KAMALIKA  PIERIS

REVISED 28.8.17 and  28.10.18

Because it was an externally managed  ‘regime change’,  the ‘changers’ decided that it was best to install Maithripala Sirisena as President quickly,  before the island woke up to what had happened. The election results were announced on January 8, 2015 and the very next day, January 9^th, in a hurriedly prepared ceremony at Independence Square, Maithripala Sirisena was sworn in as President.

Within minutes of the swearing in, Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the United National Party (UNP) was sworn in as Prime Minister, though there was already a PM at the time, D.M. Jayaratne.  The UNP was not the majority party either. The oaths were not broadcast and we do not know what they swore to. Soon after, television showed former President Chandrika Kumaratunga   steering the new, rather uncertain, President Sirisena   towards the diplomatic ranks. She was very visible at the ceremony.

The general election was held in August 2015, ten months ahead of schedule. The UNP formed a coalition , known as  ‘United National Front for Good Governance’ (UNFGG), consisting of UNP, Jathika Hela Urumaya, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress,  All Ceylon Makkal Congress ,  Tamil Progressive Alliance and   some other political parties. Tamil Progressive Alliance consisted of the Democratic Peoples Front, National Union of Workers and Up country Peoples Front.

There was no clear majority at the     2015 General election.  To the delight of the UNP and the consternation of the UPFA, President Sirisena      succeeded in getting a number of SLFP MPs on to his side. They agreed to form a ‘national government’ with the UNP for two years, with Ranil Wickremasinghe as Prime Minister.  Analysts said that the UPFA probably created world history by sitting in the government and the opposition at the same time.

This led to a problem in appointing the Leader of the Opposition. There were two issues. SLFP was now part of the government, so it could not be in the Opposition as well.  Also though the UPFA ranked second it was unable to calculate how many seats were left after the SLFP crossover to the UNP.  Tamil National Alliance (TNA), who polled only 4.6% of the votes, came third   with a clear 16   seats and its leader R. Sampanthan was appointed as the Leader of the Opposition. The Leader of the Opposition was expected to ‘oppose’. But Sampanthan never opposed the Yahapalana government. G.L. Pieris said that ‘Mr. Sampanthan was probably the only Leader of the Opposition, in any country, at any time, to vote for a government Budget, unreservedly and without moving any material Amendment to its contents.

This ‘regime change’ was carefully planned and choreographed. There were speech writer and speech trainers. Yahapalana MPs came into Parliament on the first day dressed in pure white, high collared, tunics and white sarong, looking very confident and smug. There was a readymade 100 days progamme. The ‘first hundred days in office’ is an American tradition this provides concrete evidence that USA was behind the regime change.  The Yahapalana hundred days however, were not successful. The Central Bank bond scam took place in the hundred days.

The regime change, it is suggested, was initiated by India, through its National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval. It is Doval, apparently, who persuaded Maithripala Sirisena to defect, and united the Opposition and the minorities against Mahinda Rajapaksa. ‘He was here in November 2014.’ The motivation, apparently, was the docking of a Chinese submarine at the Colombo Port without Colombo informing India first. Doval’s role, it appears is not well known. It is not possible to accept this statement. This is probably a red herring. It is far more likely that regime change was masterminded by USA. The first visitor to Sri Lanka after regime change was John Kerry, US Secretary of State, followed by a host of other top American officials.

It is now openly acknowledged that there is foreign interference in Sri Lanka politics. The Jathika sangha Sammelanaya stated at a press conference in 2012 that international conspiracies were being hatched to undermine the sovereignty and independence of Sri Lanka. In 2014, President Rajapaksa observed that    certain powerful nations with vested interests  were trying to destabilize   countries by installing   puppet leaders as head of state. Survival  today  depends on being awake to such conspiracies by the west said Kamal Wickremasinghe. A reader wrote to Island  in 2011,  to say that Western powers are out to destabilize government because our President refused to bow down to their pressure to stop the war on LTTE.

It is now believed that the Yahapalana regime change was a foreign conspiracy, said Ven. Muruttetuwe Ananda in 2015.  People say this country is now ruled by America, he said. The methods used to oust Rajapakse are the methods America uses to achieve regime change and install governments loyal to it. They include charges of human rights violation, corruption, waste, abuse of power and family bandyism with full media backing, said Dinesh Gunawardene.  Rajapaksa said the US had spent nearly 650 million dollars to get him out. However, one voter said  in a letter to the editor,  that  it is an insult to the 62 lakhs who voted against Rajapaksa, to say that the election was a ‘foreign engineered one’.

The regime  change was carried out, under instruction from the West by   carefully selected groups of persons. President Sirisena had signed agreements with 49 organizations when he was selected as the Presidential candidate. We do not know the names of   these 49 organizations. That is secret. But the existence of these NGOs is now confirmed. In May 2017 the SLFP spokesman said on television that President Sirisena had consulted the NGOs that had helped him to come to power, before deciding on a cabinet shuffle.

This NGO group would definitely have included the CIA funded anti-Sri Lanka NGOs. These CIA funded anti-Sri Lanka NGOs, would have been part of the inner ‘regime change brigade’. In addition, new NGOs were created to act as a front and bring in the votes. These new NGOs probably did not know what they were supporting. Yahapalana government   also frankly admitted that it ‘had an understanding’ with the Tamil National Alliance and the Janata Vimukti Peramuna, about supporting Sirisena at his election.  The  sheep-like Tamil block vote helped Sirisena come to power and Sirisena was grateful. ‘ I have gone to Jaffna 11 times in 22 months as President.  About 90% of the Tamils in Jaffna voted for me. We are building houses for them and giving them back their land,’ said Sirisena in 2016.

Lawyers played an important role in this ‘regime change’, not as individuals but as a body. Rajapakse charged that some office bearers of the Bar Association had played a major role in toppling him. Chandraprema observed that the President of the BASL played a major role in the regime change project of 2015  and was amply compensated with a plum office,  that of Chairman, Board of Investment.

 

A carefully orchestrated anti-Muslim movement played an important role in the election. The Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) engaged in various highly publicized activities which earned them the label of ‘mad monks’. In 2014 there was a monk led lynch mob,   monks rampaging through the streets and monks invading ministries. TV showed Ven. Watareka Vijitha of the BBS   running away from his pursuers. Alutgama anti-Muslim riot, which got immediate international publicity, also took place in 2014.   These anti Muslim campaigns of the BBS brought incidents that would otherwise have been provincial news into the national and international spotlight.

This sudden anti –Muslim fervor is just an excuse to create trouble in Sri Lanka. It is definitely a part of the international conspiracy against Sri Lanka, said Chandraprema.  There is no need for Buddhist monks to target minorities. USA and EU know that they cannot attack the country from without. Their earlier strategies failed so now they are using Buddhist monks.  BBS whipped up hysteria against Muslims and also said President Rajapakse is not looking after the Buddhists. There was a sudden decrease of activity once Yahapalana came in. That shows who their real master is, said Political Watch.  These groups were formed by the western powers to destabilize the Rajapakse government.

Chandraprema stated that the BBS had links with Jathika Hela Urumaya and the JHU was associated with the BBS campaign against Rajapakse. President Rajapakse said in an interview with Ceylon Today in April 2015 that  said that when the cabinet discussed the BBS, ( before the elections, ) Champika Ranawake went berserk and demanded not to lay hands on the BBS or any other organizations that were mushrooming at the time. (Daily News 7.8.13 p 4;,See also https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/champika-the-ultra-nationalist-hardliner-shows-signs-of-mellowing/)

The Weliweriya   incident of 2013, over contaminated water, also had similar overtones.  Shenali Waduge observes that the Weliweriya water issue had been under discussion for some time, it was nothing new. When the same people gang up together and come up with the same set of notions joined by the US embassy then you wonder whether there is something more than merely protesting over water, she said.  It was said that the sangha were instigating the commotion. However, she pointed out that the protesters were carrying petrol bombs and  swords which shows that it was not a peaceful assembly.   Weliweriya was an attempt to create a ‘Sri Lanka Spring’ like the ‘Arab Spring’ uprising.

The Sirisena victory raised expectations. “Yahapalanaya” was a concept, a vision, a promise for a better tomorrow, an assurance extended to a despairing public, a last straw that disillusioned millions collectively clutched at, said Anura Gunasekera. The  Yahapalanaya agenda included the restoration of genuine democracy, re-engineering of the economy and the curtailment of wasteful expenditure, total freedom of expression for the press and other dissenters, without fear of official reprisal as a response to the exposure of unpalatable truths, restitution of denied rights to the minorities and the implementation of measures for genuine reconciliation, the impartial investigation of allegations of mega –corruption of the previous regime and the re-investigation of serious crimes, especially politically motivated murder, shelved or otherwise sanitized by the Rajapaksa regime.

Krishantha Prasad Cooray, Roman Catholic, said I felt immense satisfaction for having been part of the effort that brought about the spectacular victory. But more than that, it was a sense of relief and hope. Things would be better because things would be different. I told myself that a powerful few will no longer be able to impose their will on the people. Sri Lanka would move away from the dictatorial regime marked by corruption, the politics of patronage, nepotism and waste. Sri Lanka would turn a new leaf and ensure good governance where no one will be above the law and nepotism will give way to meritocracy.”

Krishantha continues We were going to be living in a democratic country where there is rule of law, where rights are protected, and where the judiciary is independent. There would be development that was sensible, the economy would be managed prudently and it would benefit the general citizenry and not a few individuals and cronies bent on bankrupting the country. No more wastage of public funds, no more kick-backs, no further bloating of the public service and no excessive borrowings. There is freedom of speech and freedom even after the speech. No one is shot in the dead of night, no one is abducted. The President and the Prime Minister have demonstrated their vision and courage.  Don Manu said   Ranil Wickremasinghe had ‘the strength of ten and the whole of the Parliament put together because his conscience is pure’. 

But this euphoria did not last long. Admirers of Yahapalana soon found that the government was not delivering what it had promised. Before the election, everybody was going to vote for ‘Hansaya’ deserting Rajapakse. They announced this proudly in buses and trains. After the election you could not find anybody who had voted for Sirisena. One supporter said the social media campaign and youth involvement had made a huge impression on her at the Presidential election. But she is now disillusioned. There is now a deep groundswell of dissatisfaction, discontent and disillusionment with the present, combined with deep unease about the future, said Sinharaja Tammita Delgoda. Two years ago everyone I met said they had voted for a change, for Yahapalanaya, for  ‘Good Governance’ . Now I can hardly find anyone who says that they did , he said.

The audience at Yahapalana meetings, shown daily on TV, have glum, unsmiling faces. Whether it is an opening ceremony at a temple,graced by the President, a  meeting to  distribute land deeds,  a village political meeting, or the May Day rally at Getambe, 2017, the Yahapalana    audience is with long faces. They look fed up and disbelieving. In contrast, those at the Mahinda Rajapakse rallies are waving and cheering like at a pop star rally, despite the fact that Rajapaksa  is no longer  in power.

The public is concerned about the present state of government .  I have been travelling on intercity buses for decades. The intercity bus usually plays music on the journey. The two buses on which I travelled up and down to Kandy in January 2017, played the news broadcasts, not music. No one protested.

Some NGOs  have started to get restless.  A group of civil society activists said the Yahapalana government was pursuing an agenda extremely inimical to the national economy. Having campaigned for restoration of democracy and accountability, the government was causing unbearable losses to the economy. The electorate hadn’t voted out the previous government for the new rulers to continue same policies. Earlier the Rajapakse robbed, now  Yahapalana is ‘robbing the country in a different manner’they said.

The ‘Anti Corruption Front’   held a media conference in January 2017  and said they did not agree with several of the Yahapalana actions. Having campaigned for Yahapalana they are now deeply embarrassed. They had never expected Yahapalana to support shady deals. They said that the government was acting contrary to the mandate it had received at the January election. The ‘main speaker’   had prudently  left the conference before the press could ask him why his NGO had, in the first place,  backed a well organized project involving western powers and the TNA to defeat Rajapaksa.

There is no Yahapalana, said Razeen Sally.”Governance is back to where it was bad to mediocre, rife with corruption and nepotism.” It was ‘Yama palanaya’ not Yahapalana said the public. There is no strong leadership, Rajapakse was a strong leader, they said..’ N.A. de S Amaratunge said, under Rajapakse, we had corruption and nepotism but also development, under Yahapalana there is rampant corruption and nepotism but no development.

Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha, head of the NGO ‘National movement for social Justice”, gave tremendous leadership to President Sirisena’s campaign and helped him to win. He was a highly visible, highly vocal supporter of Yahapalana.  But when he saw what Yahapalana government was doing, Sobitha turned against the government. Maduluwawe Sobitha had the ability to bring down the Yahapalana government speedily. He could have done it single handed. But before he could do so, he died.

Within a week of starting his anti-Yahapalana programme, Sobitha was taken ill, and died abroad at Mount Elizabeth Hospital, Singapore. Ven. Uduwe Dhammaloka   who had been associating with him was surprised as Sobitha did not seem that ill. The ‘National movement for social Justice” called for an impartial probe into Ven. Sobitha’s death. A medical team appointed by the Chief Magistrate, Colombo,   looked at the local medical records. The Singapore hospital did not send their records. The team accepted the cause of death given in Singapore, saying it was in keeping with the clinical features of Sobitha’s illness. The team stated that there was no evidence of negligence.

However, there was considerable comment on the death of Ven Sobitha. Sobitha looked very robust and in good health said Chandraprema. the surgery performed on him had been successful. . so there were doubts about his death. . The allegations that he died due to the ignorance of the local doctors, was strongly opposed. One response said that the clinical skills of the Sri Lanka doctors were far superior to those in  foreign countries who are more dependant on technology.

Sobitha has gone to the National Hospital with a heart complaint. Sobitha had been diagnosed in the NHSL, then operated on by a cardiologists at a private hospital in Colombo, by pass was done he had recovered and was discharged.  For convalescence he  had has been admitted to anther hospital then transferred back to the first private hospital, then a political decision was made to take him to Singapore where he died.  Between Sept 10 and Nov 8 he had been moved to six different hospitals, with his consent. Sobitha was a high risk patient with lots of complications, said Upul Wijewardene. CA Chandraprema records that neither Ranil nor Sirisena visited Sobitha when he was ill.

Sobitha was held in great affection as could be seen by the big turnout at his funeral. Carlo Fonseka implied that he had died due to a medical misadventure. But  Sunday Island editor points out that by passes are common today and success rates are very high. And the monk who could keep yahapalana on track is no more. There were service of thanksgiving for Sobitha by the Catholic Church and the Rev Duleep de Chickera praised him.

Maduluwawe Sobitha died soon after he started to critique the government. A group of Sri Jayewardenepura undergrad asked the SLMC to conduct a fresh inquiry into sobita’s death they stated in the letter that there is an element of suspicion in people minds about this death.

Ven Uduwe Dhammaloka at a press conference stated that Sobitha death was the result of a conspiracy. Sobitha had told Uduwe that he was dissatisfied at the direction he country was moving in. Elle Gunawansa and Muruttetuwe Ananda also addressed the media conference..

Gammanpila at a separate media conference also called for an inquiry by the government. He claimed that Gangodawila Soma had also died under mysterious circumstances. Also that Kotagama Vachissara and Labuduwe Siridhamma who rose against the then UNP government also died under mysterious circumstances.

Muruttetuwe Ananda said he had suspicions about the death. He was the person who assisted him to find physicians when he was ill. When I visited the National hospitals upon learning that he was in the intensive care unit, he held my hands and said ‘Ananda we made a mistake. We have been deceived’ had he lived he would have been an arch enemy of this government.  His death is highly suspicious.

CA Chandraprema asks Nirmal Devasiri whether he does not think that Sobitha was fooled and used by  president Sirisena who had  not even gone to see him when he was ill.  Nirmal replies that is no secret that Sobitha was bitterly disappointed with this government. He was very critical of the government and made public statements to that effect.

Sobitha was the first to criticize the new government, for not doing election reform as promised and for appointing defeated candidates onto the government.  And the huge cabinet. He realized that the path on which the government was heading was not right, and as not afraid to say so

The leading figures in the Yahapalana government rapidly lost their popularity. The very first request, once the Right to Information Act was gazetted was from Transparency International, Sri Lanka requesting information on the assets and liabilities of President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe.  Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said this move was an insult and ridicule to the two leaders who made immense sacrifices to bring in good governance to the country.

The leading political personalities of Yahapalana seem to be the most unpopular.  YouTube presentation titled ‘Traitors of Mother Lanka’ includes Mangala Samaraweera, Ravi Karunanayake and Ranil Wickremasinghe. Ada Derana news of 16.3.17 said that the leading names in the top ten corruptions was Ranil, Malik and Ravi.  In 2016 Joint Opposition lodged a complaint with CIABOC (Committee to Investigate allegations of Bribery and Corruption) against Ranil Wickremasinghe and was planning to do so against Ravi Karunanayake too.

Ranil  Wickremesinghe  who wass Prime Minister of Sri Lanka  from 7 May 1993 to 19 August 1994 and from 9 December 2001 to 6 April 2004 was described as a ‘menace to this country’. Ranil’s first cousin Rajiva Wijesinha, had said, it appears, on TV that Ranil was a slimy crook” and “a disgrace to his grandparents”. Sri Lankans in Australia held a protest during Ranil Wickremasinghe’s visit to Melbourne in February 2017.

Malinda Seneviratne observed that the most serious human rights violations took place in the 1980s, with over 60,000 people being killed in the course of two years. It was a time marked by proxy arrests, abduction, torture and assassination and dubbed ‘bheeshanaya’. Ranil Wickremasinghe was a minister then, said Malinda. ‘It is hard to claim that Ranil has no blood on his hands.’

Ranil signed the Ceasefire Agreement of 2002. This CFA was the greatest betrayal of the country, said critics, the agreement equated LTTE to the legally constituted armed forces   and its officers was asked to shake hands with the LTTE and discuss peace. While there were 3000 odd violationd of the CFA, the army had to look the other way.

Prime Minister Wickremasinghe has openly called for Sri Lanka’s economy to be linked with five South Indian states including Tamilnadu,  He is giving India a large foothold in Trincomalee and the island’s North in general, through highway building and economic projects. He is also hell-bent on signing ETCA which will allow greater penetration of the whole Sri Lankan economy by India. I have not heard of nor can I think of a worse act of treachery by any Sri Lankan leader nor indeed any leader anywhere in the world today, and possibly during my lifetime, said Dayan Jayatilleke.

During Eelam War IV Ravi Karunanayake ridiculed the army, saying it was going to Medawachchiya and Pamankada and not Kilinochchi or Alimankada. Karunanayake had been charged in court with helping Raj Rajaratnam invest money in an irregular manner. Critics observed that the Colombo High Court in May 2015 discharged him due to a defect in the indictment.  The Attorney General should file a fresh indictment. At the concert by Trini Lopez in July 2016, the audience had ‘jeered loudly’ when it was announced that Ravi Karunanayake was in the venue as the chief guest.

Namini Wijedasa reported that Ravi Karunanayake’s name had come up frequently in the investigations she carried out on the Central Bank bond scam.  The presidential commission of inquiry relating to the Central Bank bond scam revealed that Ravi Karunanayake had been present at a CEO meeting of primary dealers at the Central Bank. He had attended such  meetings previously too. Karunanayake openly stated that the Mahendran family has been ‘family friends for years’.  Karunanayake questioned the bond scam. ‘Tell us where the loss is’, he asked.

Karunanayake’s policies and decisions as Finance minister were criticized and challenged. The Customs Department was having a continuing battle with Karunanayake over the new Customs Ordinance and other matters.  Karunanayake retaliated. He carried out a midnight-inspection of the Sri Lanka Customs in March 2017.  The Customs officials at the two container yards at Orugodawatta were surprised by this unexpected visit. Karunanayake then went to the Customs Headquarters and at that late hour   ‘discussed the problems faced by the Customs officers in discharging their duties’. Minister told the media that importers had complained of delay at the Customs. ‘Consequently, we chose to engage in an inspection tour at a slack time of this nature. We observed that the customs is progressing very well.’

Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake made surprise visits to several super markets in Colombo on April 9 to ascertain whether they maintain standard commodity prices.We engaged in a similar surprise visit to Colombo wholesale market recently and, enquired about prices of consumer goods in the market. Later we worked out how much should be the price of each item when it reaches the retail outlets. During this visit, we came to know that not only the ordinary retail shops but also super markets sell goods at lower prices,” the minister said.

A  Foreign Minister is expected to defend and advance the nation’s interests robustly and with quiet dignity, He is expected to represent the country’s best interests with fortitude and quiet pride.  Mangala Samaraweera instead is seen genuflecting the west at every opportunity, said critics. From the time he assumed office, Mangala Samaraweera  has denigrated the previous leadership of the country before his Western counterparts, Badmouthing a previous leadership who could return to power at some point, is not in the country’s best interests. Dayan Jayatilleka said that Samaraweera poses an existential threat to the State’s sovereignty and security, and gravely jeopardizes political stability and governability.”

 

Minister Samaraweera was hosted  at a function by the Sri Lankan consul  in Los Angeles after attending the 71st Session of the UN General Assembly in New York in 2016.About 200 residents from Southern California were present at the event. Minister Samaraweera, dressed in open shirt while the invitation called for formal attire.  Notably absent were Buddhist monks from the local Sri Lankan temples. In contrast to other Sri Lankan leaders who from time to time have addressed the expatriate community here, Mr. Samaraweera, speaking for about 20 minutes, solely in English, did not have one good thing to say about Sri Lanka from independence to present.  he painted a grim picture of a country that couldn’t evolve,” a nation, contrary to the promise shown when it became independent, is still struggling to move forward.”

 

Now, after sliding for almost 70 years, Sri Lanka has finally caught a break according to the minister.  There’s hope in the horizon with a new vision for democratization and development” being pursued by his government which came to power in 2015. All the countries are coming forward to help us,” he declared. he said the government will take measures to make it easier for foreign investors to do business in the island as well as for foreign nationals to buy land. the government felt it important to show the world” its commitment to reconciliation by cosponsoring the Geneva Resolution (Human Rights Council Resolution 30/1).

John Amaratunga was jeered, hooted and forced to leave after he laid a foundation stone for a Tamil medium school at Oliyamulla, Wattala in August 2016. The public protested that they wanted a playground not a school. Amaratunga had to be escorted through the back door as the irate villagers turned aggressive. They burnt a banner with photo of Amaratunga and stoned the vehicle of a former Provincial Councilor who was also there at the time.

There is  rising anti-government feeling. A heated situation had arisen at the opening of a bus-station in Moragahahena area, Horana in October 2016. Work on this project had commenced during the Rajapakse regime under the initiation of the then MP Vidura Wickramanayaka.  The building was completed and Minister Champika Ranawaka had been invited to open it. About half hour before he arrived, the former MP came and declared open the bus station.

Biyagama multipurpose building at Mawaramandiya was due to be opened by the Yahapalana government in November 2016. The public stated that it this had been built during the time of President Mahinda Rajapakse. They removed the plaque and replaced it with a   new plaque which bore the name of Mahinda Rajapakse. The building was   prematurely ‘opened ‘by former chairman of Biyagama pradeshiya sabha. TV news showed them coming in accompanied by a cheering public. When the government representative spoke the   audience hooted and jeered. A playground created by Presdient Rajapaksa in 2014 in Bandaragama had been kept closed by Yahapalana.  In 2017,  the Joint Opposition  led by Kumara Welgama  opened it.

At the Anamaduwa cooperative society election in March 2017,   Joint Opposition got 180 seats, UNP 18 with SLFP (Sirisena faction) and the JVP getting none. At an Economic Forum  attended by 200 corporate executives,   in the same month, when  they called for a show of hands of those who thought that Sri Lanka was “on the right track, not a single hand was raised, though the call was made twice.

Yahapalana seems unable to get anything right and after two years in power they have very little to show for it, said Ryp van Winkle. There is no other government that has deteriorated to this level so   rapidly in the post independent Sri Lanka said critics.  Ryp Van Winkle     advised in January 2017, ‘some at least of the   6.2 million who voted for you, Maithri, are not very happy. Most of the time we are confused about what your government is doing and who is the boss. There is hardly any development that we can see. I do not know what your plan is for the next three years but it better be different to the last two.