The Bar, the attorney general and premature warnings

Sunday, February 11, 2018

If the fury and the force of the past months is what Sri Lankan citizens had to face in an ordinarily pedestrian local government election, the imagination fails quite splendidly as to what the future portends with provincial and national elections scheduled to be held in the relatively near future.

The voter is the worst loser

Amidst that wretched election rhetoric, one fact is clear. Irrespective of who wins or who loses on the 10th of February from among the competing actors jostling on the political stage, the voter (it seems) has already lost a significant portion of the promised gains of 2015, bar the shouting. Yet were those promises a mirage at the very time that they glistened so brightly?

This is a question that surfaces in terms of fundamental governing imperatives. To be clear, this is also a question that is quite distinct from defensive positions taken by some when they say that Sri Lankans are better off in terms of their civil liberties than they were three years ago. The truth of that assertion is without a doubt.

But it is also the truth that systemic Rule of Law failures did not start with the Rajapaksas. Rather, much of that predated Rajapaksa rule with the best example being the fact that the precipitation of Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court into one unpleasant political controversy over another became a matter of international scrutiny during the Kumaratunga Presidency.

From that point, it was a small step to the summary impeachment of a Chief Justice by the Rajapaksa Presidency and an even smaller step to the executive dismissal of the successor to that Chief Justice who was deemed ‘never to have been’ under the Sirisena Presidency while the Bar clapped. Now we have the ultimate irony of that Chief Justice ‘who never was’, along with a sitting Court of Appeal judge being slapped with corruption charges in the Magistrates Court. And the Bar, (in a vastly different avatar of course), splutters in protest over the same.

Prejudging actions of CIABOC

Indeed its recent statement that the institution of criminal proceedings ‘on the basis of professional advice given by them in their former capacities as the Attorney General and Deputy Solicitor General affects the independence of Judiciary, Rule of Law and the interests of the public at large” invites the appearance of prejudging the matter. As at this date, the Bribery and Corruption Commission (CIABOC) which filed these charges in the Magistrate’s Court has yet not entered upon an elucidation of the same. No doubt, this would be forthcoming in the months ahead in the judicial forum. Until then, it would be opportune to hesitate before rushing into conclusions as to the basis on which the charges rest.

From the standpoint of a critical observer, these responses by the legal profession in 2015 and 2018 attract equally critical scrutiny. As some may rightly say, both illustrate profound dilemmas of justice that Sri Lanka faces as a result of crude politicization of the profession even though lofty language is resorted to in order to hide less than lofty motives. That was the same in 2015, (let us admit that undoubtedly inconvenient truth), as it is now.

A few weeks ago, it was observed in these column spaces that the utilization of Section 70 of the Bribery Act (as amended) by the Bribery and Corruption Commission in this regard was salutary after this provision had been allowed to be dormant for decades following the amendments in 1994. However it was also pointed out that penal charges call for evidentiary material that go beyond claims of the improper use of discretion in wielding statutory powers.

The occurrence of strange things in the past

That said, it must also not be forgotten that this country has seen strange things happening including at one point when the Attorney General lodged an appeal with the Colombo High Court in 2009 to withdraw an indictment on purportedly ‘sympathetic’ grounds, filed against a principal of a leading Colombo school who had been charged with allegedly preparing forged documents and misleading the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) over a school admission. The Court was informed that the accused had regretted his conduct and had accepted a transfer to another school. Further, judicial clemency was pleaded on the basis that several citizens had written to the Attorney General requesting that mercy be shown to the accused based on the good services that he had rendered to the country. In that specific case, the judge rightly refused to accede to the application of the Attorney General.

In these circumstances, the propriety of the Attorney General came in for severe critique. Indeed, troubling patterns were demonstrated in regard to substantial decisions to file indictment or, (in the alternative), refuse to file indictment in cases where the law and the investigative material called for a contrary course of action. These matters remain therefore of clear public interest, quite apart from the use of the Bribery Act in the instant context which has been objected to by the Bar. In fact, it would have been good if a reference had been made in that sanctimonious statement issued by the Bar to the crucial importance of the independence of the foremost state law officer rather than indulge in sweeping generalisations.

In other jurisdictions, it is interesting to note that English judges have opined that the court would dismiss the charge in criminal matters if the applicant is able to show that the Attorney General or any of the police officers is found to have abused the process of court or had acted in an oppressive manner towards the applicant. Again, in Israel, the judges have gone further in this regard. The Court has set aside prosecutorial decisions tainted by improper motives, arbitrariness, discrimination and where there was a material or grave distortion of reason.

Structural reforms needed

Taking these issues out of the heat of political aggravations, structural reforms pertaining to the exercise of powers of the Attorney General may be urged as appropriate. In Canada, for example, expert committees have been set up to lay down guidelines for the exercise of prosecutorial discretion. In addition, some African jurisdictions are increasingly emphasizing the political neutrality of the office as well as the need to ensure judicial oversight of the powers of the Attorney General in appropriate circumstances.

In the meantime, it may befit the Bar to abstain from ‘appearing to prejudge’ the actions of CIABOC in warning of stern consequences that would follow if their cautions are not adhered to. Adding a rider that this intervention is not meant as an obstruction or interference with the course of justice or the right of law enforcement institutions to carry out their functions’ is merely a sop. That much must be said.

Yahapalana Failure Led To SLPP’s Sweeping Victory

By Latheef Farook –February 11, 2018

Failure on the part of President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to fulfil their election pledges and the shameful revelations of corruption under the present government could be two of the most important factors that contributed to the sweeping victory of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s proxy, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP).

Humiliating second place was for Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP) while President Maithripala Sirisena’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party was even worse.

Fed up and disgusted with the lawlessness of Mahinda Rajapaksagovernment, accused of widespread crime, corruption, plundering of nation’s wealth,mismanagementand the promotion of communal disharmony,people voted for the Maithripala Sirisena–Ranil Wickremesinghecoalition in the hope they would rescue the country from these evils.

In fact this is what Maithri-Sirisena team promised to the country. Beleagured people trusted and gave mandate to them. However three years later today they have miserably failed to fulfil their pledges. There was confusion from the very inception when the government was formed with previous government ministers accused of corruption. Manipulating judiciary shielding these corrupt elements.

The irony is that these very same people accused of various crimes were not only free but also began challenging the government. Both President Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe were also accused of manipulating the judiciary to protect those accused of corruption.

People in general were fed up. Added to this frustration, the ever growing corruption within the Yahapalanaya government made the people sick and tried. The entire country was shocked at corruption involving the bond issue. It was made worse with the shameful disclosures involving Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Instead of sorting out burning issuesthey were more interested during the past three years, in implementing the American agenda in various fields. For example International Monetary Fund was accused of drafting Inland Revenue amendment bill.

Manycomplained that rather attending to urgent issues both present and the prime minister were busy travelling worldwide signing bilateral agreements.

Despite winning some seats in this week’s local government elections indications are that the UNP, under its present leadership, will never be able to form a government on its own. The UNP got an opportunity to rule after losing more than two dozen elections. However it has missed the opportunity.

They pledged during their election campaign to end racist attacks on minorities especially Muslims. Instead of protection, Muslims who voted in bulk to the government were quick to realize that they were virtually abandoned. The racist attack on Muslims in Gintota showed that anti-Muslim racism remains alive.

Foreign policy had no direction. For example the government failed to condemn the genocide of Muslims in Myanmar though even United Nations Security Council took up the issue twice.

Economy is in bad shape though the Prime Minister continue to claim otherwise Much talked about foreign investment never became a reality. Even small time traders began saying that routine business dropped though they expected to improve.

Meanwhile President Sirisena blaming Prime Minister Wickremesinghe for all economic ills, failures and bond scam corruption in election meetings dealt a destructive blow, perhaps the final blow, to the unity of the government.

Read More

Militarising the youth: Tamil students in Batticaloa sent on military training

11Feb 2018

The militarisation of education in the Tamil homeland continues, as high school students in Batticaloa are sent on military training by the Sri Lankan Army.

43 school students chosen for ‘leadership’ training were in fact given training by the National Cadet Corps 38th Battalion in Kallady, Batticaloa.

As well as ongoing calls for demilitarisation from civil society and Tamil communities, a recent UN committee report recommended that the Cadet Corps avoid military related training to school students.

Related Articles: 

04 February 2018 : Sri Lanka's military in Jaffna celebrates Independence Day

01 February 2018 : More Sri Lankan militarisation of temples in North-East

31 January 2018 : Continued military presence prevents use of 'released' Myliddy TB hospital

Undiplomatic diplomacy of a presidency

 
Monday, 12 February 2018 

The ‘Game Chandiya’ political rhetoric reached its peak with the various contenders fighting for their survival in this insignificant election which elects members to local government bodies to administer the grassroots of the country. Plenty of garbage was being unearthed in their attempt to clean up the garbage mess within the councils. The once-happy Yahapalanaya family has become turncoats to each other.

Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Joint Opposition, contesting with the pohottuwa symbol, and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) attempted to show this election as a referendum on the three-year-old Yahapalanaya administration. They have invested well to draw sizable crowds for their meetings and used the ‘fish eye view’ of the drone cameras to exaggerate the visual. It is a smart move indeed, and hats off to the creative publicity team. The number of votes that would be cast for them at the LG elections would decide whether the pohottuwa will blossom or wither away.

Credit should be given to the Joint Opposition (JO), which has kept the momentum high in their anti-government rhetoric throughout the Government’s three years and has now managed to create at least an outward rift within the Yahapalanaya.

While forcing the Prime Minister to shut the mouths of the young UNP ‘Turks’, the President who walked out of the Cabinet meeting (to answer the call of nature) has slated and blamed the UNP and the Prime Minister for the bond scam and other government failures.

The President is also claiming that the economy has been mismanaged and that he could do better. He also accuses the UNP members of widespread corruption while forgetting that ‘his people’ faced the same criticism during the last regime. Did he not say that he couldn’t do anything about corruption while being a part of the last Government because of pressure from the then President? He is President now, but still says he is not allowed to carry out his duties by MPs in his government. He does not want to take responsibility for any decision the Government he is a part of takes, then and now.

However, he seems to have become the ‘kokataththailaya’ overnight, to solve political, economic and diplomatic muddles that are unfolding within the Yahapalanaya. There would be no need for a Cabinet, Ministers or Parliament if Sri Lanka were to go back to the ‘one man (one family) show’ era.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s thick skin and his ability to ignore the presidential rhetoric makes one wonder whether he is letting the President dig his own grave.

The President is also claiming credit for the brilliant diplomacy of Mangala Samaraweera, and the Prime Minister’s UNP that won over the international community which was threatening to make Sri Lanka a pariah state.

This diplomatic success has helped Sri Lanka extricate itself from the black list. Trade concessions too have been offered in addition to relaxing the stranglehold in Geneva due to Yahapalanaya diplomatic policies.

He is also claiming credit for the introduction of the progressive the Right too Information Act (RTI). Of course as the country’s Executive and Head of the Cabinet, the President has the right to some credit. If so, then he should also accept the failures of his Government without apportioning them only to the UNP.


The diplomatic mess in London

Brigadier Priyankara Fernando probably is a brilliant soldier who has served the country well. He has been rewarded with a diplomatic posting at one of the best stations as Defense Attaché, but unfortunately his undiplomatic throat-slitting gesture directed at anti-Sri Lanka protesters during the Independence Day celebrations in London on 4 February has been captured on tape and has gone viral. Calls have already been made by some British Parliamentarians to withdraw his diplomatic immunity and deport him to Sri Lanka.

The anti-Sri Lanka Tamil Diaspora has been keeping up the pressure. With just one stroke of his finger across his throat, he has tarnished the image of our brave soldiers who not only fought and defeated a dreaded bunch of sadistic terrorists but also provided rescue and humanitarian assistance to the human shield the LTTE used during the final stages of the war.

The cries and prayers of the Tamil Eelam Diaspora seem to have been answered to tarnish the image of our valiant soldiers. The anti-Sri Lanka group within the international community has now got additional ammunition to target us at the Geneva deliberations and attempt to prove that the Sri Lankan armed forces probably committed war crimes during the 30-year-old Eelam war.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs acted fast to avoid a diplomatic confrontation with Britain by suspending Brigadier Priyankara Fernando from his position and calling on the Sri Lankan Army to conduct an immediate investigation.

The President with his coterie of ‘brilliant’ advisors overruled and reinstated him to the applause of the so-called patriots in Sri Lanka who tried to gain political capital during this election period.

For the majority of Sri Lankans, the Sinhala soldiers who liberated the country from 30 years of terrorism and separatist ambitions of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) could do no wrong.

Our President played to the gallery probably to garner some votes to minimise the humiliating defeat predicted for his SLFP-led coalition by the UNP-led United National Alliance and the Mahinda Rajapaksa-led G.L. Peiris coalition.

There is no doubt that the President is facing immense pressure to increase his SLFP’s dominance at the polls. Failure by his coalition in this election would mean that he would spend the rest of his two-year term left as a toothless president who would certainly retire in 2019. A reasonable showing will rejuvenate him to cause a rift within the UNP and try a ‘Mahinda stunt’ by wooing MPs to join his bandwagon.

On the other hand, the Prime Minister with his mastery at survival might move to impeach the President with the wholehearted support of the Rajapaksas and the diehard UNPers. Most of his pole-vaulting ‘Ping Amethis’ too would scale the wall to the winning side. He probably would be left with just a handful that would number less than 20 heads. His dreams of cleaning up corruption will end as a failed mission.

The country was spared from becoming a confirmed banana republic by the bold stand taken by President Maithripala to divorce himself from the party he belonged to for over 50 years and become the Opposition’s joint candidate for the 2015 presidential elections. He has confirmed many times that it was the UNPers who brought him his presidency. He mastered a coup by bringing in SLFP seniors who were with Mahinda Rajapaksa in January 2015 and taking over the SLFP. A defeated Mahinda did not attempt to contest and surrendered hoping that he would be spared from all the accusations that were thrown at the Rajapaksa family.

No one knows who is protecting the Rajapaksas, the President or PM. The Chief Minister of the Western Province Isura Deshapriya probably let the cat out of the bag by announcing that the President had advised Gotabaya Rajapaksa to leave the country as there was the threat of an imminent arrest. Did he make a mistake or is it presidential protection he was talking of?

It is time the President returned to the collective responsibility of his Yahapalanaya concept without overriding Mangala’s beer price reduction, allowing the majority (women) in the country to buy their booze if they wish and choose a vocation as bartenders if they so wish. More importantly, he should not play to the gallery by creating diplomatic blunders that would list Sri Lanka as Mugabe’s Zimbabwe.  

A Brisk and Brusque Verdict

By Sarath de Alwis-February 11, 2018, 12:00 pm 
A Verdict Earned

President Maithripala Sirisena has earned the verdict given in local government polls. He appointed candidates defeated at the parliamentary elections through the national list and made them cabinet ministers. In electoral democracy, failure is decisive. Overturning the people’s verdict has a price.

The verdict rendered at the local government polls is brisk and brusque. Brisk means quick and sudden. Brusque means blunt and rude. The people have quickly and suddenly decided to halt the Maithri-Ranil circus. The astounding margins with which the people have repudiated the ‘yahapalanaya’ of the President and the Prime Minister is conclusive evidence that the people have been blunt and rude. Hence the brisk and brusque title ‘Hip Deep in Shit’.

We can draw some satisfaction from the fact that we now have systems in place to hold free and fair elections. Democracy presumes that we are all rational creatures. All who vote at elections can relate truth to reality and vice versa. Identifying truth is not easy in this age of instant news, gossip and kite flying. It calls for prudence, courage and one’s own idea of virtue.

People are wise

We who are impudent enough to comment on voter behavior often forget that people are wise. The President’s principal platform was on his determination and ability to eliminate corruption. He promised to punish the corrupt in this government and those in the previous government. The Prime Minister assured that crooks would be punished, loans repaid, jobs created, and everybody wired to Wi-Fi. Mahinda Rajapaksa’s task was much simpler. The regime that replaced his is equally or more corrupt. They are inept as well. Mahinda’s claim resonated. No one would claim that he was inept.

When election results are excruciatingly discomforting, the temptation to interpret them is irresistible. Politicians and political parties are good at misinterpreting dismal performances.

President Sirisena under interpreted and over interpreted his mandate according to his personal whims and political fancies. He promised to be a single term incumbent and then decided to fortify his powerbase for 2020. He voluntarily reduced his term, but later sought Supreme court ruling on the precise expiry of his term.

Preaching and Practice

He condemned nepotism and family bandysm. "If you were to ask me how I became the common candidate I don’t think even I could give you a proper answer. I see this as some sort of a miracle. I was a part of this Government with a lot of heartache having witnessed rampant corruption, nepotism and family bandysm which is a part and parcel of this government."

One of his first appointments was that of his brother to the top job in Sri Lanka Telecom. His son-in-law has an assignment with the Ministry of Defence. He is not tired of reiterating his commitment to fight corruption. He publicly reprimanded the executive head of the Bribery Commission for producing retired defence high-ups before a magistrate. The Director General of the CIABOC resigned.

The Common Candidate for the Presidency was a civil society creature. Civil Society expected the elected President to adhere to the agreed policy agenda. The hybrid government was a two-headed donkey that was stalling. Civil Society activists soon discovered that the President had his own advisors. Affairs of state were of such importance and significance that they required analysis by more astute minds than those of some well-meaning academics and idealistic activists. It was time to jettison civil society dreamers of ‘yahapalanaya’.

Ranil’s Manifest Destiny

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is a man convinced that ruling this island nation is his manifest destiny. The success of the common candidate was therefore a bitter pill to swallow. The hybrid government was a farcical orchestration. A selected coterie held all strings and the puppet at the top was expected to conform and comply. Thanks to Sobhitha Thero’s insistence the 19th Amendment has lifted the lid. The Bond Scandal unraveled over two years.

Mahinda’s brother-in-law lost billions running the airline for seven years. The brother of one of the yahapalana cronies seems determined to match that performance and has succeeded admirably in the last three years.

The last three years have been qualitatively different from the years under the Rajapaksa presidency. If we did not mind his business, he left us alone. He held elections and won them fair and square by persuading people with whatever it took for him to win. He didn’t rush elections. He went about the business of elections quietly and patiently. He was not stupid enough to hold island wide elections in the middle of a presidential term which could be construed as a test on performance.

Since 8th January 2015, we have been subject to naked manipulation, blatant lies, systematic spin and downright dishonesty. In Mahinda’s time we were informed or directed. Mahinda did not preach. In contrast there is no end to Maithri’s sermons and Ranils lectures. Mahinda’s coercive state apparatus was anchored to reality. He was the arch pragmatist not seduced by idealistic trivial.

The Inconvenient Truth

Sirisena’s benign governance is totally detached from reality.

Political truths are terrible to deal with. Post-election truths are not only terrible but are mind boggling. The mixture of fact, opinion and conjecture that partisan analysts resort to are not worth our attention. Plain speaking is the need of the hour.

The people have given their verdict. ‘Honest’ crooks are better than ‘dishonest’ crooks. Skim off on contracts with foreign parties. Don’t rob our pension funds. Naked ambition is preferred to ambition wrapped in false altruism. Better to have good war winning crooks than crooks who shield other crooks.

Ongoing navy occupation of most of Myliddy preventing fishing and resettlement

11Feb 2018

Myliddy residents have complained that fishermen are unable to restart their livelihoods properly as Myliddy harbour remains partially occupied by the navy. The Myliddy resettlement committee also accused the Sri Lankan government and navy of spreading false propaganda about having released the harbour.

With only a small part of the harbour released after 27 years of occupation in July last year, not many boats can dock there, the committee said. The fishermen cannot freely go about their livelihoods, aggravated further by the construction of a navy watchpoint on part of the harbour.

Hardly any of the 54 acres released last year were habitation lands, the committee said. The vast majority of Myliddy residents’ homes still remain under navy occupation.

Without releasing the whole harbour and without releasing people’s homes, resettlement and a return to normality are impossible, the committee said.

Related Articles: 

31 January 2018 : Continued military presence prevents use of 'released' Myliddy TB hospital

30 December 2017 : Sri Lankan army destroying unreleased homes in Myliddy and using materials for construction on Thalsevana resort

30 July 2017 : Myliddy fishermen struggle to rebuild livelihood with inadequate government support

07 July 2017 : Myliddy lands not fully released by Sri Lanka military

04 July 2017 : Release of Myliddy harbour of symbolic significance - Sumanthiran

03 July 2017 : Myliddy harbour and lands released after 27 years of military occupation

SRI LANKA’S RULING COALITION IN DEEP CRISIS AFTER SHOCK DEFEAT

Image: Rajapaksa still to reach his 2015 vote count.

11/02/2018

ECONOMYNEXT – President Maithripala Sirisena’s uneasy coalition faced a major internal crisis amid finger pointing for the humiliating shock defeat at local government elections, political sources said.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe whose United national Party (UNP) performed poorly was also under pressure to accept responsibility for the party’s bruising drubbing just two and a half years after forming a unity government with Sirisena.

“The President is shell shocked and is not clear what he should do,” a source close to the president said. “He did not expect to win the election, but at the same time he did not think his faction will lose so badly.”

Sirisena had taken on his senior coalition partner head on during the two-month campaign, accusing the UNP government of being more corrupt than the Rajapaksa regime they toppled together in January 2015.

Within the UNP, Wickremesinghe was also under pressure to step down from the leadership of the party as well as the premiership and clear the way for an internal reform process to begin.

Out of 182 councils declared by 9.00 am on Sunday, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), the proxy of Rajapaksa, had won 143 with the UNP a distant second with 17. Sirisena’s SLFP/UPFA had seven and the TNA 13. With one each for two smaller Muslim parties.

The leftist JVP which attacked both the government and the SLPP was yet to win a council.

Unofficial results showed that the SLPP was leading in almost all the districts outside the north and the east and was on its way to secure an unassailable 51 percent of the total votes polled.

The results, once confirmed by the independent Election Commission, are expected to considerably weaken Sirisena and make him a lame duck president should he decide to stay on for the rest of his five-year term that ends by January 2020.

An unusually high voter turnout was reported with officials saying the final figure could be higher than 70 percent and closer to the 77 percent seen at the August 2015 parliamentary election.

Private election monitors said the two-month campaign for the local government elections was the most peaceful in decades and an outstanding feature was the impartiality and even handedness of the police and the strict enforcement of election laws.

Polling in most of the southern districts were in the high 70s while in some polling divisions over 80 percent of those eligible to vote had cast their ballots during a peaceful nine-hour period Saturday.
Saturday’s vote is the first conducted by the newly-established independent Election Commission as well as the police under the Independent Police Commission.

Police deployed 65,000 personnel to guard polling booths as well as counting centre.

Nearly 900 minor incidents were reported during the two-month campaign period and 65 candidates being arrested for violating election laws, according to the police. (COLOMBO, February 11, 2018) / EN

Why One Has To Be A Contortionist To Vote In Sri Lankan Elections

By Emil van der Poorten –February 11, 2018 

Written on the cusp of an election that is supposed to provide Sri Lankans with a clear idea of where this land is going in the next little while, the title of this piece does, I hope, clearly indicate the dilemma that faced most of us.

Let me expand.

On the 10^th of February, we would have lined up at polling stations. (At least I hope there would have been enough of us to form lines). This is when the need for a contortionist’s skills would have been most urgently required to perform the single most important duty/exercise-of-citizenship facing anyone residing in an allegedly democratic country.

One would have needed a contortionist’s skill because it is not easy for the average person to hold his/her nose while placing an “X” on a piece of paper that threatens to blow away at any moment, that’s why.

The next question posed could well be “Why did you have to prevent your olfactory powers from operating while performing such a simple task?

The answer to that is that the choices were so odious that one ran the risk of asphyxiation if you had accidentally breathed in while, in any way, invoking the presence of any of the protagonists.

The Lotus Bud gang hardly need description of any kind.Simply viewing their track record of murder, mayhem and embezzlement on a national scale should suffice.

Then there were the surviving elements of that briar-smoking, Greyhound breeding three-piece-suiter, the “SWRD” of Sri Lanka who, with his “Sinhala-Only” policy condemned several generations of his compatriots to one of the technologically most awkward languages spoken only by fifteen million of a world population of goodness knows how many billion. Of course, setting the standard for such things, that product of the Oxford Union ensured that his own progeny suffered under no such constraints.Coming events casting their shadows in the matter of creating for one’s own circle, a milieu in which they would start ahead of their fellow citizens and put even more distance between themselves and the great unwashed as the years went by (and their bank balances grew). I think it was the Yugoslav Communist Milovan Djilas who coined the term “New Class” and that is what we are talking about here.

That the foundation on which Bandaranaike built his edifice grew stronger as the years went by is very obvious by what we have as our “Sri Lankan Reality” today.

Of course “Yankee Dick” Jayewardene’s contribution towards expanding the ranks of the Sri Lankan social dalits must not be missed.That worthy ensured that amorality achieved complete respectability in the practice of government. Simply put, you could do anything under his watch and while within his ranks as long as you did not get caught.

While all of that might provide some weird and wonderful justification for our current predicament in the matter of governance of what was once considered the epitome of democratic practice in South Asia, it still did not make the task of anyone going into a polling station on February 10^th any easier.

I have sufficient belief in the essential decency of human beings to think that those having to vote in the coming local government elections have one of the most unenviable tasks that we’ve ever been faced with.

At least in recent times, until the change of government in 2015, we didn’t have proof positive that the opponents of the Mahinda Rajapaksa horde were but a small step behind that lot in the matter of corrupt practice.

What makes it even more aggravating is the insult that is proffered to the thinking public by this lot when they mouth platitudes about erasing corruption from the face of Sri Lanka.Some of these people have a documented track record of sucking up to the Rajapaksa lot until Mahinda Rajapaksa was defeated by the current President. In fact, there is continuing proof of these same butter-wouldn’t-melt-in-their-mouths “patriots” continuing to cozy up to those who operated the most violent and corrupt regime in our seventy-year history as an independent country.

The fact that Mr. Sirisena, by virtue of the fact that his very life and that of his immediate family were under threat at the time he had the temerity to contest Mahinda Rajapaksa, would be less likely to encourage a return of that retinue is cold comfort in the context of whom he has surrounded himself with from the rump of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) or the coalition which it led. If the behaviour of any of that band is subject to even cursory scrutiny, the danger of puking is a very real one.

Read More

MS and RW search for way forward

Monday, 12 February 2018 

The Coalition Government partners of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the United National Party (UNP) yesterday scrambled to find a way forward for the Yahapalanaya union, holding marathon meetings with different stakeholders.

President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had crucial talks to find common ground to take the Coalition Government forward amidst calls by the Joint Opposition, which emerged as the unlikely champion of the Local Government elections, for it to be dissolved. Crucial meetings within both parties are scheduled today to carve out a resolution. 

The meeting, which lasted close to two hours, ended without a conclusion though both parties were vying to form their own government, leaving their coalition partner behind. However, the possibility of the Coalition Government continuing has not been completely tossed out either, sources said.

Immediately after the meeting with the President, the top ranks of the UNP reconvened at Temple Trees for follow-up discussions.  

President Maithripala Sirisena met his party members before the meeting with the Prime Minister and there was a lobby to set up a “stronger government” pushing to write off the coalition agreement.

“The reason for the defeat is not us, it is the UNP which has lost ground, so we are now not ready to work with them,” Senior SLFP member Thilanga Sumathipala told the Daily FT.

“The President is ready to make some changes and form a new government. However, he will first speak with the Prime Minister and give him time to respond. The UNP will now have to make a call.”

Sumathipala also said that going forward President Sirisena was ready to start managing the economy and make more administrative decisions.

Some factions of the UNP, which convened to hold a post-mortem of the elections, also wanted to push forward with a single-party government.

“The whole situation arose because there is no unity between the President and the Prime Minister. The last few months the President has criticised the Prime Minister often, which should not be done. Going forward the UNP is ready to form its own government,” a senior UNP minister told the Daily FT.

According to the Minister, the UNP is ready to form the Government in the event the SLFP coalition members defect from the Government.

“Let all 25 members go if they want to, we will form the Government,” the Minster said.

As the UNP members struggled to make sense of the defeat, undercurrents within the party also pushed for a change in leadership, with a clear succession plan in place to take on the elections in early 2020. The middle order of the UNP held the view that with the defeat a change in leadership was needed moving forward. 

Local council polls: Where do we go from here?

At the last rites of the Ven. Bellanwila Wimalaratana Thera – President Sirisena and Premier Wickremesinghe were present among others. Also in the picture are Speaker Karu Jayasuriya and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, de facto leader of the Sri Lanka Podujana Party (SLPP) Pic by Indika Handuwala

By Our Political Editor-Sunday, February 11, 2018

Questions whether Sirisena’s election tirade against corruption will result in action or remain mere words

Unexpected turnout at yesterday’s local govt. polls

President severely rebukes Foreign Secretary for suspending military attaché in Britain with Ranil’s approval without consulting him

The nation today awaits the victor and the vanquished at the local polls which took place yesterday. As the hours tick by, that there will be surprises galore, in the first test of strength for the ruling coalition, has become clearer. One such instance is the clear emergence of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s new Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP). The new party is poised to make a strong footprint in local politics with a noteworthy victory. That no doubt will impact both on the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the United National Party (UNP). To a lesser degree, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) will be the beneficiary of the voters, who were tired of the mainstream parties and left with no choice. Thus, by tonight the new directions the country’s political firmament is headed will begin to unfold. More so with a large turn out at yesterday’s polls.

Local council polls Where do we go from here.docx by Thavam on Scribd

UNP ACCEPTS POLL VERDICT - Hashim

Monday, February 12, 2018

UNP General Secretary Kabir Hashim said the party accepts the verdict given by the people at the local government elections.

“Through this verdict, the people have given us a warning signal, Minister Hashim said in a statement issued on behalf of the party yesterday.

The statement said: “We hope to subject this verdict to deep rethinking and dedicate ourselves to perform our role expected from us more correctly and vigorously.

“The services we have rendered in the past are many. But people tend to forget some of them. This election was a case in point and a good example for this, he said.

“We were able to change an expensive system of elections which promoted clashes among candidates of the same party and created a better election environment.

“We stopped the misuse of State property and funds for election purposes completely. We have made several good and positive steps in a number of sectors including the education section. Some of the good deeds we rendered are still not visible.

Their results will be seen in the future bringing immense benefits and dividends to the people.

“There are things we have still failed to fulfill while there are some failures.This was caused by the immense debt burden bequeathed by the Rajapaksa regime and the unexpected natural disasters faced by the country. We will strive hard to fulfill all neglected deeds and other shortcomings.

“On January 8 people entrusted us with the responsibility of creating a social, economic and political change for the better. That responsibility was again emphasized at the August General Election. We will re-dedicate ourselves towards fully implementing the responsibility entrusted to us according to the mandate given us by the people in August”, the statement issued by UNP General Secretary Minister Kabir Hashim said.