By Shivanthi Ranasinghe Courtesy Ceylon Today

Sri Lanka’s prevailing situation would have been comical if not for the serious implications. Ranil Wickremesinghe despite being terminated from premiership defiantly occupies the Premier’s official residence
– Temple Trees. On 20 November, the Tamil National Alliance as the official Opposition met with a group of 15 diplomats to complain that a certain person even after two No- Confidence Motions (NCMs) were passed against him in Parliament, continues to call himself the Prime Minister and occupies the PM’s Office.

TNA is effectively turned tables on those who had called for Wickremesinghe’s eviction from the Temple Trees. Wickremesinghe is in effect abusing public property – a punishable offence. It was on a similar charge that the former Special Task Force Commandant DIG K.L.M. Sarathchandra was remanded on 23 November, 2016, for allegedly misusing a vehicle attached to the STF, which apparently caused the State a loss of Rs. 146,690. Apparently, the daily cost to maintain the Temple Trees is about Rupees four million.

GR was the only person to directly address the issue, even though he is no longer in the Government. However, as the Government failed to follow it up and the effort became a nonstarter. Instead, Wickremesinghe’s forcible occupation was used to gain political mileage by portraying him as insane and pathetic. Some, very irresponsible, government worthies have benevolently stated to allow Wickremesinghe to enjoy the luxuries for a few more days.

It is after all not the private holiday bungalow of any of these government worthies to extend it for Wickremesinghe’s pleasure. It is the official residence of the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. Of course it is embarrassing when the occupant refuses to leave after his tenure expires. Nevertheless, decisive steps need to be taken to ensure that only the PM appointed by the President of Sri Lanka occupies the PM’s official residence.

Not the first time  

This is not the first instance we were confronted with an occupant refusing to be dislodged. After failing for months to convince Hema Premadasa to leave, the then government finally opted to disconnect the electricity. Any embarrassment caused, then, is long forgotten now.

Initially, Wickremesinghe justified his refusal to vacate the Residence claiming his termination was illegal and unconstitutional. However, to pass the NCM for the second time on 16 November, he on the instructions of Maithripala Sirisena removed the first clause. By doing so, he accepted not only that his own termination was well within the legal and constitutional frame, but so was the appointment of Mahinda Rajapaksa. Then the question is as to why he is still occupying Premier’s official residence.

The situation today is quite unlike the unsavory situation created by HP. In her case, she had just lost her husband in the most awful and tragic circumstances. Giving her time to gather her wits was the decent thing to do. However, in the prevailing situation Wickremesinghe is deliberately creating confusion in the country.

He as a learned lawyer declared that his termination was unlawful. He extensively quoted the 19th Amendment to justify his claim. He, however, failed to mention that the Article 3 of the Constitution blocked his manoeuvres to assume executive powers for himself in the guise of premier. As per the Constitution, the executive powers are vested in the President. To remove that power from the President to another entity, may it be the premier or Parliament; the people’s approval must be obtained via a referendum. As people’s consent was not obtained, Article 3 preserves the executive powers within the President’s domain. This was succinctly explained by President’s Counsel Samantha Rathwatte’s ‘President can Dissolve Parliament at Anytime’, that appeared in this newspaper on 22 November.

Wickremesinghe knew this, for he never sought justice for his grievance from the Supreme Court – the only body empowered to interpret the Constitution. His excuse was that eventually the matter would be referred back to Parliament. Instead, he directed his grievances to a select group from the diplomatic community. How he expected them to redress an internal issue of the country, which according to Wickremesinghe even the Supreme Court cannot, is baffling. It was only after addressing these diplomats did Wickremesinghe approach his own voters. Whether this implies that this select group is the link between Wickremesinghe and his voters is a question National Intelligence Bureau should investigate.

Even though Wickremesinghe had accepted he is no longer Sri Lanka’s premier, his continued stay at the PM’s official residence allows a life support to continue the confusion. The situation has exacerbated to the point that some even believe that Sri Lanka is without a government and the only elected person in office is the President.

Govt lethargy

The Government’s lethargy over the issue adds to the dilemma. It is as if the Government itself is unsure over the illegitimacy of Wickremesinghe’s occupancy. Their failure to resolve this simple issue adds to the impression that there is no decisive leadership in the country. In this apparent vacuum, investors are taking a watch-and-see approach.

The Wickremesinghe-led administration became unpopular, not because of their failure to capture the crooks”; the co-signing of a resolution against our own country; the federal featured Constitution in the pipeline; selling of national assets or even the Central Bank Bond scams. It was the economic mismanagement where 500,000 people lost their livelihoods. The aforementioned list just added to the grievances.

Even the recent fracas in Parliament over the haphazardly conducted NCMs did not bother the common man as much as certain interest groups hoped. Their worries continue to be dominated by rising economic woes.

Therefore, Government’s top priority is to restore the investors’ confidence. This will not happen if the Wickremesinghe-led camp is allowed to effectively portray that Sri Lanka is without a government.

TNA

Now the TNA had chosen to ridicule MR on the same basis Wickremesinghe was, by the Government worthies. Adapting that very same tone, TNA is stating that some person is claiming to be the PM and is occupying the PM’s offices.

Their argument is that two NCMs were successfully passed against this person” and therefore he is no longer the PM. Just as Wickremesinghe they are deviously hiding the truth. The two NCMs were passed in contravention to procedure and the Speaker interpreted the vote on the ‘voice’ he apparently heard the most. It is incredible that he heard any distinguishable word over the cacophony. Speaker’s verdict is unacceptable not only to Sirisena, but to any intelligent person. When both NCMs were not accepted by the President of the country, TNA is spreading a falsehood.

The NCMs were on the basis that MR does not command the Parliament’s majority. However, the TNA is the last body that can howl about it. The reason being, though they are the official Opposition, they were never the largest Opposition body. Earlier it was the 55-member Joint Opposition and now it is the Wickremesinghe-group that has over 100 members. The TNA has only 15 members and that too from only two of the nine provinces.

When the TNA has not addressed a single national issue, only the insane could accept them as the Opposition. During the race to muster the majority in the Parliament to be the justifiable PM, TNA continued to be self-serving. They pledged support to the side that will give them a written assurance to deliver their demands. Thus, they chose to keep the entire country in suspense for the gain of a small, select group.

If MR should vacate the PM’s post on the basis he does not have the numbers, then so should the TNA, for they too do not have the numbers (or the integrity) to be the Opposition.

Just as Wickremesinghe chose to create political drama when terminated and  refused to follow the proper procedure for an NCM. Had he done so, he might have ousted MR but would have exposed himself also for not having the numbers to form his own government. As he needs the TNA and the JVP to be the official Opposition”, he himself is without a majority.

Thus he opts to create confusion and chaos so the country cannot move forward. If to escape from Wickremesinghe’s theatrics and the Government’s indecisiveness, people must agitate for a general election so as to be given an opportunity to select a strong, patriotic government to lead the country forward.

ranasingheshivanthi@gmail.com