances ahead of the parliamentary general election.

Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe, upon his defeat at the September 21 presidential elections, asked UNP seniors to ‘resurrect’ the party which has lost almost all its grassroots-level organisations. They were also advised to take other measures necessary to strengthen the UNP with the upcoming elections in mind.

The first move of the seniors was to bring about a rapprochement between the UNP and its breakaway faction, the Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB). They parted ways and formed the SJB in February 2020. It was shot down pronto by SJB leader Sajith Premadasa. As revealed in these columns last week, he declared, “I will not be forming any alliance with Ranil Wickremesinghe.”  He is the leader of the SJB and the Samagi Jana Sandanaya  (SJS) and his word, for all purposes, was final.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake together with Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe and Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardene pose for a photograpah with the visiting IMF delegation ahead of their second day of talks on Friday

Nevertheless, a two-member SJB team—General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara and Lakshman Fonseka, a close associate and advisor of Premadasa—yet held talks with two members of the UNP. They were UNP deputy leader Ruwan Wijewardena and Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, a former Kurunegala district MP. That dialogue seemed more a battle of wits with demands for Wickremesinghe to step down as UNP leader and for UNP members to contest under the SJB’s telephone symbol. Media exposure was causing embarrassment for both sides, but the talks continued.

Another prong of the effort were groups meeting former UNP deputy leader Karu Jayasuriya. “They wanted me to mediate, to bring the two sides together. I politely explained that I have retired from politics and have vowed not to engage in it. They appreciated my position,” said Jayasuriya who now heads the National Movement for Social Justice (NMSJ). Nevertheless, there were repeated requests, he said.

Two sources familiar with the developments confirmed that Madduma Bandara reported to his leader Premadasa that he was at “one point confident of a breakthrough. However, he alleged that UNP leader Wickremesinghe thwarted the move.”  On both sides, seniors were gravely doubtful of an accord paving the way for them to contest as one entity. On the other hand, Rajitha Senaratne, former Health Minister and UNP stalwart, accused the SJB of what he called “not showing interest in creating an alliance with the UNP.” He charged them of “privately meeting” the UNP organizers and urging them to contest on the SJB ticket.

The fact that the UNP will not contest the parliamentary elections as a single party is one certainty amidst the confusion reigning among formidable candidates. “A coalition of political parties that supported Wickremesinghe at the presidential election, will back his nominees,” Nimal Lanza, former Gampaha district parliamentarian said in a statement yesterday. He ended his tenure as a Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) parliamentarian after the dissolution of Parliament but was backing Wickremesinghe. He was earlier assigned an office in the Presidential Secretariat and tasked to woo SLPP parliamentarians to cross over. Though he forecast there were 29 such MPs planning to cross over, there were none who came on his initiative. Later, he formed the New Alliance which, he said, would back nominees Wickremesinghe endorsed. This alliance has also been offering tickets to its backers to contest the parliamentary elections. Interestingly they are not from the UNP or any other political party. An example is Sugeeswara Bandara, a private secretary to then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. He operated from the Presidential Secretariat at one time.

Such endorsement will be for those contesting under the broad umbrella of the People’s United Freedom Alliance (PUFA), with the leadership of former Prime Minister, Dinesh Gunawardena. Coming under them will be the New Alliance too. The PUFA was formed to support then-President Wickremesinghe’s candidature at the presidential election and had remained dormant thereafter. It was made up largely of former ministers of the SLPP government. Just last week, they were going after other political entities to ascertain whether they could obtain tickets to contest parliamentary elections under their name. The fact that there would be no tie-up between the UNP and the SJB was good news for them. They now want to resurrect the PUFA.

Former Prime Minister, Dinesh Gunawardena explained to the Sunday Times how the events had played out. “This alliance was brought under my leadership ahead of the presidential elections. Former Health Minister Romesh Pathirana met me for the very first time only last Thursday. He and the others wanted to activate the PUFA. We discussed the measures to be taken. The first task, we agreed, is to write to the Election Commission requesting a change in our Swan symbol. We want them to replace it with the Gas Cylinder symbol. The New Democratic Front to which it belongs to is also one of our members. This is the symbol under which all our candidates including the United National Party (UNP) candidates will contest. The UNP has also been formally invited to join our alliance.”

Gunawardena revealed that former President Wickremesinghe would not contest the parliamentary elections. He would also not seek to enter Parliament through the national list. However, he would address select political rallies in favour of PUFA candidates. He said, “he (Wickremesinghe) has made clear his decision to us.”

The larger number of those who backed us, including former SLPP MPs, Gunawardena said, will remain. However, there are a few others who are talking to different parties to obtain nominations. They have even made overtures to the SLPP, he revealed. “I am not sure whether the SLPP will offer a general amnesty to their members,” he said laughingly. Asked whether he would be contesting, the former Premier replied, “I will take a decision on the matter next week. Await my announcement.” He said, “There are quite a few who will not contest but I cannot name them.” However, other sources said this will include former minister and cabinet spokesperson, Bandula Gunawardena and former minister Vidura Wickremeratne (Kalutara district). He congratulated National People’s Power leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake for his victory at the presidential election. However, he said, the new president must meet the expectations of the people.

With the backchannel talks between the UNP and the SJB breaking down, as was expected, Premadasa wanted to set the record right. He asked his frontliners to address a news conference. Those taking part were Kabir Hashim, newly appointed General Secretary of the SJS, Patali Champika Ranawaka, Dullas Allahapperuma, Mano Ganesan and Dayasiri Jayasekera. Conspicuous by his absence was Harsha de Silva.

It began with remarks by Kabir Hashim. He said, “One of our demands was that UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe should quit from the party leadership, and we were willing to hold discussions with the other members. We also noticed that they had discussions with former members of the SLPP and therefore we saw no space in continuing the discussions for unification. Therefore eventually the talks ended. A Q&A followed:

Q: With Anura Kumara Dissanayake as the President and if your party wins you will have the Prime Ministerial post. Does this mean the country will be drawn on two sides?

A: That’s not necessary. We can work together. Today we can see that the JVP has changed. They are ready to go ahead with the IMF. You can see that they have changed their stance, so if they can make changes why can’t we adjust and come to a point we can work together?

SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara: The SJB would contest the parliamentary general election as the Samagi Jana Sanadanaya with all the parties which have joined the alliance. The only substitute to the government is Samagi Jana Sanadanaya and as the opposition they would support to fulfill the good promises given by the government. There were eight presidential elections.  During those eight elections, the presidents elected had over 50 percent majority. This time the president was only capable of getting 42 percent votes (5.6 million votes) while 7.6 million people voted for other parties. Through that people have given a clear message that everyone should get together and develop this country. Every time the country has gone on the wrong track, when people have been given unlimited amounts of power. The country went bankrupt, and the economy collapsed due to wrong decisions taken by the governments which had majority power. The most experienced team, the best team is with the Samagi Jana Sandanaya. The people are aware how the country became bankrupt when people gave power to an inexperienced person. Therefore, Samagi Jana Sandanaya is requesting people to refrain from making the same mistake twice.

Former minister Patali Champika Ranawaka, leader of the United Republic Front (URF): “We see that people have given the mandate to Anura Kumara Dissanayake because of the (Aragalaya) protests, People are expecting a clean governance which is just. We would act in Parliament in a manner to support President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and the cabinet justly when they are dealing with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), constitutional amendments, and amendments in acts and ordinances.

Former MP Dullus Alahapperuma: We would unconditionally support the government on any decision which is taken for the betterment of the people. The Samagi Jana Sandanaya and Sajith Premadasa are ready to extend support for any legislation brought to act against corruption, fraud and persons who engage in corrupt activities.

Rajitha hits out

The SJB Nomination Board met on Friday to discuss naming candidates to different electorates. Former MP Eran Wickremeratne has been assigned the task of vetting the background of the candidates together with two lawyers. The idea is to ascertain whether the candidates concerned have any criminal background.

This is whilst UNP stalwart and former Health Minister, Rajitha Senaratne, hit out at the SJB. He told the Sunday Times, “The SJB was demanding too much and had too many conditions. Any alliance is built between two parties but can one party leader dictate terms to another party? Sajith Premadasa was demanding that Ranil Wickeremsinghe should step down from UNP leadership and appoint someone that they mention such as Ruwan Wijeyawardena to continue the talks.”

“The SJB also insisted that if we were to create an alliance, we should contest under the SJB’s telephone symbol. It seems the SJB leader was also not confident, even though we assured that Wickremasinghe would not contest or enter parliament via the national list, they insisted that  Mr Wickremesinghe should  step down from party leadership. Sajith Premadasa is so insecure that he even had a condition that Ranil Wickremesinghe could not come back after one and half years. That is because if the economy collapses again people would try to call him to make a comeback to stabilise the economy.

“We are contesting under the gas cylinder symbol (New Democratic Front). Some parties initially did not agree when we gathered to discuss the matter. On Wednesday, the Election Commission gave us approval to use gas cylinder as our symbol. All the other parties including the SLPP breakaway factions which supported us during the presidential election will contest under the gas cylinder symbol.”

Fight against corruption

Amidst preparations for the parliamentary elections, the ruling National People Power’s communications division has launched a new media campaign to focus on issues related to corruption. A source said it was two-pronged. One is to answer critics that since the elections, as some opposition parties had alleged, the NPP has not delivered on the promises made at the presidential election. The other is to subtly project the areas where the new government’s action will be directed. For this purpose, they are choosing speeches made by Anura Kumara Dissanayake in the past years, long before he became president. The issues he raised are still valid and reflect the thinking of the government on several alleged bribery and corruption issues. Here are translated, edited excerpts from one such video:

“There is a ring of corrupt persons. We need to end corruption. We have observed how their wealth has grown and how their bank accounts have been increasing. There are sufficient statements made to the FCID. There are statements about (a young politician’s) accounts. There are statements on how the money from the MiG 27 procurement deal were transferred to companies with a postcode. Some 14 million dollars for the MiG deal had been paid to a company with a postcode. There is sufficient evidence. (Note: This deal was exposed by the Sunday Times) Therefore, we should wipe out corruption.  Our Bribery Commission has made 36 arrests in 2021. Who are these persons who have been arrested? They are a principal, one sub-inspector, three sergeants, and five police constables – a total of nine persons. There is also a Development Officer, four Grama Sevakas and a civilian. A chief clerk of a Pradeshiya Sabha, a Technical Officer, a Veterinary officer, a land officer and a bus depot manager are among others.

“We must see what else has happened. The Bribery Commission has withdrawn 42 cases of the 69 cases filed in 2021. In 2022 by August 31, of 71 cases filed, 43 have been withdrawn. Among the cases withdrawn were 19 main cases, 13 are of the Rajapaksa family. Why can’t they be punished? Therefore, 85 cases have been withdrawn. We were told the cases would be refiled, but only very few were refiled. So, this shows that corrupt persons have ‘bodyguards’ everywhere.

“Main political cases have been withdrawn from courts. The Attorney General’s Department informed courts that they would not proceed in the the Malwana case where a house has been built. Therefore, how can people be punished? They can be punished only by a government which has the will to punish the corrupt.  There are ‘god fathers’. After one case was withdrawn, (the owner of a security company) went to the office of the Bribery commission and threatened officials that they would be transferred to a distant area. The official was not transferred to a distant area but removed from the investigations unit and sent to the Administrative section. Therefore, to stop corruption these corrupt persons should be punished. Don’t have doubts about that.

“(A former Minister) made a statement that I had been seen carrying bags of money from Malik Samarawickrema’s place. I have filed action. Not only (this ex minister). A case has also been filed against (a television channel) for telecasting it. The usual media ethic is that if there is a serious allegation against a person, the views of the person accused too should be sought. The other allegation was that I have a house in Ireland. But the newspaper apologised for that. (Another person, a businessman cum lawyer) publicly said that the JVP is better in business than himself.  He said he had an overdraft/loan of Rs 8 billion, but the JVP has a fixed deposit of Rs 8 billion. Our accounts are no secret. I told their channel itself, that if we have Rs 8 billion, we will pay back Rs 6 billion of his loans. These are all fictions. This is a project. The other parties cannot tell they are free of corruption. Can the UNP say it is free of corruption? No, because there are allegations against those (in the leadership too).  Can Mahinda Rajapaksa stand up and say their camp is free of corruption? He himself faces corruption charges. We will stop corruption, and we will punish corrupt persons.

“Why is the topic of corruption so important to us? The main challenges we face today are because of this corruption. That is why the Auditor General has said governments have taken project loans amounting to Rs eight trillion. But only projects amounting to two trillion rupees have been completed. You can imagine the situation. The AG has said that he has been trying to find out how the remaining 75 percent of the loans had been made use of. He has been trying to do this since 2015.  However, we know where these assets are. The AG can follow only the state institutions, that is the reason he cannot find out. But we believe it can be found out. Therefore, one of the main reasons for the bankruptcy is the issue of corruption. You don’t want a great knowledge of economics when you know loans amounting to eight trillion rupees have been taken and projects to the value of only two trillion rupees have been completed. Even if it happens in your home or shop you can find out.

“This has been the key issue for many of the issues faced. The low quality of medicines provided in hospitals is a result of corruption. The usual practice of importing drugs is to get registration through the NMRA. There has been a violation of the procedures followed. Two deaths were reported in the Peradeniya hospital and similar issues in other hospitals are a result of the failure to follow procedures.  In Nuwara Eliya, we had an incident of 10 persons going blind. This was a result of using imported drugs from a company blacklisted.  Corruption is taking lives of people.  This is not a case of robbing money and making houses or buying a land.  It is a matter of the lives of the people. Even the increase in railway fares is a result of corruption. Some engines imported have been parked for 23 years without being put into use. The loss has been added to the ticket fares. Another eight engines were imported but only one has been put into use.  Some 160 compartments were important and all collapsed. Corruption has had a major impact on the lives of the public. Without stopping corruption, we cannot build a country. Therefore, it is our top priority.”

Focus on foreign policy

In his second week in office, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has focused attention on matters related to foreign policy. At least nine high commissioners and ambassadors called on him. An important engagement was with a visiting delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and talks thereafter with Indian External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. He was on a day’s visit and called on former President Ranil Wickremesinghe at his residence. SJB leader Sajith Premadasa, however, visited India House and had to wait for a while before Jaishankar arrived there. Although Jaishankar delivered an invitation from Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi for President Dissanayake to visit India, it is not expected to take place until after the parliamentary elections.

President Dissanayake has also been focusing attention on a variety of domestic issues. The Ministry of Defence has already announced that weapons including pistols, revolvers and shotguns issued to private individuals were being temporarily withdrawn. Those possessing weapons have been called upon to hand them over to the Naval establishment in Welisara. For more than 1500 persons, it has come to light that 1690 weapons have been issued. The operator of a security establishment has been issued seven pistols for his personal use together with two repeater shotguns; a former Cabinet minister has been given three pistols and five repeater shotguns; and a leading politician’s son has been given seven automatic pistols. Among the others issued with weapons is the son of a former cabinet minister, a onetime advisor to the Foreign Ministry and the leader of a plantation sector trade union. A Defence Ministry source said each case would be reviewed and “only those who are qualified to possess a weapon will be re-issued.” Those who do not return the weapons will be charged in courts, the source said.

Nominations for the parliamentary elections began on Thursday and will continue till midnight on October 11 for the parliamentary elections on November 14. It is only the end of the nomination day that will lay bare the alignment of different political parties.