SC verdict: End of road for Sirisena

It never rains but it pours. Perhaps, nothing exemplifies this popular saying more than what former President Maithripala Sirisena has experienced during the past several years. With the benefit of hindsight, he must be thinking that it was a colossal mistake for him to become the President in 2015. Thursday’s Supreme Court (SC) order has sent him reeling, and could even place his political career in jeopardy.

Sirisena has earned notoriety for changing sides. In 2014, he left the Mahinda Rajapaksa government to run for President for two main reasons. His relations with the Rajapaksa family had turned sour, and he had fallen out with Basil Rajapaksa, who short-changed him; an ambitious man, he knew that the SLFP under the Rajapaksas would not allow him to achieve his prime ministerial dream. Having risen through the ranks and become the SLFP General Secretary, he thought he deserved to be appointed the Prime Minister and became frustrated when he failed to secure the coveted post. So, he became the choice of those who were looking for a common Opposition candidate to challenge Rajapaksa in the 2015 presidential race, where he came from behind to defeat Rajapaksa. His was a stunning upset win, and he became a hero to many, and earned encomia from all those who despised the Rajapaksa rule and had been wishing for its collapse. His admirers included some foreign leaders as well. President Sirisena even boasted that the late Queen Elizabeth had given him a ‘gloveless’ handshake, at a function, in the UK, in recognition of what he called his contribution to the democratization of Sri Lankan politics!

All those who rallied behind Sirisena and helped him realize his presidential dream did so not out of any love for him but because they were planning to advance their own agendas by toppling the Rajapaksa administration. Most of them have turned against him today. Worse, they are also trying to hound him out of the SLFP! He incurred their wrath by refusing to be manipulated by them after securing the presidency. They expected him to be a malleable leader ready to do their bidding, but he proved that he was made of sterner stuff. He really got their goat by closing ranks with the Rajapaksa family in 2018 and trying to sack the then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. He became a traitor to the Yahapalana cause.

Prominent among those who are trying to destroy Sirisena politically is former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, who claims to be the chief architect of the 2015 regime change. She is busy mustering support within the SLFP to achieve her goal of seeing the back of Sirisena. Thursday’s SC order that Sirisena pay compensation to the tune of Rs. 100 million to the victims of the Easter Sunday terror attacks, which he failed to prevent as the President in 2019, is bound to be used by his rivals against him. Others who were ordered by the SC to pay compensation are former IGP Pujith Jayasundera (Rs. 75 million), former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando (Rs. 50 million), former head of the State Intelligence SDIG Nilantha Jayawardena (Rs. 75 million) and former chief of National Intelligence former DIG Sisira Mendi (Rs. 10 million).

Worst yet to come

Hardly any politician is poor in this country. So, Sirisena, as a former President, will not have to sell his family silver to pay Rs. 100 million. His election campaigns must have cost him billions of rupees, and he would not have been able to incur such expenditure if he had been poor. Some of his family members are also wealthy. So, money will not be a problem for him.

However, the worst is yet to come for Sirisena. Now that the SC has determined that he neglected his duties and responsibilities and therefore is responsible for the deaths and injuries that the Easter Sunday victims suffered, the Catholic church and others seeking justice are bound to step up their campaign to have criminal proceedings instituted against him and others. Shamil Perera, Legal Advisor to Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, fielding queries from the media, on Friday, said the church expected the Attorney General to institute criminal proceedings against Sirisena, SDIG Jayawardene and ex-DIG Mendis.

Speaking at Friday’s media briefing, the Cardinal welcomed the Supreme Court judgement, which, he said, had demonstrated that political leaders were not above the law. He said in no uncertain terms that the Catholic church and others would redouble their efforts to have all those whose lapses had led to the destruction of about 270 lives in the Easter Sunday attacks brought to justice. It is clear that he is intent on having criminal charges pressed against Sirisena and others in keeping with the recommendations of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (COI), which probed the Easter Sunday attacks.

The Colombo High Court acquitted Fernando and Jayasundera in February 2022 because the prosecution could not prove charges against them. They can consider themselves lucky.

The COI recommendations concerning Sirisena, Jayawardena and Mendis are as follows:

Sirisena:

“Upon a consideration of the evidence of the facts before 4th April 2019, the COI is of the view that President Sirisena has failed in his duties and responsibilities and that this failure transcends mere civil negligence” (p 263).

“Based on the evidence, the COI is of the view that there is criminal liability on his [Sirisena’s] part for the acts or omissions explained above. The COI recommends that the Attorney General consider instituting criminal proceedings against President Sirisena under any suitable provision in the Penal Code” (p 265).

Jayawardena:

“All the evidence more fully discussed in Chapter 13 shows that the Director SIS did not take the intelligence seriously. It was the state of things until the Thalankuda blast occurred.

“Based on the evidence, the COI is of the view that there is criminal liability on his part for the acts or omissions explained above. The COI recommends that the Attorney General consider instituting criminal proceedings against SDIG Nilantha Jayawardena under any suitable provision in the Penal Code” (p 286).

Meanwhile, Jayawardena’s IGP dream has now been. The SC has ordered disciplinary action against him. The Police Department is like a pond full of piranhas and the fate that awaits Jayawardena is not difficult to guess. That there are several others eyeing the top post is no secret, and they will ensure that disciplinary action against Jayawardena will be taken sooner than expected.

Mendis:

“CNI [Chief of National intelligence] Sisira Mendis knew of all the briefings on the activities of Zahran. He should have realized the threat revealed by the intelligence.

“Based on the evidence, the COI is of the view that there is criminal liability on his part for the acts or omissions explained above. The COI recommends that the Attorney General consider instituting criminal proceedings against Mr. Sisira Mendis under any suitable provision in the Penal Code” (p 285).

There appears to be no way Sirisena could avoid sleepless nights, hardboiled as he may be in politics, given the severity of the political fallout from the SC verdict and the prospect of having to face criminal proceedings. This is an unnerving proposition for even the toughest in politics.

The SC judgement came close on the heels of the launch of the Nidahas Janatha Sandanaya or the People’s Freedom Alliance formed by the SLFP and SLPP dissident groups to contest the upcoming local government elections. Sirisena was obviously planning to lead the new coalition for all practical purposes as the leader of its main constituent and former President. Whether other coalition partners will not consider him a political liability and try to distance themselves from him, due to the SC verdict and its political implications, remains to be seen. The SLPP-UNP government will be more than willing to have criminal proceedings instituted against Sirisena, and its leaders who are not well-disposed towards him are likely to get cracking.