Political stability is a vital component for a thriving democracy to achieve all the other freedoms that the people have yearned for over the years.
Sri Lanka is a typical case where political instability has gripped the entire country due to a daunting economic crisis that lurks over every citizen every day.
The rulers who are without a doubt at the heart of the problem refuse to hear the people. They continue to abuse with impunity the mandate to govern which the people have given them.
The people therefore have to face the catastrophic effects of a doomed economy because of the follies of the rulers in dealing with a small but delicate economy.
Against this backdrop, the government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is trying to introduce several political reforms that were spurned with severe resistance from his political entity.
The opposition parties rightly or wrongly found fault with former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa for being instrumental in this obscuring effort. The attempts to introduce progressive political reforms have been confronted by concealed yet conflicting ideological perspectives.
The initial step was the President’s move to set up an all-party government, but it failed and was a stillbirth.
However, he persuaded loner politician and UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe to accept the premiership after former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa stepped down in the aftermath of the May 9 incidents.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa admitted that convincing Mahinda Rajapaksa to step down was the most heart-rendering and worrisome task in his short political career.
The President and the Rajapaksa clan had their blessings heaped on after the appointment of Ranil Wickremesinghe in place of Mahinda Rajapaksa. To date they are convinced that Wickremesinghe will shield Mahinda and his family from prosecution. Mahinda had to face the unexpected wrath of the masses following the well-orchestrated attack on the youth at the GotaGoGama protest sight at the Galle Face.
Mahinda desperately called the Army Commander Shavendra Silva for help but it was of no avail. Reports said the ex-Prime Minister called several times for security in and around Temple Trees, which was his official residence, to be strengthened. The deafening silence of the Army Commander prompted Rajapaksa to call for the removal of a long-standing loyal ally of Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Maybe Shavendra Silva had second thoughts about his career after retirement and wanted to steer clear of controversy. He provided only limited coverage to avert the clashes between the assailants and the protestors at GotaGoGama. The backlash of the GotaGoGama attack extended to the provinces where the houses of many parliamentarians came under attack. Many theories are circulating in the political circles about this. One school of thought is that the attackers used a chemical substance which is more incendiary than petrol. It raised questions about how the attackers came into possession of a chemical substance which is more flammable than petrol.
Following the May 9 clashes, the former Prime Minister fled Colombo to escape from angry people and took refuge at the Trincomalee Navy Camp. A few days later he returned to Colombo by helicopter. He currently lives in the house occupied by former Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayke and Minister Mangala Samaraweera. Minister Janaka Bandara Tennekoon was the occupant when the regrouped Rajapaksas gave the green light to acquire the house. Tennekoon received only two hours’ notice to quit. Observers say he left the house with tears in his eyes.
The group meeting of the government which was held following the May 9 incidents was a stormy one. Most back-benchers called for the heads of the Inspector General of Police and the Army Commander. The usually vociferous Diana Gamage, earmarked by the President to be his nominee for the Deputy Speaker position, was full of emotion when she said the Army Commander should face a court of inquiry for the inaction of his men when there was a high incidence of violence.
Others pointed out that all this happened when a state of emergency and curfew were in force. Police inaction in the provinces came in for severe criticism and the flak on the Inspector General of Police (IGP) from those who present was unprecedented. With emotions running high, the President summoned the IGP to answer questions fired by the parliamentarians.
The IGP faced a barrage of loaded questions. He finally had to ask for time to respond. His reply amply demonstrated how much political interference had gone into the nerve centre of the police when appointing Officers-In-Charge of Police stations throughout the country.
He said he took steps to appoint 182 Officers -In-Charge of Police stations, of which 180 appointments were at the whims and fancies of the political authority. He directed his answer to Minister Ramesh Pathrana and others. All the guns directed at the Inspector General of Police fell silent. Then he said that more senior and capable officers are left in the lurch while incompetent officers have taken over and have failed to accomplish their duties properly. ‘The few officers we have appointed without political influence have done a splendid job during the crisis’, he said in no uncertain terms. The Inspector-General of Police bailed him out of a difficult situation.
However, he was in hot water over his failure to transfer Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police Deshabandu Tennekoon from his substantive position. Tennekoon was seen on video clips hobnobbing with the attackers as they marched towards GotaGoGama.
Attorney General (AG) Sanjay Rajaratnam directed the IGP to transfer him on the ground that there was a greater possibility he would interfere with the investigations into the attack on GotaGoGama.
Colombo Fort Magistrate Thilina Gamage asked the IGP to show cause as to why he failed to carry out the directions of the AG. The IGP who appeared before the Magistrate explained that it was a matter for the Public Service Commission and that he was unable to effect transfers of senior police officers.
The question is whether the Attorney General was unaware of the correct legal position concerning the transfer of senior police officers or whether he deliberately made a blunder to mislead the general public. The IGP made it clear before the Fort Magistrate cleared himself from the proceedings.
The CID meanwhile has named former minister Johnston Fernando as a suspect in the GotaGoGama attack case but they stopped short of arresting him. On an application made by the CID the Fort Magistrate referred the compact disc containing the speech made by the former minister at the gathering held to bid farewell to the ex-Prime Minister at Temple Trees, to a psychiatrist.
Many people believe that Fernando’s speech instigated the people to go on an offensive against the peaceful protestors at GotaGoGama.
Meanwhile, a Fundamental Rights application filed by a member of the Galle Face struggle seeking an order from the Supreme Court to prevent the demolition of the structures at the location did not get the nod of the Supreme Court for leave to proceed.
The Fundamental Rights application opened up a new avenue for the Police to act on the protestors at Galle Face.
Be that as it may, the latest from the political front is that the Prime Minister and President are having many disagreements on various matters. The 21st amendment may not come in the same fashion the Prime Minister desired. The President’s position is that he has received a mandate for five years.
Hence, the reforms relating to the executive presidency could come into operation after he completes his tenure as the President.
He was also not keen to remove the dual citizen’s provision from the constitution and took up the position that it was a matter for the Parliament to decide through a simple majority.
Nevertheless, there was consensus building on the clauses on Independent Commissions but the President may revert to the 20th amendment where he is comfortable.
There are a plethora of disagreements between the Prime Minister and the President on the 21st amendment. At a stormy government group meeting, vociferous Parliamentarians told the Prime Minister to find solutions for the burning issues of the people. They urged him to push the constitutional reforms to the back burner for the time being. The Prime Minister was quite uncomfortable with the thinking of the members and the President since it would be burdensome to get the IMF to restructure the ailing economy.
The Prime Minister is at loggerheads with the President reportedly on the appointment of the Governor of the Central Bank. Rumours say that Wickremesinghe wants Dinesh Weerakkoday, a seasoned banker, as the Governor. The President has rejected the request prompting Wickreme singhe to decide whether to continue with a strange political entity as the Prime Minister. The President and the Prime Minister are not comfortable confronting each other on issues and use Thirukumar Nadesan, the well-known businessman, as a go-between to iron out their differences. At this rate, it is difficult to fathom what will be in stock for Sri Lanka in the next two weeks if the government doesn’t sanction the full implementation of the 21st amendment in its original form with all the features in the now-defunct 19th amendment.
Meanwhile, the President is contemplating appointing Dinesh Gunawardene as the Prime Minister if Wickremesinghe quits his position as Prime Minister owing to disagreements.
Who will stand to lose if this becomes a reality?
Dinesh Gunawardene was keen to find the method of electing the Leader of the Opposition under the 21st amendment. His question was whether the Opposition Leader will be appointed by the largest party representing the opposition or by the person who could enjoy the confidence of the majority of opposition members.
The political prognosis is not healthy in the current context, with no government willing to extend a helping hand other than India. It is an onerous task to convince Japan who was one of the biggest donors to Sri Lanka in the past until the government of Gotabaya Rajapaksa unceremoniously rejected the Light Rail Project funded by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA).-
