By Capt. Vasabha Courtesy The Morning
- Batalanda saga reminds JVP of painful past, pledges, and difficulties that lie ahead in ensuring justice
- Some of the accused of alleged atrocities against JVPers during 1987-’89 period now with NPP
- Eyewitness Indrananda recounts to ‘The Black Box’ his experience, black sites, and seeing RW in Batalanda
- Indrananda’s detailed affidavit of atrocities and persons involved sent to then AG back in the limelight
- Govt. tables Batalanda report in House after over 25 yrs., pledges action, seeks AG’s observations
- Calls for AKD to implement report recommendations; RW’s civic rights cannot be removed, says Shiral
- RW to issue statement today; Al Jazeera interview post-mortem teaches lessons to RW and team
- Batalanda report opens Pandora’s box; focus turns to JVP’s actions during insurgency, LTTE actions
- Govt., Police facing criticism over failure to capture Deshabandu; Champika reveals the deals at play
- Nizam gives tip to Police on locating missing IGP; Dlieepa accuses IGP of running paramilitary group
- Bimal invites SJB MP to transform SLTB into profit-making venture; Dilith responds to Govt. criticism
- Eran tipped to be SJB, Rosy tipped to be UNP CMC mayoral candidates; UNP still pushing for SJB alliance
- UNP gives SJB till Thursday to respond on alliance for CMC; SJB says will only contest under ‘telephone’
- SJB tells UNP can form alliance after polls in Local Government bodies, discussed same with SLPP
- UNP’s internal crisis explodes in public with Lakshman opposing Rajitha; RW loses cool, asks all to sit
- Lakshman joins Sajith and SJB; Ajith says Lakshman’s loyalty to RW had stopped his defection earlier
- SJB facing internal rifts over nomination lists for LG Polls; recommendations by some SJBers ignored
- SJB Maharagama Organiser resigns over Eranda’s role; some SJBers discuss forming new movement
- Chamal says ready to contest LG Polls, later says only joking; Douglas says no to aligning with SLPP
- After Mervyn’s arrest, SLPP’s Prasanna goes into hiding due to probe into alleged illegal land transaction
- MR’s Kataragama house saga reaches AG for observations; SLPP dissidents’ group plans new party
That President Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) and his Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) do not seem to be able to catch a break is evident by the latest controversy to put pressure on the administration – the call for action on the controversial Batalanda Commission report as well as on the assassination of the Founder of the JVP, the late Rohana Wijeweera.
The call for action on the Batalanda Commission report and other atrocities committed during the JVP’s second insurrection during the 1987-’89 period under the then United National Party (UNP) Government commenced following the revelation of the report, which was ‘kept hidden’ under five presidents since 1994, during a recent interview of former President Ranil Wickremesinghe with Al Jazeera.
Following the revelation of the Batalanda Commission report during Wickremesinghe’s interview with Al Jazeera, the JVP-led Government of President AKD came under pressure from many quarters to take appropriate action.
The JVP/NPP Government last week tabled the Batalanda Commission report in Parliament with the promise of taking appropriate action. However, taking action against individuals allegedly involved in atrocities committed during the JVP’s 1987-’89 insurrection could pose quite a challenge given that some of the individuals accused are now either members or supporters of the JVP-led NPP. Some of these accused have taken front-row seats in the NPP campaigns as well.
It was evident during last year’s election campaigns that the JVP/NPP was keen to present a new path aimed at securing electoral victories by distancing itself from the JVP’s past. Nevertheless, Wickremesinghe’s Al Jazeera interview has now not only implicated him once again as a key figure in the crackdown against the JVP in the late 1980s using arbitrary methods, but has also reminded the JVP once again of a painful path that the party has tried and worked hard to leave behind.
The post-mortem
Be that as it may, one of the key stories that has remained in the spotlight for two weeks is the focus on Wickremesinghe and the controversial Batalanda Commission report.
However, the former President’s participation in the Al Jazeera interview that caused the current controversy while revealing the continued focus on Sri Lanka’s alleged human rights and accountability issues being pushed by certain sections of the Tamil diaspora also served as a lesson for Wickremesinghe to think twice before participating in foreign interviews or at least to be properly prepared to face the hard questions, even loaded ones, that could be thrown at him on such platforms.
It was evident that Wickremesinghe was caught off guard over the questions on the Batalanda report. While there have been statements issued in defence of the former President’s conduct in the interview stating that it was a premeditated plan by Al Jazeera, there were several shortcomings on Wickremesinghe’s part when participating in an interview like ‘Head to Head.’
Apart from showing a lack of preparation on understanding the nature of the interview and the manner in which the host conducted his interviews, Wickremesinghe’s team had failed to make arrangements to separately record the entire interview as well. The interview was recorded only by Al Jazeera and Wickremesinghe is therefore unable to release the full-length interview, which the former President had said lasted for about two hours. He has claimed that the edited one-hour interview did not show the entire discussion.
It is learnt that Wickremesinghe’s side has written to Al Jazeera now, requesting the full unedited recording of the interview.
Wickremesinghe has often tended to give interviews to foreign media outlets rather than local ones and the Al Jazeera interview would no doubt have opened him to the hard reality that many foreign media outlets have their own agendas in line with their respective ownership and funding.
The traditional foreign media outlets have also shown a decline in the power wielded by them earlier in shaping public minds. Western leaders as a result have shown a change in their approach towards interviews with foreign media, with more focus now being given to podcasts and social media outlets. The victory of US President Donald Trump without receiving the support of three key media outlets in the US is a clear indication of this trend since Trump also turned to other media to promote his message.
However, Wickremesinghe is now facing the implications of the Al Jazeera interview at home in Sri Lanka as well as his involvement in alleged human rights violations in the international arena.
RW’s civic rights
Meanwhile, there is also much focus on Wickremesinghe’s civic rights following his controversial interview due to the Batalanda Commission report raising several serious allegations of human rights violations against him.
There are calls from Opposition political forces for the JVP/NPP Government to act on the Batalanda report and Wijeweera’s assassination. However, it is interesting that the main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and other Opposition parties like the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) have remained silent about the issue.
However, senior lawyer Shiral Lakthilaka notes that Wickemesinghe’s civic rights cannot be removed using the Batalanda report. He notes that former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga (CBK) had appointed the Batalanda Commission under Section 2 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act (Amended) No.17 of 1948 and that there is no provision to revoke civic rights under the provisions of this act.
However, he further notes that President AKD would have to appoint a new commission under the Special Presidential Commissions of Inquiry Act (Amended) No.7 of 1978 if Wickremesinghe’s civic rights are to be removed. He adds that under Section 9 of the said act, civic rights could be removed after gathering evidence under such a new commission.
Section 9(1) states: Where a commission finds at the inquiry and reports to the President that any person has been guilty of any act of political victimisation, misuse or abuse of power, corruption or any fraudulent act in relation to any court or tribunal or any public body or in relation to the administration of any law or the administration of justice, the commission shall recommend whether such person should be made subject to civic disability, and the President shall cause such finding to be published in the gazette as soon as possible, and direct that such report be published.”
Nevertheless, the spotlight on the Batalanda report has also entangled former President CBK, who had appointed the Commission of Inquiry into Batalanda in 1995.
CBK ignored mandate
Meanwhile, former President CBK was also in the spotlight since she was responsible for appointing the Commission of Inquiry into the alleged Batalanda atrocities.
CBK, who made justice for the youth killed and unaccounted for during the 1987-’89 insurrection one of her key pledges at the 1994 Presidential Election, was accused afterwards of ignoring the pledge made in the run-up to the election. At the time, she promised to seek justice for the human rights violations, murders, and disappearances that occurred during the 1987-’90 period.
CBK was elected President in 1994 based on her pledge of justice and ended the 17 years of UNP rule.
One of the key events that turned the political spotlight on CBK that provided her an election platform was her move to lead the excavation on a mass grave in Sooriyakanda in Embilipitiya where a group of youth killed during the period of insurrection was allegedly buried. The Sooriyakanda mass grave received much international attention in 1994 with the finding of bodies of students from the Embilipitiya Maha Vidyalaya, believed to have been killed as part of the counter-insurgency during the 1987-’89 insurrection.
On 21 September 1995, CBK established a Presidential Commission of Inquiry to investigate the incidents of human rights violations, murders, and disappearances that occurred during the 1987/’90 period, promising action.
Batalanda Commission
The Batalanda Commission appointed by CBK was tasked with examining allegations of illegal detention, torture, assassination, and disappearances of individuals at the Batalanda Housing Scheme in the Kelaniya area, which at the time was under the purview of the State Fertilizer Manufacturing Corporation.
The commission was also tasked with identifying those accountable for the alleged atrocities and making necessary recommendations. The commission was chaired by then Court of Appeal Justice D. Jayawickrama, with High Court Judge N.E. Dissanayake serving as a member.
A team of Police officers was appointed to assist with the investigation, and the Attorney General’s Department had provided legal support by leading the evidence in the presence of the commission.
Among the officials from the Attorney General’s Department were notable figures such as current Supreme Court Justice Yasantha Kodagoda and President’s Counsel Sarath Jayamanne, who were part of this legal team.
The tenure of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry was extended on 12 separate occasions and, after nearly three years of gathering evidence, the commission had submitted its report to then President CBK on 26 March 1998. The recommendations of the Batalanda Commission report were never implemented by CBK.
However, with the commission report returning to the spotlight, CBK is once again being accused of working to protect Wickremesinghe and the reason for this has been attributed to the fact that he (Wickremesinghe) represents her political class.
A video clip of the late Minister Mangala Samaraweera during a Cabinet media briefing where he explains the reason for then President CBK to not publicise the Batalanda report also made the rounds last week.
The President has refused to present the report, stating that she does not want to subject her main political opponent, or the Leader of the Opposition, to the same treatment that the UNP subjected Sirimavo Bandaranaike to. She has decided not to present it until her term ends. However, we hope to present the full report to the public after the elections,” Samaraweera says in the video clip.
RW and Batalanda
Wickremesinghe was the Minister of Industry during the period of the alleged atrocities that had taken place in Batalanda. The Batalanda Housing Scheme fell under the purview of the Ministry of Industry.
The Batalanda Commission report revealed that houses within the scheme, specifically units A 2/2, A 2/1, A 2/3, A 1/7, B2, B1, and B7, had been utilised by Wickremesinghe and that a team of Police officers led by then Peliyagoda Police Station Chief Douglas Peiris had also been given units in the housing complex. Additionally, 13 houses had been allocated to officers of the Kelaniya Anti-Subversive Unit.
One of the houses had reportedly been used as Wickremesinghe’s office and the allocation of these houses had been carried out under his directives.
The commission had summoned Wickremesinghe to testify and provide explanations regarding these allegations and, after extensive investigations spanning three years, the commission had made several key recommendations.
The commission had noted that the individual representing the Executive branch had repeatedly violated the law without fear of facing any consequences.
The most significant of the recommendations was to grant the Supreme Court the authority to revoke the civic rights of public representatives and Police officers found guilty of severe human rights violations.
Eyewitness account
Meanwhile, JVP splinter group Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) senior member Indrananda De Silva stated that he had seen Wickremesinghe firsthand when he was taken to Batalanda to take photographs of the youth captured and held at the housing complex.
Speaking to ‘The Black Box,’ De Silva recounted his eyewitness account, how he was court-martialled and jailed and how he had sent an affidavit to the then Attorney General from behind bars detailing what he had witnessed in Batalanda and at other similar places.
De Silva had joined the Sri Lanka Army in July 1987 and served as an official photographer of the Army during the 1988-’89 period. He was tasked at the time with taking photographs of the individuals in captivity prior to their disappearance.
However, what the Army was not aware of was that De Silva had joined the JVP in 1984, prior to joining the military. Throughout his tenure in the Army, he served as an inside agent of the JVP. De Silva had therefore made copies of photographs he was asked to take of the youth captured by the military and held at black sites like Batalanda and had given copies to the JVP of the individuals in captivity.
He noted that photographs of the individuals taken by him, prior to their execution, were used by military intelligence units to maintain a secret album that was used to draw networks between members of the JVP at the time.
Recounting the incident where he had seen Wickremesinghe in Batalanda, De Silva noted that he had been taken to take photographs of three youth in Batalanda and that afterwards he had been taken to a room that was being used as an office where Wickremesinghe had been in discussion with several senior military officials. This incident had taken place a few months before Wijeweera was killed in November 1989.
The next time De Silva was taken to Batalanda was in early 1990. During his second visit to Batalanda, he had seen former Minister Rajitha Senaratne walking around the housing complex talking to several military personnel.
De Silva explained that the rooms in several housing units had been partitioned with hardboard and the first time he was asked to take photographs of three individuals in Batalanda, there had been around 30 youth in the partitioned room. Some of the youths had been severely tortured to the extent of being disfigured.
Court-martialled
During his tenure as the Army photographer, De Silva had also taken photographs of detained youth in other locations in and outside Colombo.
Recounting an emotional story of the fate of 10 young women during the period, De Silva claimed that a group of military individuals who were in charge of a black site operated in a cafeteria and hotel in Thimbirigasyaya in Colombo had allegedly held 10 young women at the premises after informing the authorities that they had been killed and that the military personnel had allegedly continuously raped them.
I was taken there to take photographs of a group of youths detained and I heard some women sobbing when I was descending the stairs. When I looked from a balcony window, I saw several women crying and when I asked them, they told me their plight. I could take their details. I then exposed the reel that I had used that day and I said I wanted to return to take fresh photographs since the reel was destroyed. I returned to the place to get their details,” De Silva said, adding that they could not be saved since they were killed shortly afterwards.
The youth accused of planning a car bomb attack on then State Minister of Defence Ranjan Wijeratne were also held at this site, according to De Silva.
One of the military officers in charge of this site later became a leading military intelligence officer who was killed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
However, after the Thimbirigasyaya incident, the military had become suspicious about De Silva since there was no other way for news about some detained youth in black sites to reach human rights defenders including lawyers.
De Silva was taken into custody as a traitor in March 1990, a few months after Wijeweera’s killing, and was also sent to Batalanda first. The only reason De Silva lived to recount the details of the dark era of 1987-’89 was because he had managed to get word out to human rights activist and lawyer Kalyananda Tiranagama about his plight, resulting in his (De Silva’s) name being taken up in Parliament.
This was after there was international attention on Sri Lanka due to Richard de Zoysa’s killing. When a question was posed in Parliament, Ranjan Wijeratne (then State Minister of Defence), mentioned my name in the House and said that I was alive. It is because of this that I was not killed,” De Silva said.
In mid-1991, De Silva was court-martialled and was punished in 1993 with 15 years in prison. Afterwards, he was jailed in Welikada for six months and later moved to the Magazine Prison.
Affidavit to court
It was while he was in the Magazine Prison that he had written a detailed affidavit to the then Attorney General.
De Silva said that his lengthy affidavit had provided details of the alleged human rights violations that had taken place in Batalanda as well as in other similar black sites during the 1987-’89 period.
Details of these atrocities had also been sent to Opposition politicians during this period, especially to Vasudeva Nanayakkara, who had given wide publicity to the details at the time.
The affidavit was also submitted to the Batalanda Commission and it was serialised and published in newspapers of all three languages in 1996.
The threat
Meanwhile, De Silva alleged that the then Police Chief in Kelaniya Douglas Peiris had even threatened relatives of some missing persons who were in the military when they had tried to inquire about their loved ones.
When several relatives met Dougals Peiris to ask about their missing relatives, he (Peiris) had first asked them to come in three days. When the relatives had returned after three days, they were asked to walk around the housing complex. There had been several mounds of ashes.
When the relatives had returned to speak to Peiris, he had asked what they had seen. When the relatives had said they had seen mounds of ashes, Peiris had said: ‘If you people were not in the military uniform, you too would be returned as ashes,’” de Silva recounted.
JVP aware
It is learnt that the JVP is also aware of all these details, including firsthand accounts by the likes of De Silva and other survivors.
De Silva noted that his detailed affidavit to the Attorney General had been published in full in the JVP’s official publication, ‘Seenuwa,’ in December 1996. The party (JVP) knows everything in detail,” he said.
He further noted that the JVP/NPP was yet to respond to the FSP’s letter to President AKD urging a fresh probe to be conducted into JVP Founder Wijeweera’s killing.
Batalanda at present
The controversial Batalanda Housing Scheme located in the Biyagama electorate on Batalanda Road is today a developed area, with many roads and houses having come up. Coincidentally, Biyagama was also Wickremesinghe’s electorate at the time.
Also, the place where the torture chambers were said to have been located today serves as the military’s Defence Services Command and Staff College.
Ready to give evidence
Meanwhile, several survivors of Batalanda as well as several individuals who had served in the Police and military at time the Batalanda torture chambers were operational have come out in public saying they are prepared to give evidence before a new commission if one is appointed.
Several of them have also recounted the gory details of what was being done in the Batalanda Housing Scheme during the period of the insurrection.
Like De Silva, one Chandrasiri Vithanage, who had served in the Police in the Kelaniya division during the said period, has told the media that he had given evidence before the previous commission and was prepared to once again go before another commission.
De Silva told ‘The Black Box’ that a youth at the time, hailing from Yudaganawa in Polonnaruwa, who had escaped from Batalanda was also prepared to give evidence.
Focus on more reports
Meanwhile, with the Batalanda Commission report saga, there is also suspicion on whether this will open a Pandora’s box that will implicate many other individuals over alleged human rights violations.
While the Batalanda report has put Wickremesinghe under the spotlight, moves are also underway by some Opposition parties to push for the revelation of the other side of the incidents, which would expose the alleged atrocities committed by the JVP during the insurrection.
The nationalist camp meanwhile, it is learnt, has turned its attention to releasing a report on the alleged atrocities committed by the LTTE during the war to hit at the Tamil diaspora, suspected to be the forces behind the Al Jazeera interview with Wickremesinghe.
Finally, to Parliament
However, after over 25 years, the report of the Batalanda Commission finally made it to Parliament last Friday (14). Leader of the House, Minister Bimal Rathnayake tabled the report in the House.
Rathnayake said the report would be handed over to the Attorney General while President AKD would appoint a committee to look into what action should be taken with regard to the report. The Leader of the House also noted that a two-day debate would be held on the report in Parliament.
Several ruling party MPs including the Speaker were seen becoming emotional when Rathnayake read a brief statement on the disappearances and killings in the 1987-’89 period when tabling the report in the House.
RW’s response
Meanwhile, former President Wickremesinghe’s office announced on Friday that he would be making a special statement with regard to the Batalanda report today (16).
Wickremesinghe, it is learnt, will address facts outlined in the report as well as the recommendations in it.
Deshabandu conundrum
Meanwhile, amidst the Batalanda report saga, suspended Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon has posed another problem for the JVP/NPP Government.
Having to face questions on whether Tennakoon was not being taken into custody intentionally by the Police and whether the Government had the will to take the Police Chief into custody, especially after some members of the Government claimed earlier that Tennakoon would be apprehended soon since his whereabouts were known, the Government is also now desperate to resolve this dilemma.
Tennakoon meanwhile filed a writ petition in the Court of Appeal through his counsel seeking an interim order to suspend the Matara Magistrate’s directive for his arrest in connection with the 2023 shooting incident at a prominent hotel in Weligama.
The petition was taken up before a Court of Appeal bench comprising Justices Mohammed Laffar Tahir and Sarath Dissanayake on Monday (10) and the court ordered the petition to be taken for further consideration last Wednesday (12) after serving notices to the respondents. The court has now reserved its order on the petition for tomorrow (17).
Meanwhile, the Matara Magistrate’s Court issued an open warrant on Tennakoon.
Deputy Minister of Public Security Sunil Watagala has meanwhile warned that legal measures will be taken to seize the assets of suspended IGP Tennakoon if he continues to evade court proceedings despite an active warrant.
Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Nizam Kariapper meanwhile claimed in Parliament that the investigators could use the writ petition that contained an affidavit signed by Tennakoon to locate him. Even the Justice of the Peace (JP) who had endorsed the affidavit could assist the probe, Kariapper said.
Crime net
Meanwhile, the Attorney General’s Department revealed in the Court of Appeal that Tennakoon had operated what seemed like a paramilitary group consisting of junior Police officers to carry out various crimes.
Additional Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris had told court that Tennakoon had used some personnel at the Crimes Division to carry out certain off-the-book tasks. He had noted that the shooting incident outside the W15 hotel in Weligama had been a result of a personal clash between Tennakoon and the owner of the hotel.
Peiris had further accused Tennakoon of using Police personnel as a paramilitary group to resolve his (Tennakoon’s) personal issues.
Deals at play
Meanwhile, former MP Patali Champika Ranawaka, who plays the role of a key critic against the JVP/NPP Government, recently claimed that several individuals would not be arrested by the incumbent Government.
Ranawaka alleged during a public meeting in Homagama recently that a deal between President AKD and former Minister Tiran Alles had prevented Tennakoon’s arrest. Why has Deshabandu (Tennakoon) not been arrested? Tiran Alles is behind him. Anura Kumara will not take any action against Alles whatever frauds he commits. That is the deal,” the former MP alleged.
However, Ranawaka claimed that the incumbent Government was pushing authorities including the Attorney General to act against everyone else, including framing accusations against him (Ranawaka).
Following Ranawaka’s revelation, Cabinet Spokesperson, Minister Nalinda Jayatissa faced questions from the media about Alles and his alleged connection to Tennakoon. Jayatissa however was careful not to mention former Minister Alles’ name despite numerous questions from journalists about potential links between Tennakoon and Alles.
When Jayatissa was questioned by the media on whether there was credible information that Alles’ house had been searched in this regard, the Minister had said he was not aware and that Police had searched all the known places. I think he (Tennakoon) will be arrested at any time,” Jayatissa had added.
Bimal’s invite to SJBer
Meanwhile, the Government had expressed preparedness to work together with Opposition members to develop State-owned institutions. It is in such a backdrop that Minister Rathnayake has invited SJB MP Jagath Withana to take charge of the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) to transform the State institution into a profit-making entity.
Withana has said that he has been invited by Rathnayake to help develop the SLTB and that he is expecting an official request letter from the Minister shortly. The request letter will assist the SJB MP to gain access to the SLTB to support the board in its transformation work.
According to the Opposition MP, many engineers and individuals with expert knowledge will assist in the SLTB’s transformation, which will begin from the Matugama SLTB depot. He has noted that the board’s depots in the Kalutara District will be uplifted within six months.
Withana has further noted that measures will be taken to get the first 10 renovated SLTB buses operational within 10 months.
Advising Government
While the JVP/NPP Government has opened up for support from the Opposition, Sarvajana Balaya Leader, MP Dilith Jayaweera responded to criticism levelled against him by some ruling party members for making statements raising concerns about the country’s national security situation.
Jayaweera noted that while one of the main criticisms levelled against him when raising concerns or making proposals to the Government was that he had not even represented a Local Government body and therefore lacked experience, a majority of the MPs of the ruling party had not served in Local Government bodies either and had been elected to Parliament directly.
Jayaweera further noted that neither US President Donald Trump nor Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew had represented the local government prior to becoming leaders of their respective countries and, according to Sri Lankan standards, they would not have been elected to office.
Problems cannot be solved at Local Government level. Many in the incumbent Government have not served Local Government bodies either. There needs to be a holistic approach to dealing with issues. I raised concerns about the intelligence apparatus in the country… Now no one can find Deshabandu Tennakoon. This is what I said,” Jayaweera claimed.
Sri Lanka’s gains
Sri Lanka meanwhile has shown an improvement in the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2025, which the Government has worked fast to secure credit for.
The 12th annual GTI report, released on 5 March, has ranked Sri Lanka 100th among 163 countries considered in the index. However, with a GTI score of zero, Sri Lanka shares the lowest spot on the index with 63 other countries.
The report has indicated that Sri Lanka has significantly improved, dropping 64 spots in the index within a year, thereby lowering the risk of terror threats within the island nation.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka also shares the lowest terror threat ranking in the South Asian region with Bhutan. Sri Lanka was the most improved South Asian country in 2024, having recorded no terrorist attacks or deaths for the fifth consecutive year since 2019. Nepal followed as the second most improved country, recording no attacks or deaths for the second consecutive year.
Eran in the limelight
Meanwhile, political parties, especially in the Opposition, are engaged in preparatory work for the upcoming Local Government Elections by preparing nomination lists for the elections. Key Opposition political parties, it is learnt, are looking at fielding prominent figures to lead the campaigns of their parties at the polls.
It is in such a backdrop that the SJB has put forth former MP Eran Wickramaratne’s name as the party’s mayoral candidate for the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC). From the looks of it, the election for the CMC is gathering steam to be the main tussle at the hustings.
Former SJB MP Hirunika Premachandra has also indicated that Wickramaratne is likely to be nominated as the party’s mayoral candidate.
As a woman, I am pleased that a female candidate has been nominated by the NPP. However, I believe former Minister Eran Wickramaratne is expected to be our candidate, though there has been no official confirmation yet. He is highly qualified and widely accepted by the public,” she said at a news briefing.
Meanwhile, SJB MP Nalin Bandara recently stated that the party would present a super character” as its mayoral candidate for the CMC. As a party, we will do well at the upcoming Local Government Elections. We also have a subtle plan to gain power in the Colombo Municipal Council,” he added.
Rosy jumps in
With Wickramaratne’s name being pushed as the SJB’s mayoral candidate for the CMC, news of former Mayor of Colombo Rosy Senanayake also came out as the UNP’s likely candidate for the mayoral position in Colombo.
Senanayake, who held the post of Mayor in the previous CMC, was not named as the UNP’s mayoral candidate when the party submitted nominations for the Local Government Elections in 2023. However, Senanayake was last week reappointed as an Organiser of the UNP in Colombo and is now tipped to be named the mayoral candidate of the party for the CMC if it finalises its decision to go solo at the polls.
Talk of alliance for Colombo
However, a group of UNPers and SJBers are once again in discussion to look at forming an alliance to contest the CMC.
Talks that commenced between the SJB and UNP to form an alliance broke down last month with both parties failing to reach a consensus on several issues, including the symbol of the alliance and its leadership.
The obstacles in forming the alliance intensified with a group of pro-Sajith Premadasa SJBers launching a campaign against an alliance between the SJB and UNP, which also included attacks against several senior SJBers who were supporting an alliance between the two parties.
However, the latest development in the SJB-UNP alliance is on forming an alliance between the two parties to contest the CMC. It is learnt that initial talks between several SJBers and UNPers have explored the possibility of appointing a mayor from the SJB and deputy mayor from the UNP in the event the alliance wins at the CMC election.
SJB’s message
While the UNP decided to give the SJB time until Thursday (20) to respond on whether the party is agreeable to form an alliance with the UNP to contest the CMC, the SJB decided to immediately respond.
SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara responded to the UNP’s statement saying that the SJB has decided to contest all Local Government bodies under the party’s ‘telephone’ symbol. Madduma Bandara noted that the SJB would therefore be contesting the CMC under the party symbol and not under any alliance.
However, he noted that the SJB was open to discussing forming alliances within Local Government bodies after the election.
SJB-SLPP union
Meanwhile, it is learnt that the SJB has also carried out talks with some SLPPers to look at the possibility of joining forces after the Local Government Elections.
The two sides had explored the possibility of forming alliances to secure power in some Local Government bodies after the polls by sharing the key posts in the bodies.
‘Chair’ rejects ‘elephant’
Meanwhile, a move by the UNP to form an alliance with the SLFP-led People’s Alliance (PA) has been turned down by senior SLFPers.
It is learnt that when the UNP had inquired if the SLFP was prepared to contest under a UNP-led alliance under the ‘elephant’ symbol, SLFP seniors had responded saying that the UNP could join the SLFP-led PA to contest under the ‘chair’ symbol.
It is also learnt that the UNP seniors who had approached the SLFPers had been shocked by the response. It is however ironic that the PA had asked the UNP to contest under the ‘chair’ symbol since it was the PA that defeated the UNP in 1994, ending a 17-year UNP rule.
Clash in the UNP
Amidst the ongoing controversy over Wickremesinghe’s involvement in the Batalanda saga during the 1987-’89 insurrection, his party, the UNP, is also facing an internal crisis.
The brewing crisis within the UNP resulted in a public explosion last Wednesday (12) when Party Leader Wickremesinghe and other seniors were engaged in presenting party organiser posts to UNP organisers from the Kalutara District at an event at the Party Headquarters, Sirikotha.
UNP’s former Leader of the Kalutara District and former MP Lakshman Wijemanne expressed his displeasure publicly when he was called upon to accept the new letter of appointment as a party organiser from Wickremesinghe.
Wijemanne claimed before the gathering that the party leadership had given undue prominence to former Minister Rajitha Senaratne and had made him the Kalutara District Leader of the UNP while sidelining party loyalists.
An agitated Wickremesinghe however first turned the other way to ignore Wijemanne, but when the latter continued with his statement, Wickremesinghe was seen gesturing at Wijemanne to stop and return to his seat. UNP Chairman Wajira Abeywardena and Deputy Leader Ruwan Wijewardene had to intervene to send Wijemanne back to his seat.
When several other organisers among the crowd also started to express displeasure, Wickremesinghe had asked them to take their seats in an angry tone and Abeywardena had walked up to them and said the issue could be discussed after the event.
Lakshman joins Sajith
However, Wijemanne on Thursday (13) joined the SJB and Premadasa saying that he no longer wanted to be in the UNP.
Hearing of Wijemanne’s defection from the UNP due to objections over Senaratne’s appointment as the UNP’s Kalutara District Leader, several senior UNPers have discussed a matter that not many had been aware of. The senior UNPers had noted that when Senaratne served as Land Minister, he had helped Wijemanne clear one of his land issues and that Wijemanne had even failed to show gratitude for this help.
SJB seniors such as Ajith P. Perera meanwhile have condemned the manner in which Wickremesinghe dismissed Wijemanne, who had remained loyal to the UNP leadership even when he was asked to join the SJB when the party was being formed.
Clashes over lists
Meanwhile, it is learnt that the SJB’s ongoing work to prepare the nomination lists for the upcoming Local Government Elections has created some clashes within the party, with several SJB seniors expressing displeasure over being sidelined when determining the party’s candidates for the polls. This situation has been especially witnessed in the formation of lists for several districts, including Matale, Monaragala, and Colombo.
It is also learnt that recommendations made by SJB MP Rohini Wijeratne Kavirathna have been ignored when finalising lists for Local Government bodies in her constituency, the Matale District.
The latest clash has resulted in some SJB seniors noting that the party leadership together with a group of the Leader’s loyalists is trying to get individuals they believe they can control into the Local Government bodies to ensure a grip at the grassroots level.
Maharagama explodes
The SJB’s Maharagama electorate has witnessed an explosion with the party’s Organiser for the electorate, Gamini Thilakasiri resigning from the post after protesting over the party’s move to appoint an individual facing various accusations, including those relating to corruption, to oversee the electorate.
The individual who was appointed to oversee the Maharagama electorate is the former Chairman of the National Youth Services Council and SJB Youth President Eranda Weliange.
Thilakasiri, who has served in Parliament and as a Western Provincial Council Minister, joined the SJB and took over as the party’s Maharagama Organiser after he defected from the SLFP during the last Presidential Election.
New movement
Meanwhile, a group of disgruntled SJBers, who have been discussing the need to properly reform the party by instilling internal party democracy and paving the way for a second tier leadership, have started to speak of alternative political plans in the long term.
A group of SJB MPs had recently met at a hotel belonging to a relative of a former SJB MP to discuss future political plans.
During the discussion, it is learnt that several senior SJBers had mooted the idea of forming a new movement with progressive politicians in the Opposition. They have noted that this new movement should be formed without both Wickremesinghe and Premadasa and should also not include individuals facing corruption and other fraud charges.
Although the meeting had ended without a conclusion, the senior SJBers had agreed to continue with the discussion.
Douglas says no
Meanwhile, the SLPP, which is trying to rebuild the party, has faced a blow with its former ally, the Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) led by former Minister Douglas Devananda, deciding not to join forces with the SLPP at the upcoming Local Government Elections.
The EPDP has been a long-standing ally of the Rajapaksa family and had played a pivotal role in mustering support for the Rajapaksas through the years in the Northern Province.
Following Devananda’s electoral defeat at the last Parliamentary Election, the EPDP Leader, it is learnt, is contemplating getting his party to contest the upcoming polls under its own symbol.
Chamal’s LG talk
Meanwhile, former Speaker and SLPP senior member Chamal Rajapaksa shocked many by stating that he was planning on contesting the upcoming Local Government Elections.
Chamal, who is also a senior member of the Rajapaksa family, last week said that he was prepared to contest the upcoming polls and that he could contest from any area in the Hambantota District.
However, SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam noted that he was unaware of any decision by Chamal to contest the upcoming elections, but added that the party could consider Chamal’s candidacy if he wanted to contest for a Local Government body.
Soon after, with many critics claiming the mighty have now fallen to Local Government levels, Chamal stated that he had no plans to contest the Local Government Elections since he had now retired from politics and that he had no intention to contest any election.
Chamal added that he had only been joking when he had said he was ready to contest for a Local Government body.
Prasanna in hiding
However, another SLPPer is currently in the spotlight following the crackdown on illegal land transactions that resulted in the arrest of former Minister Mervyn Silva.
Following Silva’s arrest, another former Minister has gone into hiding. It is learnt that the former Minister who is now in hiding is former State Minister Prasanna Ranaweera, who is a Rajapaksa loyalist in the SLPP.
Ranaweera, who is known as a political student of Silva, seems to have followed in the footsteps of his political teacher, resulting in another land fraud allegation being levelled against him (Ranaweera). Ranaweera is under investigation by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) over an alleged fraudulent transaction related to a land in the Kiribathgoda area.
However, after learning that he is being probed by the CID, Ranaweera has reportedly gone into hiding, leaving his wife to speak to the CID when several officials had visited his residence. After learning that Ranaweera was not at home and that his whereabouts were unknown, the CID officers had recorded a statement from the wife.
House for MR
Meanwhile, the probe by the CID into a house belonging to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa (MR) in Kataragama moved up to the Attorney General after Ruhunu Kataragama Maha Devalaya Basnayake Nilame Dishan Gunasekara and Kataragama Kirivehera Chief Incumbent Ven. Kobawaka Dhamminda Thera were summoned to the CID for statements.
Gunasekara said that he had been questioned by the CID last Monday (10) regarding a house built for former President MR in Kataragama.
Gunasekara told the media that the relevant house had been built by a person named Wimalaratne and had been funded by the then Chief Incumbent of the Kataragama Kirivehera. He added that the person who had built the house was currently unwell and that the then Chief Incumbent of the temple had passed away.
The Basnayake Nilame had noted that he was the only one aware of the details related to the building and that the CID had therefore summoned him to provide details about the property.
Gunasekara further stated that the said house did not belong to MR, but had been built for him by the then Chief Incumbent of the Kataragama Kirivehera. During the war, when Mahinda Rajapaksa visited temples, he did not stay at hotels, but instead at houses or small annexes built within the temple properties. This property in question is also a similar building,” he had added.
SLPP dissidents’ move
A group of dissident SLPPers including several who had joined Wickremesinghe and his New Democratic Front (NDF) ‘gas cylinder’ alliance are contemplating the formation of a new political force.
The dissidents, including Prasanna Ranatunga, Ramesh Pathirana, Kanchana Wijesekera, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Piyal Nishantha, Sahan Pradeep, Pradeep Undugoda, and several others, have recently held a discussion on their next political steps.
Almost everyone at the discussion had agreed that they should focus on building a strong force with a future plan at play rather than forming alliances or preparing to face the upcoming Local Government Elections.
It had been agreed at the meeting that Pathirana and Wijesekera should take the lead in forming the new political force with the seniors at the meeting agreeing that the second-tier leaders should now take the lead.
In order to carry out a planned movement, it had been also decided at the meeting to form several committees to proceed with the political work. Accordingly, committees for legal, women’s, youth, and media affairs had been discussed.
