KAMALIKA PIERIS

revised 23.6.22

Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned from the post of Prime Minister on 9^th May 2022. He was replaced by Ranil Wickremesinghe, a national list” MP soon after, on 12^th May.

This brought to a sudden end the noisy protests that had dominated Colombo. The purpose of these protests, it is now clear, was to remove Mahinda Rajapaksa and replace him with Ranil Wickremesinghe.  USA has planned all along to make Ranil Wickremesinghe the Prime Minister of the current   government, with Gotabaya also staying on.

The government of Sri Lanka is   now managed by two pro-US leaders, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, President and Ranil Wickremesinghe, Prime Minister.  Gotabaya Rajapaksa, an American citizen till two years ago, is yet required to meet his obligations to the United States of America as the spouse of an American citizen said Jonathan Manz. There is another connection. His son is living in the US, with his family.

Ranil Wickremesinghe is an unrepentant American apologist, who has pledged to be an active partner of the US in its ‘Pivot-to-Asia’ strategy said Manz.  As Prime Minister in the earlier Yahapalana government, Ranil followed Americentric policies and was on verge of signing the ‘MCC Compact’, crucial for the USA;s takeover of Sri Lanka. 

However, this combination of Gotabaya and Ranil is not a very strong or secure one. To start with, the appointment of Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister violates Article 43 (3) of the Constitution.

The intelligentsia doubt whether decisions and policies implemented by this pair will be considered valid. They hope the decisions will be challenged and overturned by the next government.

This pair will need to proceed very carefully. The general public does not like Gotabaya or Ranil and do not wish to see them run the country.  They are disappointed and fed up with President Gotabaya. Ranil Wickremesinghe is also not popular. Nor is he considered an effective head of state. The corruption and treachery carried out under his authority earlier is still remembered.   His tilt to the US and his anti-Sri Lanka stance is well known.   

Mahinda Rajapaksa was unceremoniously deposed as Prime Minister in a bizarre turn of events that began just five meters from the US Embassy in Colombo commented Manz.  Mahinda Rajapaksa had   refused to budge, when asked to go, so it was necessary to get rid of him in this way.

USA had executed    a lightning coup using its well tried false-flag operations, to get rid of Mahinda observed Manz.  A false flag operation is an operation carried out by one side to look   as though it was done by the other side.

 Intelligence reports suggest that ‘Operation Mahinda’ was a classic false-flag operation by USA, Manz   said. The operation resembled the Ukrainian coup of 2014, where the US executed a false-flag operation, to unseat a democratically elected President and replace him with an American apologist.

US was openly triumphant during Yahapalana time. Today it is cautious and low key.  The emphasis was on friendship and assistance, not dominance. Sri Lanka and USA were going to love and support each other as independent states.

The public had to be informed that we have now linked with USA.  In June 2022, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe made a special statement, saying that US President Joe Biden had announced his support for Sri Lanka during a meeting of diplomats at the White House,  

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had also spoken with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken by telephone. It was a pleasure speaking to Secretary of State said Ranil in a tweet on June 13th, 2022.     Blinken has agreed to assist Sri Lanka and to promote investment once the talks with the IMF were completed Wickremesinghe   had told Blinken that Sri Lanka is willing to have closer cooperation with the United States Ranil requested Blinken to convey his regards to President Joe Biden.

U.S. Under Secretary for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland and Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu had visited Sri Lanka from 22 – 23 March, 2022.

  Media recalled that the  last time such a joint senior delegation came to Sri Lanka was in February 2012, when Maria Otero Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and HumanRights, and Robert O. Blake, Jr.  (a former US Ambassador to Sri Lanka) Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs visited before the initial country specific resolution was passed at the UNHRC in Geneva in February/March 2012.

Foreign Minister, GL Pieris had warmly welcomed U.S. Under Secretary for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland.He said that Sri Lanka considered U.S. as an important partner and looks forward to working closely with the Biden Administration to elevate the longstanding relations to greater heights.

Sri Lanka and the United States convened the Fourth Sri Lanka – U.S. Partnership Dialogue during her stay. The two countries issued a statement, the statement said; inter alia, that USA and Sri Lanka reaffirmed their commitment to the bilateral relationship. They shared values as fellow democracies and wished to work together to further strengthen the partnership.

Both delegations welcomed ongoing bilateral defense and security sector cooperation, and joint military engagements. The U.S. strategy towards a free, open and prosperous Indo-Pacific region, which promotes freedom of navigation and over flight, was accepted by Sri Lanka. Also the need to ensure a safe maritime domain in the Indian Ocean through the rules-based international order. 

 Sri Lanka appreciated that U.S. is already the largest market for Sri Lankan exports.  Both delegations expressed strong support for ongoing cooperation between the two countries in education and culture.  Both delegations welcomed ongoing efforts to preserve and celebrate Sri Lanka’s rich cultural heritage through cultural heritage funding received from the U.S. over the last 17 years. 

Sri Lanka thanked US for its many donations. they included donation of3.4 million COVAX vaccines, the provision of over $18 million in health equipment., USD $265 million given by U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), as loans designed to support Sri Lanka’s small and medium enterprises, a five-year $19 million Sri Lanka Energy Program with support towards a floating solar plant, and the gift of a third High Endurance U.S. Coast Guard Cutter.

In May 2022, Samantha Power, ‘held a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. She wanted to discuss how USAID is responding to the country’s political and economic crises. Power assured the Prime Minister that USAID would closely work with other donors such as the IMF, the World Bank, G7, and others to support Sri Lanka during this difficult period. Samantha Power is today the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). From 2013 to 2017, Power was US Permanent Representative to the United Nations.