The main thrust of the JVP is on corruption and how governments since Independence, and especially since 2005, have robbed the people for the personal gain of individuals. Out of all the decades, the period from 2005 to 2015, has been the worst of its kind with rulers fattening their purses at the expense of the citizenry. People have come to realise this when they see countries that have lagged behind Sri Lanka for decades economically, streaking ahead in governance, technological advancement, and economic progression.

Is President Ranil Wickremesinghe threatened by the rising popularity of the JVP?

The answer is ambivalent: yes, and an emphatic no.

The JVP is no doubt gaining popularity by the day among the segment of the populace that matters most—the middle class—and it is no secret.

It has launched a massive countrywide campaign with the objective of soliciting support, especially from the middle class in the country, in a bid to strengthen their presence in urban areas and the hinterlands of the country.

The campaign is so vigorous that the state intelligence services are on red alert to scrutinise their activities to ascertain whether they exceed the level any democratic arrangement could permit.

The government was compelled to demarcate areas in the western province as High-Security Zones (HZS) to keep this heightening momentum at bay. Declaring high security zones in the city and outskirts caused a countrywide furor, compelling the government to rescind it when the Attorney General advised that there was a legal lacuna in the directive, and it was done without his consent and approval.

The president was unaware of the legal hiccup it caused because of the belief that the Ministry of Law and Order had to do it for compelling reasons with the prior approval of the Attorney General. The President, according to reports, put his signature just before leaving for the United Kingdom to attend the funeral of the British monarch. The sheer folly of the ill-advised Ministry of Law and Order, which may commit more blunders in time to come under the direction of the legal section in the Police department, shows it lacks the competence to go into legal provisions with dexterity. After learning about the ambiguities of declaring HSZ’s under the official secrets act, the President moved swiftly to rescind it.

The JVP youth wing demonstrated against what they termed were draconian laws by the government, while the Hulftsdorp lawyers took to the streets, saying it was a blatant interference in the rights of the people guaranteed under the constitution. The lawyers challenged the police to disperse the demonstration if they could, saying they were demonstrating right in the middle of the so-called HSZ. During the week, the police moved to disperse a few demonstrations by the university students and by the fishing folk of Mullaitvu.

At this critical juncture, predicting the size of the JVP’s voter base in the upcoming general elections is difficult. However, anyone could safely predict that it would be significantly higher than in the previous elections. Other parties, nervous and perhaps a tad envious of their popularity, are certain to call their credentials to serve the people into question and sling mud at them.

JVP and the other political parties in the opposition are lobbying for a general election. However, the President is unable to dissolve Parliament before March next year, the minimum time frame set by the 20th constitutional amendment. The 20th amendment, introduced by the Gotabaya Rajapaksa regime, had specified the time frame by reducing a substantial period from the earlier provision under the 19th amendment that barred the president from dissolving Parliament for four and a half years from the day of the election. That provision saved the Ranil Wickremesinghe government from facing an early dissolution under President Mathripala Sirisena.

However the opposition parties, the SJB, JVP and Tamil National Alliance, have taken a different stance, saying the government lost its mandate after the  argalaya dislodged then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa from office.  It paved the way for Ranil Wickremesinghe to climb the high echelons of power after being the solo member representing his party, the United National party, in parliament.  His reputation for being a crafty leader who could deliver things for the people while maintaining good relations with the international community, is gradually eroding.

In the local political landscape, the Wickremesinghe ideology has not been able to do much to convince the masses owing to the severe economic downturn the country is facing. A credible team at the Central Bank, comprising its governor Dr Nandalal Weerasinghe and the Monetary Board, are holding the strings of a fragile economy from total collapse. The International Monetary Fund may try to bail the country out of a serious economic crisis, but it is unlikely to provide the people with the much-needed relief they require to overcome their daily struggles.

The serious cost-of-living issues may allow the opposition parties, including the JVP, to have a bigger margin than the governmental parties in every sense to win the sympathy of the people.

The main thrust of the JVP is on corruption and how governments since Independence, and especially since 2005, have robbed the people for the personal gain of individuals. Out of all the decades, the period from 2005 to 2015, has been the worst of its kind with rulers fattening their purses at the expense of the citizenry. People have come to realise this when they see countries that have lagged behind Sri Lanka for decades economically, streaking ahead in governance, technological advancement, and economic progression.

Colossal amounts were spent on the separatist war, and it is difficult to fathom the actual cost of the war that spanned nearly thirty years. Infrastructure projects, most of them turning out to be white elephants, turned out to be lucrative grounds to mine money. A recent report to parliament by the Auditor General sheds light on how foreign loans of over 280 billion rupees obtained for the construction of the Puttalam coal plant and Hambantota port during the time of Mahinda Rajapaksa are not included in the government’s financial statements. It also revealed there was a difference of 116.35 billion rupees between the repayment value of foreign debt last year and the repayment value of the debt noted in financial statements.  It was an Eldorado, or a treasure trove, for the politicians and their acolytes to rob the country. This unprecedented corruption and the impunity towards it by those responsible for governance finally caught up with Sri Lanka at the recent 51st sessions of the United Nations Human Rights Council. Adopting a fresh Resolution on Sri Lanka on Thursday, member states called for the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the country’s economic crisis. It was a first in the history of Resolutions on Sri Lanka, that a provision of this nature was included.

The JVP could easily exploit the present situation since they have not been in power since Independence. They have the popular support of those who, disillusioned with the country’s failed trajectory, want to give them an opportunity.  Their reputation as a political entity which pushed thousands of youth to face the guillotine of the country’s ruthless leaders, is held only by a minority and is just a blip on their political journey.  The argalaya was more or less peaceful other than the final push, where a few lives were lost. However, the high incidence of arson cases and assaults have not been resolved to date by the politicians who faced the wrath of the crowds calling for the immediate removal of the Inspector General of Police.

The laws which were introduced by the Jayewardene regime in the eighties to combat separatist terrorism still haunt the people, though the government has pledged to repeal them and introduce new laws, taking into account the modern trends of international terrorism and how other countries have formulated laws to combat them.

People are now faced with a new law in the Bureau of Rehabilitation where the argalaya participants may be sent for rehabilitation under the auspices of the government.

The bill was challenged in the Supreme Court on the grounds that government officials could use it to bypass judicial scrutiny and commit people to rehabilitation. The argument was that the bill grossly violates the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the constitution.

The Attorney General, however, assured the Supreme Court that committee stage amendments may include a judicial remedy by introducing the proviso that the magistrates in the respective areas should visit the rehabilitation camps at least once a month to monitor the incidence of harassment meted out to inmates. The Human Rights Commission will also be empowered to make recommendations to the Inspector General of Police on alleged violations of the rights of detainees.

The biggest question is as to who would be committed to these rehabilitation camps. Will it be the cream of the youth of the argalaya who had the will and the prowess to get rid of a leader who has failed to feel the pulse of the common man?

It appears that Namal Rajapaksa was more interested in incarcerating the cream of the country’s youth, harbouring a grudge against them for shredding the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna to pieces during the argalaya. However, he seems to justify this on the pretext of sympathising with the youth on the ground that they have been misled to revolt against a legally elected government. Nevertheless, in the real sense, the youth of the country rebelled against the rampant corruption of the ruling family and their acolytes who put the country in an unprecedented economic crisis.

The so-called leaders must ponder whether they are doing the right thing by the youth of the country who are demanding a corruption-free economic environment.

Besides the government party, the SLPP is trying to backtrack on the 22nd amendment on the premise that the executive president should wield ample power to deal with demanding situations.

At the government group meeting, S.B Dissnayake pointed out that Mahinda Rajapaksa was able to finish the war effectively owing to the powers vested in the executive presidency. Ranil Wickremesinghe, soon after assuming office as the executive president, spelt out his desire to rejuvenate the 19th amendment through the 22nd amendment. It has a faint resemblance to the 19th amendment and a lot of people tend to approve it on the premise that something is better than nothing, with the aim of improving on it at a later stage. Even the SJB, the main opposition, does not feel that it fulfils the aspirations of the people.

On inquiry, it was obvious that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was at the bottom of the cause, as he had pushed and instigated the SLPP group to oppose it. Rajapaksa’s position is that it paves the way for the full implementation of the 13th amendment, which devolves power to the provinces. The main beneficiaries of the full implementation of the 13th amendment are the people of the North and East who were yearning for reasonable power sharing among all communities.

What is most convincing is that Rajapaksa is once again toying with the idea of playing communal politics and is hell-bent on the idea of grabbing power by mobilising the Buddhist monks to achieve his sinister aim.

The other issue pertaining to the 22nd amendment is the matter relating to dual citizenship, which bars anybody holding the citizenship of another country from taking up any responsible governmental position or entering parliament.

The Justice Minister said in parliament that the 22A is not a part of a personal agenda of anybody but is what the country needs. He emphasised that if Parliament sidesteps and evades this opportunity to introduce something pragmatic, it would lead to a bigger agitation emanating from the people.

More than anything, the rejection of the 22A would put the country in jeopardy as far as its international commitments are concerned. The country would face an awkward situation if it were unable to solicit the support of the international community in its future endeavours.

Party Leaders have now agreed to take the 22nd amendment to the constitution for discussion when Parliament meets on the 18th of October.-

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here