Columns

• Resurrection of uncompleted cases underway; presidential media division releases footage of Anura Kumara’s statements
• Despite president’s camaraderie with retired UNP stalwart, honeymoon is over, the hunt has begun
• Multiple crises beset SJB; Mahanayake advises party to support the government’s development work

By Our Political Editor

Many months before the 2019 presidential election, a twosome from the top rungs of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) met a duo of their equivalent ranks in the United National Party (UNP) in what seemed an ongoing dialogue.

The camaraderie from their association with each other during the days of the so-called yahapalana  or good governance government was still alive, though the close friendliness had largely evaporated. Yet, each needed to talk, at least occasionally, to the other for varied reasons.

During the dialogue, one of the UNP stalwarts, no longer active in the party, offered a suggestion. That was to rebrand the party whilst retaining the identity of the JVP. The suggestion to retain the identity was to keep ordinary people happy. He said that a new face would be appealing domestically and to the outside world. It would also draw away criticism about JVP’s previous record linked to violent incidents. The same person was once recalled from “retirement” and tasked to manage what the previous government believed was a visit to Sri Lanka by Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. This was ahead of the presidential election, but he had no such plans. What followed this interaction is now history. The National People’s Power (NPP) was born. It drew in academics and businesspeople, among others.

For the UNP duo, in the months before the September 21 presidential election, one of the bigger worries was the threat from an opposition party whose leadership then showed signs of growing stronger. They sought democratic ways to neutralise it. Their own party was in disarray at the grassroots level. For the JVP it was more a case of brainstorming. They were bouncing off thoughts on many political issues, more importantly on incidents of bribery, corruption, misrule, and abuse of power.

So much so, JVP and NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake drove to the residence of this one-time UNP strongman in a hill country town for lunch just days ahead of the September 21 presidential election. He was on his campaign trail. That was a way of saying thank you for the good advice—reminisce on the past and discuss the present. Dissanayake had sensed, during the election campaign, that his NPP would win comfortably.

President and NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake addressing the party's inaugural general election rally in Tangalle yesterday.

If anyone believed that the old relationship and the waning camaraderie would make an exception for old friends (the UNP in this case) in the NPP drive to deal with misdemeanors by previous administrations, one is mistaken. The honeymoon is over. The crackdown has begun in many areas.

Pre-presidential poll statements

This came in a week when the President’s Media Division released another speech of President Dissanayake, made before he took office. As revealed in these columns last week, this is part of a programme conducted to highlight cases of alleged bribery, corruption and abuse of power in the past. This is a prelude to legal action. The logo of the Division appeared regularly when the footage was screened. Here are some disclosures made by now President Dissanayake for which he said he would take full responsibility. He noted that because of improper payments made to those concerned, the price of milk to feed children or buy schoolbooks for them had to be increased. The people, he declared, were demanding action on them. He said:

=    A top runger in the UNP inner circle who lost the 2020 parliamentary elections was appointed to two high positions simultaneously. He was paid a monthly salary of Rs 150,000. He was given a secretarial allowance of Rs 50,000, fuel allowance of Rs 81,400, medical allowance of Rs 50,000 and a telephone allowance of Rs 7,500.

=    Another top runger in the UNP inner circle, a onetime MP was paid a salary of Rs 100,000 and allowed Rs 66,825 as fuel allowance. (Note: Since then, he has quit the UNP)

=    For the past thirty years, the government has been spending on food, electricity and water bills for the Rajapaksa family who are living in Colombo. They have been using state vehicles during this period. I make this assertion with full responsibility. This is a gross exploitation of public wealth. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) once wrote to a member of this family to visit its office to record a statement. Then Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, ordered the CID top brass to instead visit her and record the statement. On another occasion, when the CID had wanted to arrest the same person, the then Cabinet of Ministers had decided that they should not do so. Those making the decision included Sajith Premadasa who was a minister.

=    The Airbus Industrie in France had paid Kapila Chandrasena, then Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sri Lankan Airlines, two million US dollars. This was over the purchase of eight Airbus A350 aircraft. Ironically enough, the cancellation led to the payment of US$ 115 million as compensation to the manufacturer by the government in power. This amount was much larger than what is being spent to conduct an election.

Noting that there are people who thrive on public wealth, President Dissanayake said he had won a mandate from the people to deal with them. Action would be taken based on the law and there would be no political revenge, he claimed. Two key appointments in this regard are those of Ravi Seneviratne, a retired Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the CID as Secretary to the Ministry of Public Safety, and Shani Abeysekera, a former Director of the CID. Both appointments have generated some controversy among civil society groups and the diplomatic community in Colombo. Their task of initiating action on seven different cases previously carried out by the CID—the cases that the government said were inconclusive—is now underway.  More such cases are to come under their scrutiny.

SJB Gampaha district officials taking part at a briefing session held in support of its candidates. Pic courtesy @rajakarunahs

Another development, though not on the initiative of the NPP government, has sent shockwaves in the business community. That is the six-month jail term given to businesspersons Arjun Aloysius and A.R. Dinendra John, directors of W.M. Mendis and Company, for nonpayment of taxes. Aloysius is the son-in-law of Arjuna Mahendran, a former Governor of the Central Bank. The names of the duo have also figured in the alleged Central Bank bond fraud. Dinendra is the son of former radio and TV announcer Ravi John and is a candidate from the Sarvajana Balaya for the Colombo district in the parliamentary elections. This week Aloysius was assigned the task of sweeping the jail premises where he is held.

Both Aloysius and John had turned up at the Colombo Magistrate’s Court in response to a warrant issued on them for their failure to appear in court on the previous day of hearing in the same case. It related to the failure of their company to pay Value Added Tax (VAT) together with the penalty imposed by the Inland Revenue Department (IRD). The total amounted to Rs 3.5 billion (or more precisely Rs 3,555,488.597). These dues were for a three-year period from 2016 to 2019.

The order for them to pay VAT was issued by the court on November 14, 2023. On that day too they failed to appear in court and therefore had a warrant issued on them. It was in response to that warrant that they were present in courts. Additional Magistrate Bandara Illangasinha imposed a six-month simple imprisonment on Aloysius and John as well as on another Company Director Prasanna. Kumarasiri de Silva. However as De Silva was not present, a warrant was issued on him. Attorney Chanakkaya Liyanage, appearing on behalf of the directors pleaded that an opportunity be given to make an initial payment of ten million rupees and the balance in installments. However, the request was not accepted by the court on the grounds that time for such payment scheme had lapsed. The three defendants together submitted a revision application through their lawyers later in the day, requesting bail, pending a further appeal before the Colombo High Court. The request.was rejected. Their company manufactured local liquor.

Attorney Dinesh Perera appearing on behalf of the IRD pointed out that the order to make the payment of Rs 3.5 billion had been made in November last year. A bail application was also submitted to the court, but that too was turned down by the court on the grounds that under the IRD Act, there was no such provision. Under the IRD Act, the directors will be compelled to pay the due VAT and the penalty even after completing the jail sentence. The IRD under the Act has powers to order the company to make the payment or auction its property and recover the dues. Moreover, the IRD is to finalise the VAT payments due for the subsequent years.

During the presidential election campaign, commenting on the previous government’s transactions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), NPP leaders said that revenue could be increased domestically without imposing burdens on the public. This, they said, was through collecting billions of rupees in taxes that remain unpaid. Fear of legal action and the absence of protection by some politicians, the government believes, would enhance tax revenue.

Three ex-presidents

Interestingly, bribery and corruption formed a subject when three former presidents appeared on the same platform at the 45th National Conference of Chartered Accountants last Thursday. They were Ranil Wickremesinghe, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and Maithripala Sirisena. Wickremesinghe was to say there was no evidence to round up those who have reportedly stacked assets abroad—an issue Kumaratunga raised. It was about the wealth accumulated by a family abroad and how she even saw the photocopy of a bank statement belonging to a young politician. He held his US dollars in a bank account in Dubai and later moved it to a bank in Seychelles. In another development, this young politician’s financial dealings probed earlier and shelved, are now being resurrected. This includes a deal related to the purchase of a hotel and how funds had been remitted from Singapore. Sirisena expressed the learned view that there were both politicians and officials who engaged in corrupt activity.

First to Ranil Wickremesinghe’s so called yahapalana government. The major plank of its campaign during the parliamentary elections of 2015 was to fight corruption. Its leaders pledged from political platforms that the assets accumulated by one family would be tracked down and repatriated to Sri Lanka. One of those who was at the forefront of that activity was the late Mangala Samaraweera, then Minister of Foreign Affairs. A dedicated Assets Recovery Division was set up. It was headed by J.C. Weliamuna, an attorney at law. He scoured West Asian and world capitals looking for hidden assets. Then Foreign Minister Samaraweera remarked to me, of course jokingly, that “You will not get such sensitive information by going to a place and talking to an official. It is like asking for directions to a restaurant when you are abroad.”

Incidentally, during the same conversation, we talked about an officer being tasked to carry out investigations. “He is well known to be corrupt,” I told him. He replied, again jokingly, “Use a thief to catch a thief.” They did use him. He sold his findings to the other side and got away. It was not given free.

This clearly showed that despite repeated claims by the leaders of then government about help from Western governments, the “yahapalana” administration was unable to successfully use its good offices with influential Western governments. Even the country’s diplomatic missions, packed with mostly cronies of the ruling elite, were unable to help either. This was one of the issues that has been frustrating then Foreign Minister Samaraweera, too. In one instance, large sums of money were spent on a lawyer in Dubai who was hired to obtain details of accounts held by Sri Lankans. It proved futile. That is how the talk of the words “stolen assets” became a rhetoric to be used from political platforms.

Now to Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, who claims that bribery and corruption were least prevalent during her administrations. In a YouTube presentation, she made a chilling revelation of how someone placed “on the table” millions of US dollars to bribe her. She bluntly refused. Here is the other side of the story. She is the only Executive President of Sri Lanka who was fined by the Supreme Court, the highest judicial body in the country, for abusing her powers. This is after the Sunday Times revealed in a string of exposures about a big scam. State land at Battaramulla, near the Parliament complex, was handed over by her Cabinet of Ministers to so-called foreign investors solely on the recommendation of President Kumaratunga. It was purportedly to develop a golf course.

However, as reported in the Sunday Times, Rs 150 million had been paid over the table for the purchase of the permit by a close friend of Kumaratunga. It was later discovered by the Inland Revenue Department that Rs 60 million was given to her friend.

That is not all. Media reports at that time, including those in the Sunday Times, highlighted that the Madiwela property worth Rs 600 million and around Rs 750 million allegedly siphoned off from the President’s Fund had been moved to a private trust fund founded by Kumaratunga. This was later reversed by Mahinda Rajapaksa who was elected President thereafter. The Supreme Court also imposed a fine on her personal friend and ordered that the property be vested in the Urban Development Authority (UDA). It now remains in the hands of the UDA.

It was during Maithripala Sirisena’s presidency that his own Chief of Staff, I.K. Mahanama, was caught by officials of the Commission to Investigate Bribery and Corruption while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 20 million. The detection was made in the parking lot of a Colombo hotel. The amount he allegedly sought is said to be Rs 54 million and the advance of Rs 20 million was allegedly being paid when he was caught. The case against him continues.

It is pertinent to note that the Commission to Investigate Bribery and Corruption has not been able to crack any high-profile case during the tenure of all three presidents. The question is whether the CIABOC has remained a victim of political pressure, threats, or intimidation. In another recorded tape put out by the Presidential Media Division, President Dissanayake quotes an instance where a strongman owning a security agency and closely connected to onetime President Gotabaya Rajapaksa threatened a CIABOC official.

This was for investigating a complaint against him. He had allegedly succeeded in having the official moved out of the division that handled an investigation. It is imperative that the NPP government should examine legislation to confer more powers to CIABOC officials but also at the same time ensure they are not abused. There is no gainsaying that the commission requires a team of honest police officers since the number of investigations is bound to increase and thus the influence brought to bear on them.

These developments come with only 23 days to go for the parliamentary elections. Both rains as well as a delay on the part of the Election Commission to allot numbers to candidates have delayed campaigning. It is expected to get into full gear next week.

Crises within SJB

One of the main contenders at the parliamentary elections, the Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB), continues to remain in crisis with strong criticism centering on leader Sajith Premadasa. A candidate for Gampaha district, former MP Ajith Manapperuma, has accused the SJB leader of backstabbing and threatened to pull out of the elections. Party stalwarts have defended Premadasa saying that the former MP had been on the side of an opposition party. However, Manapperuma has denied the charge and claimed that he was only trying to bring together the UNP and the breakaway SJB. Hirunika Premachandra, a onetime MP, resigned from her post as head of the SJB Women’s Wing. She also criticised her leader. However, at a later meeting with him, the differences had been resolved. Another who is bitter with the SJB leader is actress Damitha Abeyratne who was originally a candidate for the Ratnapura district. She complained that her name was not on the SJB nomination list when she turned up at the District Secretary’s office.

In another development, an SJB delegation comprising Samagi Bala Sandanaya (SJS) chairman Imtiaz Bakeer Markar, SJB General Secretary Ranjit Madduma Bandara, Tissa Attanayake and Lakshman Kiriella received some words of advice from the Mahanayake of the Malwatte Chapter when they called on him this week. He said that as a responsible opposition, they should extend support to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and his government. Bakeer Markar was to later tell a news conference in Kandy that the SJB would be supportive of all matters of development. However, he said the NPP leader received only 42 percent of the votes in the presidential election. There were the interests of 58 percent of the people which the SJB was duty bound to care for.

If there were 80 election monitors from the commonwealth for the last presidential election, there would be only eight at the parliamentary election. Election Commission Chairman R.M.A. L. Ratnayake has gazette new regulations about the use of indelible ink on voters. Since it has been used on the small finger of the left hand, he has said that the ink should be applied to the thumb on the left hand. For those who may not have a thumb, he has said, any finger in the left hand could be used. For most voters, the ink on their small finger in the left hand has not disappeared altogether. There will be many of those among them waiting to raise their right hand when the results of the parliamentary elections on November 14 are known.