Some people are destined to be leaders some are just destined to be unceremoniously ousted and repeatedly too. The fate of Ranil Wickremasinghe falls into this category. He lost his job while overseas in 2004 and then lost his job by letter while in Galle in 2018. Mahinda Rajapakse to the obvious shock of the very agents that helped oust him from office has not only made a surprise comeback but he is now the 22nd Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. But, the democratic coup is nothing that anyone can complain about and every incident now unfolding appears a nemesis or karmic reaction to how Ranil & the UNP treated the former President. They say there are no permanent friends simply permanent interest & President Sirisena has shown the former Prime Minister Wickremasinghe how he can also checkmate if that was what the UNP had planned to do. The 19amendment also drafted to enable Ranil to become a supreme leader had nothing to do with good governance or democracy & that too karma has sealed Ranil’s fate with the new PM likely to enjoy the powers Ranil thought only he was going to enjoy till the end.
We can all recall the January 2015 Presidential election was held & Maithripala Sirisena contesting as common candidate won with 62lakhs vote to become the Sri Lankan President. His candidacy kept secret as the plan was to field him as Ranil was not likely to be the voter’s choice. So a decoy was needed to win & thereafter get him to function as a puppet to do the necessary legislative changes to subtly pass power to the Prime Minister. That secrecy in 2015 has backfired in 2018 when the man who plotted to transfer power unto himself finds out that he has been removed and the person he ousted is now the new Prime Minister.
Immediately after taking oaths he appointed Ranil then Opposition Leader as the Prime Minister. The pundits supporting Yahapalana including the international community, media, over 50 civil society organizations saw no illegality in the appointment and argued that the President had the right to deem who had the confidence in Parliament whether he had the numbers or not to support that confidence.
Now the same pundits are questioning how the same President can appoint Mahinda Rajapakse as PM claiming Rajapakse does not have a majority. However, while Ranil had only 42 MPs in 2015, Rajapakse has 96 MPs in 2018. What the pundits also completely forget is that Ranil was appointed PM without removing the sitting PM, D M Jayaratne while Ranil was officially sent a letter terminating him as Prime Minister before Mahinda Rajapakse was sworn in as Prime Minister. It is nothing but a case of what goes round comes round & nemesis in action.
We seem to have all missed that Mahinda Rajapakse left Temple Trees before all the election results came in 2015. However, part of the false flag campaigns and smear tactics used was to present the notion that he was not leaving office & that the airports would need to be closed to prevent him running away. Ratana Thero even declared they would organize people to the streets to remove Mahinda Rajapakse if he did not leave office (though by that time he had already left after saying goodbyes to his crying staff). Needless to say fast forward to 2018 and who is not gracefully leaving office – Ranil Wickremasinghe, who even a day after the swearing in of Mahinda Rajapakse and the gazette notification to that effect remains issuing statements as I am still the Prime Minister” while also meeting foreign envoys. This is the bunch of people who were promising Sri Lankans good governance & righteous rule.
Did the EU issue a joint statement when Ranil was illegally made the PM in January 2015 without removing the sitting PM (D M Jayaratne)
Did the EU object to the manner CJ Mohan Pieris was also removed simply by not allowing him to come to his chambers and then claiming he doesn’t have to be removed because his appointment was illegal?
The same pundits would also like to recall how karma has been building up. Right or wrong, or however bad or good Chief Justice Mohan Peiris is, the manner that Yahapalana removed him was totally unbecoming of a democratic government claiming to usher good governance. CJ Pieris was not allowed into his chambers & CJ Shirani was appointed Chief Justice claiming there was no requirement to remove CJ Peiris before appointing CJ Shirani B, as the appointment of CJ Pieris was illegal. At least the Rajapakse’s followed due process in the removal of CJ Shirani but there was absolutely no process followed in the case of CJ Pieris. Not a single person in the international community, local media, human rights organizations or civil society cried foul & objected to the wrongful manner CJ Pieris was removed from office. The karma for this was also awaiting.
We next come to the manner that the yahapalana government set up all types of courts, placed controversial people into key roles & virtually gave a carte blanche to the West, India & UN to interfere & meddle into the affairs of Sri Lanka. Various task forces have been set up without any involvement of ministries who are making decisions that involve state land, state circulars & they are sealing deals without any approvals.
Only opposition MPs or anyone opposing the good governance government were asked to appear to give a statement & then immediately arrested, sent to prison, denied bail & kept in prison for months. If anyone has done wrong, arrest them after having the evidence then file charges & declare them guilty. How fair was it to simply dump them in prison? Military personnel, intelligence personnel & even Buddhist bhikkus were also subject to the same treatment. In the case of the military & intel personnel their salaries were halted leaving their families helpless to survive & dependent on well-wishers for support. How many wives & children would have slept without food or other requirements & their tears & sadness would have been seen by the divine powers. The karmic build-up of these injustices were also piling & awaiting justice.
Two Bond Scams, the manner that government MPs were virtually running amok selling anything & everything and making off with commissions is nothing we need to repeat. Complete disregard for the public or the welfare of the future. All of these occurred while the PM held the central bank directly under his charge having taken it immediately after becoming PM. He cannot shirk responsibility or accountability for the fall of the economy as he was instrumental in its collapse. He cannot be allowed to simply retire or continue as Opposition Leader without being held accountable for the disastrous & precarious situation the country is now in. UNP heralded him as Mr. Clean & Mr. Visionary – two placards UNP will now have to bury as even UNPers have come to terms that the UNP leader is neither clean nor a visionary. The rupee has collapsed, the cost of living is spiraling, foreigners are buying land freehold, shops are empty as people don’t have money to buy and now after laughing at Mrs. Bandaranaike even apples and orange imports are now curtailed. UNP is unlikely to ever come to power on its own merits unless it is from the shortcomings or lapses of the others in power. The international community went to the extent of propping up their puppets by even offering them international awards & issuing regular statements praising them. This whole farce has now blown in their face displaying their hypocrisy & totally negating their credibility.
Of all of Ranil’s treachery is presenting the bill to compensate LTTE as if the money is coming from his pockets. This comes second to the signing of a cease fire agreement in 2002 giving territory to terrorists & lets not forget how he never wanted LTTE defeated. It is no surprise that every appointee of his has some link to the LTTE & its diaspora.
Given that the international community, the media & civil society have been continuously demanding rule of law, justice & ending corruption, we see no wrong in Mahinda Rajapakse using the very systems the good governance government set up to bring to book every member of the Yahapalana government that have helped ruin Sri Lanka economically, politically, culturally, socially in particular there is an urgent need to release all military personnel held wrongfully including the Buddhist priests kept in prison for no valid reason & on unfair jail terms. It is also imperative that the Prime Minister take up every illegal trade pact signed without proper approvals/authority & compromising the nation’s security/territorial integrity & the welfare of the citizens. Every Minister & public official who have taken part in these illegalities should be brought to justice with evidence & legally.
This change came about not out of any paid campaign with foreign strategists putting the ideas & campaign slogans but simply as a result of the pulse of the people pressuring political action warranting the necessary changes to put Sri Lanka back on track. That makes this a real people’s revolution taking shape politically.
The international community and mainstream media up to mischief again are presenting a notion of turmoil in Sri Lanka – it is nothing but peace in Sri Lanka now & this video of how Jaffna reacted to the appointment of Mahinda Rajapakse as Prime Minister is evidence enough and should send shockwaves to the TNA & TPC as well as the foreign envoys now meeting Ranil Wickremasinghe instead of the new Prime Minister.
However, the new Prime Minister needs to again keep in mind that karma is not selective. No one is exempted. You do wrong – and the return is shocking. Rajapakse has many a lesson to remind himself of and many an action that should not get repeated.
While we empathize that he cannot clean the stables in the current format of composition in parliament until an election is held & people help him by voting good candidates after the parties filed good candidates, he has to make do with what he has and that is likely to mean he has to take in unsavoury characters also. However, the tide change will bring people who want to remain in power and the Prime Minister must clearly tell them that if they want to remain in power – his set of rules & guidelines must be followed and no one should fall out of line & those that do he must take stern action against.
He and his team has 1 year to prepare for the bigger election. The game is now wide open thanks to President Sirisena. Voters will be ruthless as they daily discover they are the bait & they are the sufferers in the bigger game of politics. Therefore, they are unlikely to be kind for any political party until and unless they get their act together and leave aside party and personal politics to build up the Nation and develop the country for the benefit of the future generations. Sri Lanka must come first. Sri Lankans must come first. Priority should be given to everything National. We must rebuild our agriculture, return to sustainable development. Capitalist neo-liberalism is a proved failure and even the West is discovering it so we do not need to copy things that are a failure. We need to create our own format just as our forefathers built up the nation without any degrees or doctorates. Recognition should go to people who love the country, people who pride in our own & who want to contribute to our own.
It is a great relief to witness the end of political career of most disgusting politician of Sri Lanka, a man named Ranil Wickremasinghe. This is the man without any love for the country, religion, culture of Sri Lanka, hell bend to be a sucker to foreign powers. He was such a loser at no stage he was able to remain in power as he became an isolated idiotic but a smart crook, by his own choice.. The demise of Ranil Wickremasinghe should signal the end of politicians who intend to run Sri Lanka to a foreign agenda.
Former Prime Minister Mr Ranil Wickremasighe’s refusal to leave the Temple is not abnormal. In Indonesia when President Gus Dur lost his impeachment in Parliament (MPR), he refused to leave the Presidential Palace, known as Merdeka Palace (Palace of Independence). The new President was Mrs Megawati Sukarnoputri, massive crowds protested in front of Merdeka Palace demanding Gus Dur to leave. But Ibu Megawati asked the crowds to leave and allowed Gus Dur to stay as long as he wished. Few days later Gus Due left the Palace.
My Appachchi, the Executive Prime Minister Mr Mahinda Rajapakse, will deliver goods and accelerate the economy, bring down cost of living, strengthen the value of Sri Lankan Rupee, increase the Gross Domestic Productivity whilst increasing the per capital income, Foreign direct investments and reduce unemployment. More than anything else, he will retain Sri Lanka as one country, not to be dominated by minorities.
The Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse should provide key positions in the interim government or in a new mandated Parliament for Gotabaya Rajapakse, Basil Rajapakse, Prof Channa Jayasumana, Nivan Cabraal, Sarath Weerasekera, Kamal Gunaratne, Nalaka Godahewa in cabinet and state ministerial roles as National List Members of Parliament. Dr Gotabaya Rajapase must be the next President elect of Sri Lanka. This should be beginning of introducing professional talents to the mainstream of politics, similar to the policy adopted by Peoples Action Party of Singapore.
Wimal Weerawansa, Udaya who did hard yard for PM MR deserve major roles.
They will ignite the nationalism, provide fire power to strengthen the hands of the Hon PM. With restricted 30 cabinet roles, efficient, effective young and bold team needed , whilst Dinesh Gunawardene is tipped to become the next Speaker of the Parliament.
The FCID and the Special Court must be made defunct. The CID must be restored to its normal status. The Bond Scam culprits, must be arrested, including perhaps Ranil Wickremasinghe who should not be given any special treatment. The suspects in the assassination attempts of President Maithreepala and Dr Gotabaya must be arrested under normal procedure. All Ranaviruvos and Galaboda Aththe Gnasara Thero need to be released from the prison, immediately.
Colombo, October 27 (newsin.asia): It was at the request of President Maithripala Sirisena, that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa took up the Premiership of Sri Lanka on Friday, sources close to Rajapaksa said.
The Rajapaksa group decided to accept the offer when it found that the President was very keen, the sources, which did not want to be identified, said.
Till a few days ago, Sirisena had been wavering. On the one hand, he was wanting to align with Rajapaksa to set up an United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government without any links with the United National Party (UNP) headed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
But on the other hand, he was reluctant to accommodate Rajapaksa, his rival since 2015, when he had ditched Rajapaksa to become the candidate of the Wickremesinghe-led opposition in the Presidential election.
The choice for Sirisena thus between a rock and a hard place or the devil and the deep sea. He had serious issues with both.
One the one hand, he knew that Rajapaksa was bent on finishing his political career .But on the other hand, he was finding it impossible to work with Wickremesinghe because of differences in ideology, temperament and style of functioning.
Pressure form 16 MPs
While Sirisena was on the horns of a dilemma, the 16 MPs of the UPFA who had switched over to the opposition to work in unison with Rajapaksa’s Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and the Joint Opposition group, were pushing hard for leaving the UPFA-UNP coalition government; sacking Wickremesinghe; and installing Rajapaksa as Prime Minister.
Sirisena’s contradiction with Wickremesinghe grew to dangerous proportions over the alleged plot to assassinate him with the alleged backing of the Indian intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). Sirisena openly accused Wickremasinghe of being indifferent to the threat to his life from a foreign intelligence agency.
Sirisena decided to take the drastic step of pulling out of the coalition, sacking Wickramasinghe and appointing Rajapaksa as Prime Minister.
It is alleged that Rajapaksa had prepared the ground for this by playing up the issue of RAW’s alleged involvement in the alleged assasination attempt, to make Sirisena insecure vis-à-vis India.
As if the information already with Siriseana about the alleged assassination plot was not enough, Rajapaksa’s henchman, Wimal Weerawansa, called a press conference to say that the suspected RAW agent had met him, and had given him his identity number also. Weerawansa gave the man’s name and ID number fto the media.
With this incident bringing India and Wickremesinghe together, Sirisena’s alienation from Wickremesinghe and India was complete.
He had no option to accept the advice of the 16 dissident MPs and make a daring move to link up with Rajapaksa.
Discarding the practice of talking through intermediaries, Sirisena decided to talk to Rajapaksa one to one. It was at the one to one dialogue that the offer of Premiership was made to Rajapaksa by Sirisena. Rajapaksa accepted it with alacrity.
It was decided to keep it a top secret. No others, including influential foreign powers, got a clue about it. This was an entirely home made brew with no foreign ingredient in it, neither Indian nor Chinese, the sources remarked.
Asked how the Sirisena-Rajapaksa combine is hoping to get 18 MPs to secure a minimum of 113 supporters in a parliament of 225 members, the sources said that power by itself will attract MPs to the side of the President and Prime Minister.
When Rajapaksa became President in 2005, the UPFA’s strength in parliament was only 88 but in no time he secured the support of 163. Likewise. Wickremesinghe had only 41 MPs when he was appointed Prime Minister in January 2015. But soon he got enough support to be in power, it was pointed out.
Prorogation of Parliament
On the idea behind the prorogation of parliament from October 27 to November 15, the source said that it was done to help the new government work on a new annual budget which would be different from Wickremesinghe’s budget.
Wickremesinghe’s budget was to be presented on November 5.
Expected to be a populist, the budget will be designed to help the Sirisena-Rajapaksa combine’s campaign in the coming elections to provincial councils.
Relations with China and India
Asked about the new dispensation’s relations with India and China, sources said that friendly relations will be maintained with both countries.
China is a long standing friend of Sri Lanka’s but India is Sri Lanka’s relation, the sources said.
Both countries had made mistakes in the past and have since learnt lessons from them. India got angry when a Chinese nuclear submarine berthed in Hambantota port without its knowledge. It then helped Sirisena and Wickremesinghe come to power but only to discover that they had sold the Hambantota harbor itself to the Chinese!
Likewise, Rajapaksa also learned that he should not pamper China to the point of annoying India. Relations with India and China will be balanced, the source affirmed.
China is pleased with Rajapaksa’s coming back to power. The Chinese Ambassador was the first foreign envoy to meet Rajapaksa and congratulate him.
Asked if Rajapaksa will be perturbed with Wickremesinghe’s meeting foreign diplomats, the sources said that he would have no issue with it.
Even as an ex-President and as an ordinary MP, Rajapaksa has been meeting foreign diplomats in the last three and half years. As an ex-Prime Minister Wickremesinghe has the right to meet foreign diplomats.”
(The featured image at the top shows Mithripala Sirisena greeting Mahinda Rajapaksa)
Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Chairman G.L. Peiris said the removal of Ranil Wickremersinghe from the Premiership by the President was constitutional.
He told a news conference that when one party of the national government withdrew from the government, the term of the Cabinet expires consequently leading to the cancellation of the term of the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister can function only when the Cabinet continues to operate. As the UPFA withdrew from the national government, Ranil Wickremesinghe no longer can function as the Prime Minister,” he said.
In January 2015, President Sirisena appointed Ranil as the PM when he had only 42 seats in Parliament. Mr. D.M. Jayaratne who was PM at the time backed away, for what ever reason. Now Ranil had been paid back in the same coin. After he was sacked, he had summoned the Ambassadors and High Commissioners, and like a child in tears had pleaded to them that it is foul. Obviously, he is trying to get their sympathy.
Looking at his track record, his best friend Mahendra is responsible for robbing the Central Bank. Not once but twice. If not for President Sirisena, he would have swept it under the carpet. Now Ranil should be taken to task for this.
During the last three and a half years, the LTTE supporters in the North backed by the Tamil diaspora had their own way. They carried Prabhakaran’s cut outs at festivals and parades, harassed Sinhala students at the University when they tried to bring in a Buddha statute during the last Wesak, celebrated Prabhakaran’s birthday and so on. And Ranil’s govt was silent about these on the pretext of reconciliation. During Ranil’s regime, the Police doing various investigations arrested the “Rana viruvos” and they had been remanded indefinitely. There was a time when the UNP leaders ridiculed the war and the last few years followed it by harassing the war veterans.
However, Ranil’s name should go to the Guiness Book of Records for (a) Losing more than 20 elections at a stretch (b) Getting sacked twice while being Prime Minister. Once when Chandrika Bandaranaike was President and then sacked for the second time by President Sirisena. This time hopefully, he and his torch bearer’s go for ever.
The United National Party (UNP) MPs including UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe today gathered at the Temple Tree to discuss the current situation. Pix by Nimalsiri Edirisinghe Courtesy The Daily Mirror
Sarath Wijesinghe – Former Ambassador to UAE and Israel – Solicitor. Attorney –at –Law
SME as an engine of development in Israel and other countries
SME is a powerful engine tested and used worldwide successfully, in underdeveloped, developing and developed world better utilized in Israel with 40% of the GDP, and 70% exports mostly on scientific discoveries, innovations, and agriculture with 94% technology is a major exporter of flowers, vegetables, and fruits to the world with arms trade as another main source of income due to advanced technology and innovations. It is a part of economic strategy using human technology and experience to accelerate the growth to lessen the gap between the rich and poor, eradication of poverty and prosperity of the global population. 600 million jobs are needed in the next 15 years to absorb global workforce and the demands for funds for the humanity is growing every minute at a drastically rapid pace. Impact spreads worldwide with ripple effects on economies in this global cluster sandwiched with modern technology and access to information with a click of a button. No country can live in isolation without the impact of the global realities and it is the duty of the Government Departments on Commerce and Technology, Chambers of Commerce, Universities, Public Private sector to be in the forefront to work hand in hand to meet the future challenges faced by the world more specifically countries with less resources, and less technologically advanced struggling to make ends to meet. OECD Organization for economic development promotes SMEs in EU with Bologan” Charter, and in the UK defines SMEs as businesses less than 250 employees’ while generating 5.2 million to the GDP. EU and few jurisdictions have online strategy. ASEAN has a major base of SMEs and in Singapore contributes 50% towards 70% GDP when Sri Lanka SMEs contributes 52% to the GDP. India has 25 laks of SMEs, and in Australia 97% SMEs make 1/3 of the GDP. SME is a key engine and ideal opportunity to invest, support to widen the gap between rich and poor. It is a moot issue whether the abovementioned stakeholders live up to the expectations on serving the country with their expert knowledge and experience, the country is awaiting for. Country is full of debts, want of developments and investments with utterer uncertainty in the political economic and development culture infested with indiscipline, corruption and inefficiency from top to bottom. It is high time we get together and find a solution or perish together!
Backbone of the economy
It is learnt that steps are taken to set up a SME authority with regulatory powers with a database to help the one million registered SMEs in Sri Lanka providing employments to three million. It is a good idea to encourage SMEs but any state intervention will lead it to another inefficient and ineffective state institution as in any other average government body hardly assisting the ailing economy. Israel is following as a role model in many parts of the world and with the goodwill we maintain with her and experiences of trade missions to and fro we had this is an ideal opportunity to enhance wider friendship. There were proposals by the Sri Lankan Ambassador in Israel on
setting up of centres of excellence” to exchange knowledge and experience on innovations and expert knowledge and it is time to implement the proposals with communities of” Kibitz” model to save land and encourage innovations on commercial basis. Government encourages the SMEs in Israel and more often assist to form companies and sell it to the state or outside Israel waiting for innovations and novel SMEs. SME is the backbone of the economy of a country and critical for job creation and development. It plays a major role in economics of any country. It is estimated that $ 3.4 billion transections take place in small SMEs engaged in big businesses. 90% of the world businesses are by SMEs with great economic impact essential for economic productivity. In USA 63% new jobs are created via SMEs. This situation spreads round the world with changes on economic output population and other factors. SME activism depends on the strategies of the government, private sector and the educational institutions on assisting and promoting the stake holders. Do we look after and make use of the backbone of the country with beauty, human resources, and strategically situated and placed on the main sea route passing through thousands of ships close to the newly constructed international Harbour and international Airport is a moo tissue and a matter needs for consideration by the governance.
Definition and categorization
SMEs in the world are categorized on the number in employment, output, financial strength and many other factors. It is meant to promote intellectual property, develop strategies, capacity building, civil society activism, comprehensive information, and the strength of the job creation engine of the country and the institution. World Bank (300) MIF (100) UNDP (200) are the basis of the computation on defining and categorizing the SMEs as a fundamental part of the economic fabric in developing countries. OACD is the international organization on promoting the SMEs in developing countries. All the countries in the world have realized the need and different strategies are used in using and adopting the concept on the economic engine and job creation and development strategies and it is a sorry state Sri Lanka and private sector appear not to have realised the value and impact of the SMEs. We have some of the oldest and traditional Chambers of Commerce, world reputed Universities producing thousands of Arts Graduates with no competency on foreign languages and IT skills to be used in business and trade, and it is sad that the Ministry of Commerce engaged on many other political issues and matters other than trade, commerce and promotion of international and local trade including SMEsm in Sri Lanka.
Israel as a role model
Israel is a developed country utilizing SMEs to the maximum capacity with strong goodwill with the world. With the goodwill of the Europe Union, Israel is granted $93 million grant being one of the main exporters of technology to the Europe Union and USA, China, India, USSR, Turkey, Japan, and many other countries. It is an advanced country with food security self-sufficient on food which is 40% of GDP exporting electronics, Technology, with 70% GDP from exports with the products of SMEs groomed and assisted by the Government as the backbone of the Israel economy. Innovators are groomed by the Universities and Institutions who then start-up companies with the blessings of the government and the chambers of commerce. Failures are less and invariable either the government or USA companies buy the inventor and inventions over if the SME does not wish to go forward further. Seeds of new Israel grew from the imagination of exiled people with creativity outpouring scientific discovery based on innovation and entrepreneurship. Many countries use Israel as a role model in SME application and entrepreneurship in industry and technology. Israel and Sri Lanka has had number of Trade Mission exchanges and technology transfer applications on water, agriculture and technology and she is an ideal partner to work with to improve our SMEs to the maximum productivity. It is time Sri Lanka makes use of the friendship and the goodwill created with Israel on trade, commerce, and defence.
Small and Medium Businesses in Sri Lanka
In Sri Lanka SMEs are made up of 80% business service sector, and 35% from employment sector. It is noted that the knowledge on the management sector is not satisfactory productivity and efficiency is grossly unsatisfactory, Incentives and liveliness is minimal, Service sector is unproductive with inefficiency and inactivity, 1.8 million Of the population is on employment in Middle East on unproductive jobs with majority young females needed in the country for the future investments, 51% of the population depend on Samudri” assistance, productive innovators are less or no as many opt to be trishaw drivers, brokers, engaged in land sales, government servants 10% who are lazy and unproductive demanding more salaries and perks, Army and retired army personal and many employed in the security field with no productivity, and many underemployed expecting white collar jobs consist of our potential service sector expecting to be innovators and future SMEs. Ministry of Commerce and other departments, Chambers, and universities are inactive and unconcerned on promotion of SMEs and businesses in the current competitive and challenging world. This indicates that Sri Lanka needs a complete overhaul of the system to keep pace with the developments in the competitive world. Situation is gloomy and pathetic, but it is our country and there is no way out other than finding solutions and strategies to correct the situation.
Way forward
Small and medium Businesses are a basic requirement as an engine for the growth, development, income and employment generation with innovations and advancement on technology with the cooperation assistance and encouragement of the government, Chambers of Commerce, Universities and the Business Community. It appears that it has become no body’s business and the SME concept in Sri Lanka is still in the formative stages with only few existing companies limping around in a sick and feeble pace. In the open economy this cannot go through, and unless immediate and drastic changes are taken the day country become an ineffective nation is not too long. No new innovations, no new SMEs, and no programme or vision is forthcoming from any of the abovementioned institutions. It is to the credit to the Federation on Chambers to have initiated a project which has not perused and continued. University Grant Commission has initiated a seminar with a German University which is only an academic exercise. Israel is a tiny but powerful nation of 1/1000th the size of the globe advising and guiding the world powers with innovations and SME’sm. Even oil rich United Arab Emirates is much more advanced in promoting and utilizing these concepts in mobilizing the community and to manage the oil money in long a term and productive investment on job promotion and development strategies. It is time we learn from Israel – the tiny great Nation and UAE – oil rich but full of innovative concepts being applied and utilized. Many other countries in the globe has actively followed and the successfully tested this process and strategy on the generation of employment, progress and development except us!.
Sri Lankan politics is full of surprises and on Friday came the biggest surprise of our lifetimes – Mahinda Rajapaksa was suddenly sworn in as Prime Minister by President Maithripala Sirisena and Ranil Wickremesinghe was sent a letter informing him that he has been sacked. Later, the newly sacked Mr. Wickremesinghe summoned a press conference and defiantly claimed that he was still the PM and that this matter will have to be settled in Parliament where he claimed he has the majority.
The letter sacking Mr. Wickremesinghe had simply announced that he was being removed on the basis of Article 42(4) of the Constitution. What Article 42 (4) of the Constitution says is that “The President shall appoint as Prime Minister the Member of Parliament, who, in the President’s opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of Parliament”.
The reason why this came as a surprise on Friday was because nobody ever thought they would see the day that President Mainthipala Sirisena would sack Ranil Wickremesinghe and appoint Mahinda Rajapaksa as PM. However, discussions to bring about this result had in fact been going on for months after the local government election of February this year. The initiative to have RW removed through a vote of no confidence was the first step in this process.
That attempt had the support of the President but it fell by the wayside because the defections from the UNP did not take place as expected. The group of fifteen SLFP Parliamentarians who had to resign from their portfolios and sit in the opposition following this botched attempt at removing Ranil did not give up. They maintained constant contact with President Sirisena and continued with their efforts to bring the two estranged factions of the SLFP together again.
The high point in this was Basil Rajapaksa’s secret meeting with President Maithripala Sirisena after he returned from an extended visit to the USA. Basil Rajapaksa was Maithripala Sirisena’s bete noir in the SLFP and the mere fact that there was a meeting between the two was the first indication that something very serious was afoot. The events that took place after Mahinda Rajapaksa was suddenly sworn in as Prime Minister, would have convinced President Sirisena that he had made the right decision.
The groundswell of resentment against the yahapalana government was even greater than that expected by even the most ardent Rajapaksa supporter. On Friday night when some Ministers and MPs of the newly ousted government went to the Rupavahini Corporation to give a live broadcast to protest against their ouster, they were prevented from doing so by the workers in the media institution and chased away amidst loudly uttered curses, jeers and obscenities.
Thereafter, Ministers of the government held a press conference at Temple trees and when it was relayed live on facebook, all the comments made were hearty curses against the yahapalana government and expressions of jubilation at their ouster. Despite the suddenness of the this whole turn of events, people had managed to find firecrackers to light on the streets and the mood on the streets on Friday night was reminiscent of the scenes that we saw in the immediate aftermath of the death of Prabhakaran.
These scenes would have convinced President Maithripala Sirisena that he had made this decision not a day too soon and if he had not taken this decision he too would have fallen victim to the public mood that was building up.
The yahapalana government had run its course as far as the public was concerned. It was existing only on the legal fact that they had been elected to power for a given period and were plodding through that period. One assumes that this step of appointing Mahinda Rajapaksa as Prime Minister would not have taken place without canvassing the various minority parties in the Parliament for support – a matter at which Basil Rajapaksa was quite adept.
Even if the UNP manages to show a majority in parliament with the support of the TNA, the events of last Friday has completely eroded their standing among the public. Arguably, the sudden ouster of Ranil Wickremesinghe from the premiership was as damaging to the UNP as the result of the local government elections earlier this year. Even if the UNP manages to cobble together a majority with the help of the TNA, they will be fatally handicapped for the rest of their tenuous tenure in power. The best thing that the UNP can do at this stage is to give their ascent to go for fresh Parliamentary elections.
Chinese Ambassador in Sri Lanka, Cheng Xueyuan called on Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa at his residence today and conveyed wishes from Chinese President Xi Jinping.
UPFA Parliamentarian Dinesh Gunawardena says that Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has very clearly acted according to the Constitution of Sri Lanka and his mandate which was given by the people of the country at the local government polls in February.
He stated that the United People’s Freedom Alllaince (UPFA) which helped to form the former Prime Minister’s government under the pretext of a national government” communicated the decision to the Speaker and to the Prime Minister that the UPFA is no more party of a national government.
When the coalition partners separate in any country a new government comes into office,” the MP said, speaking at a Joint Opposition press briefing in Colombo today (27).
He stated that this has happened in Europe recently and that it is very clear. But according to our constitution the prime minister ceases to be the prime minister of that government.”
So there is a new government which the president has to form immediately by calling the person who enjoys the majority of members support in parliament and that is Mahinda Rajapaksa, who not only today has support of parliamentary members but the overwhelming support of the people of our country,” he said.
Gunawardena said that in February the people gave Rajapaksa the clear mandate that he has their support.
Plus the collapse of our economy, collapse of good governance, the anti-democratic measures of the present Prime Minister and his government has brought this country to a virtual anarchy and catastrophe,” he said.
We have to rebuild our nation,” he said, adding that this is the mission of the President; to restore what has been lost and to bring about a general election which will give the people a mandate to elect a new parliament.
Chairman of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Professor G.L. Peiris says a legal problem does not exist with regard to the new government established in the country and that a fictional issue has been deliberately constructed” to mislead the public.
He stated that there has been a great deal of discussion during the last 12 to 14 hours about the legality of the new government that has been established in this country.
Now there is no legal issue at all. This is an artificial creation which has no basis or foundation whatsoever,” he said, speaking at a Joint Opposition press briefing in Colombo today (27).
The former foreign minister said that the main consideration here is the period during which the Prime Minister can lawfully hold that office.
He said the governing provision in that regard is contained in Section 46 (2) of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution which reads as follows: The Prime Minister shall continue to hold office throughout the period during which the Cabinet of Ministers continues to function under the provisions of the Constitution.”
That is the Prime Minister can remain in office only so long as the Cabinet continues. When the Cabinet of Minister stands dissolved for any reason whatsoever, the Prime Minister automatically steps down, Prof. Peiris clarified. He (the PM) is compulsorily removed from that office.”
The former minister also explained as to what transpired yesterday and how the Cabinet of Ministers ceased to function last evening.
It did cease to function and when it ceased to function, with the Cabinet went the Prime Minister. That is a very simple sequence of events,” he emphasized.
He said that the way the Cabinet ceased to exist has to do with section 46 (1) of the 19th Amendment, which for the first time in this country lays down a compulsory maximum for the number of ministers who constitute the cabinet of ministers.
He pointed out that until the 19th Amendment was enacted there was no such limitation and that a government could have as many ministers as it liked. You can’t do that after the 19th Amendment came into operation.”
He said that in terms of Section 46 (1), the total number of Cabinet Ministers now permissible under the law is 30 and then when the deputy ministers and state ministers are added, the grand total cannot exceed 70.
That is a compulsory legal requirement. There is however an exception to that principle, a provisory which is contained in section 46 (4).” The affect of 45 (4) is that when the largest party in parliament enters into an alliance to govern the country together with other parties. Then in that special situation the maximum does not apply, he pointed out.
Professor Peiris said that yesterday an event of great legal significance occurred. That was the General Secretary of the UPFA Mahinda Amaraweera addressed a letter to the Speaker with a copy to the President Maithripala Sirisena declaring that as of last evening the UPFA is moving out of the unity government.
He states that the UNP and UPFA came together by means of a MoU, in terms of that which this coalition government was formed. Now one of the priorities is detaching itself from that coalition government, he said, adding that it was conveyed formally in writing by the proper authority, namely the General Secretary of the UPFA to the Speaker of Parliament.
Once that happened the limitation set out in the 19th Amendment immediately comes into play. That is the maximum limit becomes applicable. Can’t have more than 30 Cabinet Ministers. The cabinet that functioned until yesterday had many more than 30 Cabinet Ministers.”
Now that cabinet no longer existed. When that cabinet when out of office, together with it went the Prime Minister. So you have to start on a clean slate,” he said.
Then the president has the authority to select the person who in his opinion commands the confidence of the majority of members of parliament, the SLPP chairman stressed.
Peiris also referred to section 14(f) of the Interpretation Ordinance which clearly provides that the authority which makes the appointment also has the legal power to rescind that appointment. That is the appointing authority is also the dismissing authority. In this case it is the president of the country.”
He said that finally the Parliament meets again on 16th of November and on that day it will become abundantly clear” that Mahinda Rajapaksa commands the confidence of an overwhelming majority of the members of the Sri Lankan Parliament.
Why the 16th of November? Because we have to go for a Vote on Account.” He stated that the earlier expectation was that a budget would be presented on November 5, but now they are going for a ‘Vote on Account’ which enables the state to obtain the resources that are required to govern the country for a period of three months.
He stated that a Vote on Account has to be systematically prepared and it can’t be done in 3 or 4 days. Therefore a reasonable period is required to prepare and that it will be readied by 16th of November, he said.
Apart from that, as a result of what happened yesterday not only ministers but secretaries to ministries also go out of office.” Therefore secretaries have to be appointed afresh in order to ensure the continuity of the government, he said.
Apart from that other housekeeping arraignments, the seating arraignments in parliament will have to be attended to and that also will take a few days, Professor Peiris said.
This is why parliament has been prorogued. It will meet on 16th of November and on that day it will become crystal clear that Mahinda Rajapaksa commands the confidence of the vast majority of the members of the parliament.”
Therefore a legal problem does not exist. This is a fiction that has been deliberately constructed to mislead the public both here and aboard,” he charged.
Colombo, October 27: The appointment former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa as the country’s Prime Minister replacing Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday, was sudden but not surprising.
Given the highly fractured relationship between President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe for the past year or two, and the mounting inner party pressure on the President to sack Wickremesinghe and appoint Rajapaksa in his place, Friday’s development was always in the realm of possibility.
But the timing of the President’s action was not anticipated.
There was mounting pressure on Sirisena from his colleagues in the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) to link up with Rajapaksa overlooking past animosity; oust Wickremesinghe, and cut off links with his United National Paty (UNP).
It was argued that Rajapaksa was after all a veteran of the SLFP; that he had left the SLFP only after Sirisena betrayed him and joined UNP to defeat him the January 8, 2015 Presidential election.
After founding the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), Rajapaksa had proved that he was the most popular leader in the country through the February 10, 2018 local body elections.
Sirisen and Rajapaksa had been meeting, though not under the glare of publicity. What was transpiring between the two, was only in the realm of speculation.
They had met very recently over dinner in former Minister S.B.Dissanayake’s house. The fact that both denied the known fact, fueled speculation that something significant was afoot. But no one knew for sure what exactly it was.
An alliance to fight the coming provincial council elections together against the UNP, was one of the possibilities mentioned. But no one imagined that Sirisena would actually sack Wickremesinghe and install Rajapaksa in his place.
This was because in April 2018, when there was a clamor from Sirisena’s colleagues to dismiss Wickremesinghe, lawyers pointed out that as per the 19th. Constitutional Amendment of 2015, the President cannot sack the PM. The PM would go only if he resigned or had quit parliament.
Then, in the same month, the Joint Opposition led by Rajapaksa presented a Vote of No Confidence against Wickremesinghe. But Wickremesinghe defeated it, allegedly with the help of a friendly country and money power. He had the wherewithal do that as he was in power as Prime Minister.
Sirisena-Wickremesinghe Divide Widens
In subsequent months, contradictions between Sirisena and Wickremesinghe sharpened to the point of no return.
Sirisena, who is a leftist, is rural based, and is a Sri Lankan cum Sinhalese Buddhist nationalist leader, could not get along with the right wing, secular, urban-based and pro-Western Wickremesinghe.
The two leaders kept challenging each other on every issue. Wickremesinghe would take decisions without consulting the Executive President, and the Executive President would countermand them using his Executive powers.
The two had clashed on foreign policy too. While Wickremesinghe had bowed to the onerous demands of the UN Human Rights Council on the judicial and other mechanisms for post-war ethnic reconciliation with the minority Tamils, Sirisena openly told the UN General Assembly recently that Sri Lanka does not favor foreign intervention of any kind in the matter of reconciliation.
The two leaders also differed on policies towards India and China. While Sirisena insinuated that the Indian intelligence agency RAW had a role in an alleged plot to assassinate him and the former Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Wickremesinghe pooh pooh it.
The President was critical of Wickremesinghe’s decision to give the Hambantota port to China on a 99 year lease with a 70% stake. He was also critical of the bid to give the contact to develop the East Terminal in Colombo port to India.
Friday’s sudden move on the part of the President came after the United Peoples’ Freedom Alliance (UPFA), a group of parties led by Sirisena, left the coalition government headed by Wickremesinghe.
The UPFA then teamed up with the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) led by Rajapaksa to make it a formidable force in parliament..
Numbers Issue
However, a on date, the Sirisena-Rajapaksa group does not have a majority in parliament. Together they have only 95 in a house of 225. They need 113 or 18 more for a simple majority.
Out of the 225 member House, 106 are in the United National Party (UNP)-led alliance, and 95 are with the UPFA (comprising Sri Lanka Freedom Party led by Sirisena, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna and the Joint Opposition led by Mahinda Rajapaksa).
Sixteen are with Tamil National Alliance; 6 with Janatha Vimkthi Peramuna, and one each with the Eelam Peoples’ Democratic Party and the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress.
Rajapaksa has to prove his majority on the floor of the House when parliament is convened on November 16.. The President on Saturday prorogued parliament from Oct 27 to November 15.
Although Rajapaksa does not have the numbers, the President has the constitutional right to call him to form the government if, in his view, he can get majority support in it.
Political sources say that Rajapaksa will be able to get the 18 extra MPs needed to get the 113 MPs needed for a simple majority.
Seven UNP MPs are likely to join Rajapaksa. As of now, two UNP MPs, Vasantha Senanayake and Ananda Aluthgamage, have already defected to the Rajapaksa camp.
Minority Parties With Wickremesinghe
However the minority parties appear to be with Wickremesinghe for the time being at least.
At a press conference on Saturday, The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress chief, Rauff Hakeem, the All Ceylon Muslim Congress (ACMC) chief Rishad Bathiyutheen, Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) leaders Digambaram and Mano Ganesan ,along with Minister Champika Ranwaka of the Jathika Hela Urumaya, pledged continued support to Wickremesinghe.
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) with 16 MPs will also support Wickremesinghe.
However, the Muslim and Indian Origin Tamil parties have the habit joining the government eventually, no matter what its political color.
Ranil Wickremesinghe address the media along with leaders of friendly parties.
Wickremesinghe says ouster is unconstitutional
But Wickremesinghe has said that the appointment of Rajapaksa as Prime Minister was unconstitutional”.
I am still the Prime Minister of this country,” he said in a statement.
However, instead of going to court, he has opted for proving majority support on the floor of the House.
Art 42 (4) of the Sri Lankan Constitution, says that the President shall appoint as Prime Minister the Member of Parliament, who, in the President’s opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of Parliament.” And that was the provision under which President Sirisena removed the Prime Minister.
But after the 19 th.Amendment was passed in 2015, Article 46 (2) of the constitution said that the Prime Minister shall continue to hold office till he: (a) resigns his office by a writing under his hand addressed to the President; or
(b) ceases to be a Member of Parliament.
Thus the President cannot sack him, Wickremesinghe contends.
Horse Trading in Full Swing .
Horse trading will be the order of the day from October 27 to November 15 when parliament (prorogued from Saturday October 27 to November 15) will meet to take a vote of confidence. The vote is expected to be taken on November 16.
According to political observers, President Sirisena’s decision to sack Wickremesinghe and hurriedly install Rajapaksa was meant to help the latter seduce MPs from Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP) and the United National Front (UNF) to be able to form a government.
Ensconced in power as Prime Minister, Rajapaksa will be able to attract MPs wanting to be part of the government, it is said.
And by proroguing parliament from October 27 to November 15, President Sirisena has given Wickremesinghe ample time to garner the support of MPs now with the UNP. To keep his flock together, Wickeremsinghe had asked for an early date to take a vote of confidence.
If Rajapaksa is not Prime Minister, and Wickemesinghe is, the latter will have the power to attract or retain the loyalty of MPs. This was shown clearly when Wickremesinghe faced a Vote of No Confidence in April 2018 and defeated it.
It was to avoid a repetition of that situation that Sirisena appointed Rajapaksa Prime Minister brazenly, despite the possibility of being accused of acting illegally and unconstitutionally.
Powerful Duo
Rajapaksa’s ability to attract MPs is enhanced further by the fact that he is President Sirisena’s candidate. In combination with Executive President Sirisena, Prime Minister Rajapaksa will be a formidable political force in parliament.
The duo are more than a match for Wickremesinghe, who is now out of power and unable to use the levers of power to dispense favors.
Meanwhile, the US, UK and the EU, have appealed to the powers-that-be in Sri Lanka to act according to the constitution. It is clear that they do not approve of the President’s action.
(The featured image at the top graphically represents the present line up with Sirisena and Rajapaksa on one side and Wickremesinghe on the other)
Colombo, October 27 (newsin.asia): Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena’s decision to sack Ranil Wickremesinghe from the Premiership on Friday was meant to help his candidate, Mahinda Rajapaksa, get defectors from Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP) and the United National Front (UNF) to be able to form a government, political sources say.
Ensconced in power as Prime Minister, Rajapaksa will be able to attract MPs wanting to be part of the government, while out of power Wickremesinghe will find himself handicapped.
On the other hand, if Rajapaksa is not Prime Minister, and Wickemesinghe is, the latter will have the power to attract or retain the loyalty of MPs. This was shown clearly when Prime Minister Wickremesinghe faced a Vote of No Confidence in April 2015 and defeated it.
It was to avoid a repetition of that situation that Sirisena appointed Rajapaksa Prime Minister brazenly, despite the possibility of being accused of acting illegally and unconstitutionally as per the 19 th.Amendment.
Powerful Duo
Rajapaksa’s ability to attract MPs is enhanced also by the fact that he is President Sirisena’s candidate. In combination with Executive President Sirisena, Prime Minister Rajapaksa will be a formidable political force both inside and outside parliament.
The duo are more than a match for Wickremesinghe, who is now out of power and unable to use the levers of power to dispense favors.
Rajapaksa has a vote bank of 95 MPs of the United Peoples’ Progressive Alliance (UPFA). But this group is still smaller than the one with Wickremesinghe, as the latter’s UNF has 106 MPs.
Thus, Rajapaksa needs 18 more MPs to give him a simple majority of 113 in the House of 225 members.
He has to get 18 when he goes in for a vote of confidence in the House. Parliament is now set to meet on November 5 for the budget. But it could meet earlier too.
Rajapaksa already got two UNP MPs on Friday – Vasantha Senanayake and Ananda Aluthgamage. More are expected to defect in the coming days as there is an anti-Wickrmesinghe group in the UNP and UNF.
Additionally, there are Indian Origin Tamil and Muslim parties which have a policy of always being on the side of the government irrespective of the party in power.
Ranil Wickremssinghe,, Maithripala Sirisena and Mahinda Rajapaksa
Wickremesinghe’s Contention
According to Wickemesinghe, however, what the President did was unconstitutional because as per Art 46 (2) of the 19 th. Amendment of the constitution passed in 2015, the President cannot sack a Prime Minister who enjoys majority support in parliament.
Wickremesinghe asserted that he has majority support in parliament.
He pointed out that as per the 19 th. Amendment, a Prime Minister will go only if he himself resigns or ceases to be a member of parliament. He has neither resigned from the Premiership nor has he ceased to be a member of parliament, Wickremesinghe pointed out.
But this is contested by the President’s men. They point out that Article 42 (4) of the constitution clearly says that the President shall appoint as Prime Minister the Member of Parliament, who, in the President’s opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of Parliament.”
And in Sirisena’s opinion, Wickremesinghe is not likely to command the confidence of parliament and has therefore lost the right to be Prime Minister.
Although Wickremesinghe can go to the Supreme Court challenging the President’s decision on constitutional grounds, he has decided not to because the ultimate proof of his claim will have to be given in terms of actual parliamentary support in a Vote of Confidence.
Wickremesinghe is confident of proving majority support.
Meanwhile, the US and UK have appealed to the powers-that-be in Sri Lanka to act according to the constitution. It is clear that they do not approve of the President’s action.
(The featured image at the top shows President Sirisena appointing Mahinda Rajapaksa as Prime Minister)
UNP MP Ananda Aluthgamage, who pledged his support to new Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, said today more than twenty UNP MPs would join the government to support Mr. Rajapaksa.
He told a news conference that Mr. Rajapaksa had asked him not reveal their names due to security concern.
Playing a card in either direction would not be seen as helpful to India’s long-term interests in the region
Hours after the dramatic turn of events in Colombo, that saw Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena withdraw support from the government of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and swear in former President Mahinda Rajapaksa instead, the Modi government appears to be weighing its options cautiously, for a number of reasons.
New Delhi and the Ministry of External Affairs chose not to jump the gun on developments in the Sri Lankan capital, allowing them to play out their hand, especially given the fact that two separate Prime Ministers now lay claim to the official residence at Temple Trees. A final result will only follow a show of strength in parliament.
Narendra Modi and Ranil Wickremesinghe in New Delhi. File | Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy
The previous UPA government never lived down its decision in 2012 to call and congratulate Maldives’ Mohamed Waheed, hours after he deposed President Mohamed Nasheed in a coup. It didn’t matter that Mr. Nasheed later explained that he had personally requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to recognise the Waheed government, the fact that New Delhi moved so quickly on a still evolving situation was seen as a rash move that further veered the fledgling Maldivian democracy off course, and a repeat of that in Sri Lanka would have been inadvisable.
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The Modi government has also been quite displeased with the way it has been dragged into the internal politics of the Sri Lankan cabinet over the past few weeks. While the first visible sign of Mr. Sirisena and Mr. Wickremesinghe airing their differences came at the famous October 14 cabinet meeting, where Mr. Sirisena spoke of the assassination plot against him allegedly by an Indian with possible links to R&AW, and Mr. Wickremesinghe battled with him for an Indian stake in the Eastern Terminal of Colombo port, the two leaders have been jockeying to draw an Indian angle to their issues for a while now.
In April 2017, hours before Mr. Wickremesinghe headed to India to announce a number of agreements including on the Trinco oil tank farms, Mr. Sirisena held back the agreements, and only a broad MoU on economic cooperation could be signed”. When he left Delhi after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week, Mr. Wickremesinghe made it publicly clear that the delays on various projects India has proposed in Sri Lanka (under the MoU) were Mr. Sirisena’s responsibility. In his press release, he portrayed PM Modi as angry and disappointed” with the delays, and that Mr. Modi didn’t hold the Sri Lankan PM responsible for them.
Days before that, Mr. Sirisena had called Mr. Modi and reportedly discussed the divisions in his cabinet coalition. MEA officials had simply shaken their head, but made no public reaction. Privately, they said it was all an internal political fight that they wanted no part of.
India’s strong-arm neighbourhood policy
The Modi government’s reticence also comes in sharp contrast to its strong-arm policy in the neighbourhood of the past few years, which is now seen as a possible mistake. In Sri Lanka itself, the government had reacted harshly to the docking of Chinese submarines in Colombo port in 2014, and its strategic leadership took some pride when Mr. Rajapaksa was voted out in January 2015.
In the Maldives, President Yameen frequently cited Indian interference after PM Modi abruptly cancelled his visit to Male in March 2015 over the Yameen government’s treatment of jailed President Nasheed, and kept up a concerted campaign to put pressure on Mr. Yameen to deliver free and fair elections. In Nepal, Prime Minister KP Oli had also blamed India for attempting to oust him twice: once with the blockade, and the second time when Prachanda’s CPN pulled support from his government in July 2016, before he was voted into power this year. And in Bangladesh, the opposition BNP says New Delhi’s open support of the Sheikh Hasina government, and deporting BNP activists, is a sign of electoral interference.
It is likely that New Delhi has found that taking credit or being blamed for every political development in the neighbourhood is, over time, detrimental to the Neighbourhood First” policy it espouses, as a result of which Mr. Modi’s subcontinental moment” at his swearing in has now been replaced by sharp criticism of his policy in the SAARC region. Playing a card in either direction during Sri Lanka’s current turmoil would not be seen as helpful to India’s long-term interests in the region.
In addition, there is New Delhi’s extremely problematic relationship with Mr. Rajapaksa himself. When he lost power, Mr. Rajapaksa had blamed R&AW for facilitating the opposition’s unity efforts against him, and the relationship had been fraught for a while. Although Mr. Rajapaksa has subsequently softened his stand, and said that it is time to move on” from past differences with New Delhi during a visit in September 2018, the government is unsure of just where it may stand with him. India has been wary of the way Sri Lankan projects were handed over to Chinese companies under debilitating loans from Chinese banks, something that began during Mr. Rajapaksa’s time, but has also realised that the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government have not done much to stop Chinese inroads into the country either.
Finally, unlike the previous UPA government, that had to contend with coalition pressure from parties in Tamil Nadu, which in turn had strong political preferences in Sri Lanka (and particularly strong opposition to Mr. Rajapaksa), the NDA government has no serious compulsions on that count. At a time when none of its options in Sri Lanka are remarkably better or worse than the other, New Delhi may just find that discretion is the better part of valour, and at a time of dramatic change in the world and its neighbourhood, treading with caution is the order of the day.
The Proclamation by the president prorogues Parliament with effect from 12.00 noon on October 27, 2018 and fix 16th of November, 2018 at 10.00 a.m. for the commencement of the next session.
The President can prorogue Parliament by virtue of the powers vested in him by Article 70 of the Constitution of Sri Lanka.
Under Article 70(4) of the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka All matters which, having being brought before Parliament, have not been disposed of at the prorogation of Parliament, may be proceeded with during the next session.”
The move comes a day after Mahinda Rajapaksa was sworn in as Prime Minister before the President. Prior to that the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) decided to withdraw from the national government with the United National Party (UNP).
However, UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe maintains that he is still the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka as the parliamentary majority is with him.
It is not necessary for us to create a crisis. It is not necessary for the people of the country to suffer. We are all living in difficult times. Therefore let’s get this controversy out of the way.”
Let the parliament decide who has the majority and the parliament represent you. It’s you who have elected this parliament and let that parliament decide who has the majority,” he said speaking to reporters today.
Mr. Saman Ekanayake has been removed from the post of Secretary to the Prime Minister with immediate effect.
The order to remove the Secretary to the President has been issued by President Maithripala Sirisena in an Extraordinary Gazette.
The government notification states that Mr E.M.S.B. Ekanayake, who was appointed Secretary to the Prime Minister, by virtue of powers vested in the President under Article 51(1) of the Constitution of Sri Lanka, was removed from the post by the President.
The senior Special Grade officer of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service was appointed to the post of Secretary to the Prime Minister in August 2015.
He has served in the Prime Minister’s Office, Department of Government Information, Ministries of Housing, External Affairs, Finance, Youth Affairs and Industries. He has also served in Sri Lanka High Commission in Kuala Lumpur and Sri Lanka High Commission in London.
UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said today the Prime Minister should be the person who has the majority support in parliament and that he commands the majority support.
I urge to convene Parliament without leading the country into chaos. It is not necessary to create crisis in the country. Let the Parliament decide whether who should be the Prime Minister,” he said.
He said this at a news conference held at temple Trees attended by constituent parties of the United National Front including Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA).
Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) General Secretary Patali Champika Ranawaka said the United National Front (UNF) could form a government without the support of the United Peoples’ Freedom Alliance (UPFA).
Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been sworn in as the Prime Minister before President Maithripala Sirisena, a short while ago.
The unexpected announcement comes just minutes after the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) decided to withdraw from the unity government.
UPFA General Secretary Mahinda Amaraweera, speaking to Ada Derana, stated that the Speaker of Parliament has been notified of the decision in writing.
President Maithripala Sirisena’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the main constituent party of the UPFA, and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP) had formed a unity government in August 2015 following the general election.
The coalition had grown increasingly strained in recent months. Both coalition partners suffered heavy defeats in local elections in February, and Sirisena loyalists backed a no-confidence motion in April against the prime minister, who survived after a majority of legislators voted to support his coalition government.
That attempt had the support of the President but it fell by the wayside because the defections from the UNP did not take place as expected. The group of fifteen SLFP Parliamentarians who had to resign from their portfolios and sit in the opposition following this botched attempt at removing Ranil did not give up. They maintained constant contact with President Sirisena and continued with their efforts to bring the two estranged factions of the SLFP together again.
