By Vishvanath
Never a dull in Sri Lanka thanks to its politics and politicians. Last week ended with something unusual that took the country by surprise. When a pro-government YouTuber predicted a week or so ago that former President Ranil Wickremesinghe would be arrested and remanded, and if his prediction went wrong, he would leave the digital space for good, not many people took him seriously. But his prediction came true!
UNP leader Wickremesinghe, arrested and remanded on Friday for alleged misuse of state funds during a visit to London, during his presidency, is receiving treatment in the National Hospital (NH), Colombo. Doctors say they cannot guarantee that he will be fit enough to appear in court tomorrow (26). The UNP and its political allies are reportedly planning a show of strength in Colombo.
A large number of Opposition politicians, including former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa have been visiting Wickremesinghe during the last two days so much so that the NH authorities have declared that it cannot cope with so many visitors.
Wickremesinghe is the first former Head of State to be arrested and remanded in Sri Lanka. The NPP government has sought to justify legal action against him on the grounds that everyone is equal before the laws. But the Opposition has cried foul, pointing out that some ministers who are facing far more serious allegations than Wickremesinghe have got off scot-free to all intents and purposes, and the law is being enforced selectively to harass Opposition politicians. It is of the view that legal proceedings should have been instituted against Minister of Power and Energy Kumar Jayakody for having allegedly caused huge loss to the state coffers through some tender irregularities when he was in the state-owned fertilizer corporation and against Minister Bimal Rathnayake for allegedly causing the release of as many as 323 freight containers from the Colombo Port without Customs inspection although they had been flagged as high risk cargo requiring thorough inspection. The Opposition parties have also demanded to know why Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe, Deputy Minister Mahinda Jayasinghe and Kaduwela Mayor Ranjan Jayalal, facing an allegation of fraudulent property transaction, have not been arrested and remanded. The government also stands accused of violating tender procedure in procuring coal for power generation. The Chairman of the Lanka Coal company has resigned over the tender controversy, according to the Opposition, which is demanding an explanation from the government.
The arrest as well as the subsequent remand of former President Wickremesinghe has led to a political battle between the government and the Opposition. There is no way the government can convince the public that it had no hand in the ongoing legal action against Wickremesinghe, for the CID acted on a complaint made by a top presidential aide. It may have thought that the Opposition would take it lying down, but it has unwittingly provided its rivals with a rallying point. Wickremesinghe was trying to forge a grand oppositional alliance at the time of his arrest, but he had his work cut out to bring the disparate opposition forces together. But now most of the NPP’s rivals have sunk their differences and pledged solidarity with him, and efforts being made to unite the Opposition has received an unintended fillip from the arrest and remand of Wickremesinghe. Whoever would have thought former President Maithripala Sirisena would ever visit Wickremesinghe: Sirisena went to the Colombo Magistrate’s Court on Friday to pledge solidarity with Wickremesinghe. He usually speaks in riddles, without making any commitment as such, but this time around he has plucked up the courage to stand up and be counted. Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga has also issued strongly worded media statement, flaying the government and defending Wickremesinghe. She has pledged unconditional support for a campaign to safeguard democracy. The coming together of political parties in defence of Wickremesinghe is likely to develop into a common Opposition front. This is not something the government may have bargained for.
Opinion may be divided on the arrest and remand of Wickremesinghe, but whether the government will be able to turn public opinion against the Opposition and debilitate it further remains to be seen. The fact that there serious allegations against some government members, such as irregularities in salt and rice imports, forgery, digital NIC tender controversy, etc., and they have not been arrested, many unfulfilled election promises, and policy reversals are sure to weigh on the NPP on the political front. In Sri Lanka, most people deify politicians and expect them to live up to their expectations as paragons of virtue, and when they find that their ‘deities’ have feet of clay, they look for messiahs elsewhere. When this happens, a wave of popular support forms much to the benefit of the Opposition, whose leaders offer to play messianic roles.
The NPP government, which usually goes on the offensive in dealing with the Opposition, has been on the defensive over the issue of Wickremesinghe’s arrest and remand, claiming that it had no hand in them. They have stopped short of bellowing rhetoric and repeating allegations against Wickremesinghe. Instead, the Frontline Socialist Party, an offshoot of the JVP, has been attacking him, and demanding that legal action be taken against him over the Batalanda torture chambers and the Treasury bond scams. This is something one expected the JVP to do. The JVP propagandists are in overdrive praising the arrest of Wickremesinghe and calling for his incarceration, but their leaders have chosen to tread cautiously while the Opposition parties are berating them and planning a counterattack. The JVP has sought to lump them together as an unholy alliance of kleptocrats who join forces to defend crooks, but it is doubtful whether this slogan will be as effective as it was before the presidential and parliamentary elections late last year because of the very serious allegations against the current dispensation. The partiality of the police towards the ruling party politicians and selective enforcement have taken their toll on the JVP-led NPP’s credibility and popularity, as can be seen from the outcome of the May 06 local government elections.
Speculation is rife in political circles that the JVP leaders themselves are divided on the arrest and remand of Wickremesinghe, and their differences of opinion came to a head on Friday evening. There are two groups in the NPP government—one calling for an all-out effort to weaken the Opposition politically and electorally and the other advocating a cautionary approach. Which one will prevail remains to be seen.
