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11 parties, including SLFP and NFF chart their own course
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Basil intervenes to prevent divisions before May Day rallies
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PC elections remain in limbo until Govt. tables new legislation
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Officials expose alleged Easter bombing “mastermind” Naufer
The complexities of governance faced by the Government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa seem to be further exacerbated by the pressure mounting on the regime to expedite the probe into the Easter Sunday attacks, spearheaded by Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith threatening islandwide agitations after 21 April. All this while the Government is trying to make arrangements to hold the delayed provincial council (PC) elections amidst moves by several governing party allies to form a new political coalition.
However, the PC election is likely to be further put off due to the delay in scheduling the party leaders’ meeting that is to discuss the proposed new PC amendment bill to reach a decision on the electoral system that would be applied at the polls. The party leaders’ meeting is to be chaired by Prime Minister Rajapaksa, who is currently recovering following a minor knee surgery.
However, the Premier has fixed the meeting for next Monday (19) at 10 a.m. This meeting is expected to play a decisive role for the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) alliance partners, as their decision on whether or not to contest with the SLPP will be determined by its outcome.
Meanwhile, the move by the Government to hold PC elections has been met with stiff resistance from its nationalist supporters. They have called on the Government to prioritise the implementation of the proposed new Constitution, and to hold the PC elections afterwards under the new laws that would be applied to the structure of the PCs as well as the powers vested with them.
While the Government is embroiled in resolving the stalemate over the holding of the delayed elections, a political alliance of several allies of the governing SLPP is currently in the making.
The splinter group of 11 political parties allied with the SLPP first formed a union in February this year over the East Container Terminal (ECT) controversy, and has so far held six meetings to discuss the formation of a pressure group on the Government, and to stand united against the perceived mistreatment of allies by the SLPP.
The latest meeting of the group of 11 political parties was held on Thursday (8) at the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) headquarters at Darley Road.
The meeting was attended by leaders of 11 political parties affiliated to the Government. All party representatives who attended the previous meeting were in attendance at Thursday’s meeting. SLFP Leader and former President Maithripala Sirisena also attended the meeting.
After discussing the current political situation in the country, the party leaders had discussed the proposed amendments to the PCs Act and the upcoming May Day celebrations. The parties had discussed the holding of a joint May Day rally as well as holding separate rallies through their trade union wings.
However, it was decided to also discuss May Day plans with the SLPP before reaching a final decision on the matter.
A senior government member who attended Thursday’s meeting said that the party leaders agreed to take up all issues discussed by the group of 11 at the meeting with Prime Minister Rajapaksa on the 19th.
So far, the party leaders have expressed concerns over several issues – the fielding of three candidates for each electorate by each political party and the manner in which the 30% proportional representation (PR) system is to be applied.
The SLFP at the party leaders meeting has noted that it proposes the formation of a district council system instead of the PC system. However, the SLFP has maintained the party would make a final decision on its participation at the impending PC elections after the meeting with the Prime Minister.
SLFP gets tough
The ongoing discussion between the 11 political parties allied to the Government on holding their own May Day rally this year has rocked the SLPP boat with party seniors discussing the impact such an alliance could have on the stability of the Government.
The discussion on holding a joint May Day rally was first held at a meeting on 1 April at the Rosmead Place office of MP Tiran Alles. The meeting was attended by leaders of 11 political parties allied to the Government, including the SLFP.
The group of 11 political parties have already decided to hold frequent meetings as well and that the meetings should be held at the party headquarters of each of the 11 parties to ensure equality among the parties in the group.
Apart from the National Freedom Front (NFF) led by Minister Wimal Weerawansa, the SLPP seniors are focused on the actions of the SLFP. Despite actions to the contrary, the SLFP’s next political move plays an important role in the future of the SLPP-led Government.
Meanwhile, the SLFP, which is currently engaged in an aggressive reform programme, last week received an impetus when the Sri Lanka Nidahas Sevaka Sangamaya (SLNSS) entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish a joint trade union bureau with the SLFP.
The SLNSS is the trade union wing of the SLFP that distanced itself from the party and decided to act independently during the former Yahapalana Government as the trade unionists opposed the alliance between the SLFP and the United National Party (UNP). The SLNSS then operated in alliance with the SLPP and worked in support of the SLPP at the last presidential election as well as the general elections. However, the SLNSS has been disgruntled over what the trade unionists felt was stepmotherly treatment meted out to them by the SLPP. The SLNSS members had continuously complained of being sidelined in government activities, claiming the SLPP gave prominence only to its own trade unionists.
It is in this backdrop that a number of SLNSS members had met with SLFP seniors with the proposal to re-join with the party and form a joint trade union bureau by signing an MoU.
SLFP General Secretary State Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara noted the SLNSS had decided to act as an independent body in 2018, but following a series of discussions, had agreed on several key issues to sign an MoU and move forward together.
Accordingly, the newly established bureau is to have 11 members, with the leader of the SLFP holding the post of chairman. The chairman is to appoint the 10 other members of the bureau while the chairman, secretary, and treasurer of the SLNSS will have membership of the bureau.
Five trade union members, representing the private, plantation, state, and co-operatives sectors as well as women are to also be appointed to the bureau.
According to Jayasekara, the MOU will see all trade unions that are part of the platform aligning with the policies and views of the SLFP. The SLNSS is made up of 234 unions.
Basil’s overtures
However, the impact of the ongoing meetings and dialogue building up between the allied parties of the SLPP including the SLFP was recently witnessed when SLPP Founder/National Organiser Basil Rajapaksa decided to take control of the situation by initiating a dialogue with alliance partners. The first party that Basil turned to was the SLFP.
Soon after the 1 April meeting of the 11 allied parties of the SLPP, Basil convened a meeting with the SLFP on Friday (2) to discuss the current political situation, the SLPP’s May Day celebrations as well as the impending PC elections.
The SLFP was represented by party seniors Jayasekara, Duminda Dissanayake, Lasantha Alagiyawanna, and Mahinda Amaraweera.
A majority of the senior SLFPers were pleasantly surprised by Basil’s invitation to the party for a discussion since he had failed to meet with the SLPP’s key coalition partner on several occasions earlier despite requests made by the SLFP for a meeting on issues faced by the party in the alliance government.
Despite senior SLFPers raising their issues including the sidelining of its members at local government and electoral levels, neither Basil nor other SLPP seniors paid attention to the SLFP’s grievances. The SLFP continuously complained that the SLPP had failed to honour the MoUs signed between the SLPP and SLFP during the last presidential and general elections.
The sidelining of SLFPers at local government and electoral levels caused many SLFPers to continuously complain that the SLPP had misused the SLFP and was trying to make it politically destitute.
However, since the SLFP has now managed to get Basil’s attention, the party seniors decided to make the most of it.
At the outset of the meeting, Basil has invited the SLFP to join the May Day celebrations of the SLPP and to hold it as an alliance. This invitation was a direct indication of the SLPP’s concern over discussions between a group of 11 alliance partners to hold a joint May Day celebration.
The SLFP at the discussion had maintained that the party would continue to hold a dialogue with other alliance partners. Basil at this juncture had observed concerns over the formation of a separate group among SLPP allies.
He had then explained that the likes of Weerawansa and several of his supporting parties had not been pleased with the formation of the SLPP as a separate political party, as they had only wanted an alliance where they would hold prominence.
However, Basil had said that it was better if Weerawansa and his allies were out of the SLPP-led alliance but had reiterated the importance of retaining the SLFP in the governing alliance.
The SLFPers at the discussion have then pointed out the many grievances raised by them with regard to the continuous complaints received from party members. They had noted that the SLPP also stood to lose out in the long term if it continued to attempt to stifle the SLFP in a bid to politically destroy the party.
Nevertheless, according to a senior SLFPer, the party is not prepared to allow the SLPP to politically abuse it any further.
“After being very patient, the SLFP Central Committee recently decided not to form any more alliances with the SLPP. The SLFP General Secretary is a state minister in the Government and the Party Leader was not even given a portfolio. That’s how low they have pushed us. They (SLPP) then sidelined our electoral organisers and local government members in all government work. Now, when the SLFP is engaged in a reforms programme and trying to embark on a separate journey, they are once again trying to entice us. This carrot and stick game is what has caused the Government to lose its popularity before the public. Basil is now worried of the impact a separate political alliance of SLPP’s former allies would have at the PC elections,” a senior SLFPer said.
According to the party senior, the SLFP is not prepared to be the recipient of “karapincha treatment” (use and discard) once again. “If that happens, we will lose our party supporters as well,” the SLFPer said.
GL weighs in
Weighing in on the holding of PC elections, SLPP Chairman Minister G.L. Peiris last week noted that not holding the delayed PC elections would amount to a violation of the Constitution, since it is a provision. However, he observed that the election cannot be held until Parliament approval is granted to the proposed PC elections amendment bill.
Peiris stated that the SLPP will hold a discussion about the holding of PC elections with all political parties that are allied with the party.
“The PC election will be held. But the relevant bill has to be approved in Parliament. The Supreme Court has decided that the election cannot be held without approving the relevant bill. The former Government hoodwinked everyone. Although they repealed the electoral system, they did not present the new method to hold the PC elections. For the first time in the world, the subject minister voted against a piece of legislation presented by him. That was because of the fear of facing elections before the people. The former Government used various tactics to delay the PC election and the TNA supported it because the Yahapalana Government did not have a two-thirds majority in Parliament. This is why the PC election was delayed. The incumbent Government has to now correct this error. A proposal has been presented before the Cabinet of Ministers and the Cabinet will have to make a political decision on the electoral system to hold the election. Afterwards, a bill will be presented to Parliament and once that is approved, PC elections will be held islandwide on the same day,” Peiris told the media last week.
He further noted: “The PC system that has been set up under the 13th Amendment is part of our Constitution. An expert committee headed by President’s Counsel Romesh de Silva has been appointed to consider whether the PCs should be continued or not. Once the committee submits its report, a decision can be made whether or not to continue with PCs. At the moment PCs are included in the Constitution. Therefore, PC elections are a must, because it would otherwise be a violation of the Constitution. The continuance of PCs as well as the powers vested with them can be decided only during the formation of the proposed new constitution.”
According to Prof. Peiris, the SLPP is committed to maintaining the political alliance established during the last presidential and general elections.
He went on to say that while an alliance consists of several political parties, it is natural for issues and ideological conflicts to crop up between parties in such an alliance. “Our intention is to resolve these issues and to safeguard and strengthen our political alliance.”
Cardinal’s verbal barrage
Another key issue that is doing the rounds is the probe on the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks and the threat by the Cardinal to carry out an islandwide agitation campaign and take the matter before the international community.
In a stunning verbal assault last Sunday (4) after the Easter Sunday mass, Archbishop of Colombo His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith called for action to be initiated against former President Maithripala Sirisena without further delay and asked whether the former President has no shame.
“The question arises whether some politicians who have been named as being responsible for the attacks are shameless enough to go before the people once again. I heard that the former President is seeking re-election. How can somebody who knew about the deaths and went abroad contest an election? How can he be the leader of a party? I would like to ask him if he is wearing clothes when he says these things?
“The final report of the PCoI (Presidential Commission of Inquiry) on Easter Sunday attacks clearly indicates the people who were involved in the Easter attack. So, why aren’t they punished? The ministers who were involved in this attack are still in Parliament, and this is a shame to the country,” he added.
Participating in the “Black Sunday” silent protest on 7 March and speaking to the media, he said: “We wanted the Commission to find out who was behind this attack. We do not know to what extent it has been achieved. I’m reading that (PCoI) report these days. Many of the things recommended in this report can be implemented. It is especially important to enforce the law against those who have committed crimes.” The Cardinal on a previous occasion noted that the Government should be more committed to bringing the perpetrators of the attacks to justice.
“My feeling is that the Government needs to be more committed to conducting an honest investigation. I wondered if it was necessary to appoint another committee of six members,” he had questioned at the time.
“What is needed here is for the President to direct himself to what he has to do on a practical level. It would be wrong to choose a certain group and punish them only.
This protest movement will continue with the involvement of other religious organisations until we get a definite sign,” Cardinal Ranjith had said, adding that this was an issue that affected the people of the whole country.
Enter the mastermind
Meanwhile, the six-member Ministerial Committee appointed to study the reports of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) into the Easter Sunday terror attacks and the Parliamentary Sectoral Oversight Committee (SOC) on National Security handed over their final reports to President Rajapaksa last week.
The Ministerial Committee, which has analysed the recommendations contained in the two reports, has categorised the same into three groups: unimplementable due to impracticality, implementable with changes, and directly implementable.
The Committee was appointed by the President to study the recommendations in the two said reports and to hand over a final report on 15 March, but the Committee sought an extension of two weeks to hand over its final report, citing the sensitivity and complexity of the content of the reports. The report was to be submitted on 31 March, following the extension.
The committee was chaired by Minister Chamal Rajapaksa and other committee members include Ministers Johnston Fernando, Co-Cabinet Spokesman Udaya Gammanpila, and Ministers Prasanna Ranatunga, and Rohitha Abeygunawardena.
After handing over the report, Chamal stated on Tuesday (6) that there had been a lot of opportunities to prevent the Easter Attacks, if only the relevant authorities had acted accordingly.
He explained that several people who were involved in the destruction of Buddhist statues in Mawanella had been perpetrators of the Easter Sunday attacks in 2019 and that the Police should have taken action against them at that point.
According to Chamal, those who funded the businessman Ibrahim had also played a part in the Easter attacks, as they had known about the attacks but did not notify the relevant authorities.
He further noted that the committee was committed to identifying the perpetrators and making sure such incidents do not occur in the country again.
The recommendations of the ministerial committee have been handed over to the Attorney General’s Department and it was up to them to take necessary action on the suspects after studying the evidence.
Meanwhile, Minister of Public Security Sarath Weerasekara noted last Tuesday that there have been 32 suspects named in the report who have assisted in the Easter Sunday attacks, and further investigations are continuing. Further, over 200 have been remanded in connection with the attacks.
Weerasekera claimed that Naufer Moulavi, who is alleged to be the theoretician of the now banned National Thowheed Jamaath (NTJ) and is currently in remand custody, has been identified by the Government as the true mastermind of the Easter Sunday attacks.
He made this comment at a media briefing last Tuesday relating to the final report of the Cabinet Subcommittee.
According to Weerasekera, Zahran Hashim, who was also connected to the NTJ group and was previously reported to have been the mastermind of the bombings, was not the ringleader, as Naufer had commenced his Islamist extremist activities in 2014, two years before Zahran became involved in Islamist extremism in 2016.
He also added that the death of Pulasthini Mahendran, alias Sarah Jasmine, a converted Islamist extremist and a part of Zahran’s terror group, cannot be confirmed at the moment.
“None of the DNA samples taken from the bodies at the Sainthamaruthu blast on 26 April 2021 (some reports claim that she fled to India) matched the sample from Pulasthini’s mother. However, if she is dead, we would issue a notice through Interpol,” Weerasekera added.
Meanwhile, calling on Buddhists to advocate for the cause of justice espoused by the Archbishop of Colombo on behalf of the victims of the Easter Sunday terror attacks, Chief Incumbent of the Dharmayathanaya in Colombo 7 Ven. Elle Gunawansa Thera said that every single person implicated by the report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) into the Easter Sunday terror attacks must be pressed with criminal charges.
Ven. Gunawansa Thera told The Morning that the perpetrators of the Easter Sunday attacks must be brought to justice, regardless of political affiliations or bias.
“In general, we do not see justice or fairness being served in the country. Archbishop Cardinal Ranjith is standing up for his people, and we must stand with him,” Ven. Gunawansa Thera further said.
The monk also questioned the inaction of citizens.
“Why are we living like boarded residents in our own country? Buddhists also understand the pain of being terrorised in their place of worship, as there were terror attacks on multiple Buddhist temples, including the Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Tooth Relic). That is why we must help the Christian and Catholic communities as they ask for justice.”
Identifying a mastermind The process of identifying the mastermind behind the barbaric Easter Sunday terror attacks has been focused on following the revelation last week by the Government that Mohamed Naufar aka Naufer Moulavi has been identified as the mastermind behind the Easter Sunday carnage. While Opposition politicians continue to question whether Naufer is actually the mastermind behind the attacks, the findings of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) on Easter Sunday attacks, a probe carried out by the US and the probe by local investigators have all pointed to Naufer and two others as masterminds behind the multiple attacks carried out by a group of Islamist extremists on 21 April 2019. Originally from Kattankudy, Naufer had settled down in Kekunagolla in Kuliyapitiya following his marriage. He had received his education at the Madampe Islahiya Vidyalaya, which is affiliated to the Sri Lanka Jamath Islamiya, and was therefore educated in line with its ideologies. In 1997, Naufer had left to Qatar for employment. In 2006, he had visited Sri Lanka on a brief holiday when he had formed the Darul Adhar organisation with Zaharan Hashim. Naufer was acquainted with Zaharan following the latter’s marriage to Naufer’s relative – Zaharan’s wife is Naufer’s niece (wife’s sister’s daughter). After spending a brief holiday in Sri Lanka, Naufer had returned to Qatar. It is in this backdrop that Abu Bakr had declared a caliphate that includes Sri Lanka in June 2014. Abu Bakr called on those following ISIS to join forces with him to form the caliphate and for others who are unable to make the journey to carry out the necessary work in their respective countries. Naufer was one who had subscribed to this ideology and had started to hold classes in Qatar for Sri Lankan Muslims residing in the country. However, most of those who had attended these classes have now been apprehended by Sri Lanka’s law enforcement agencies. In 2016, Naufer returned to Sri Lanka for a month’s stay. It is during this visit that he had exposed Zaharan to Abu Bakr’s ideology of forming a caliphate. This was revealed in Zaharan’s wife’s statement where she had stated that Naufer had handed her husband (Zaharan) a pen drive that contained details in 2016. Afterwards, Naufer had started to work on propagating the ideology with Zaharan. By 2017, Naufer had taken a lead role in conducting classes to propagate the ideology and such lessons were conducted in Nuwara Eliya, Hamabantota, and Kandy. During this period, Naufer had also given leadership to a group of moulavies – Shiny (Zaharan’s brother), Saajith, and Ibrahim. Naufer had conducted a programme with Zaharan’s brothers – Shiny and Rilwan – to expand the network. It is therefore evident that Naufer had played the role of preacher and network builder with the aim of developing a violent extremist force. However, the wider network that finally played a key role in carrying out the Easter Sunday attacks was formed on 14 October 2016. It was at Husni Mubarak’s wedding in Kattankudy that the Ibrahim brothers, who played a key role in financing the attacks, met with Zaharan. Ibrahim brothers were affiliated to Jamathe Milathe Ibrahim (JMI) and were involved in supplying funds for the organisation and expanding its network. Afterwards, several attacks, 10 to be precise, were carried out in the run up to the Easter Sunday attacks on 21 April 2019. The 10 attacks commenced from 2017 and included the execution of two policemen in Vavunativu (carried out by Rilwan [Zaharan’s brother] and another individual named Gafoor). The training of cadres for an attack had commenced in 2018 under Zaharan’s leadership. However, Naufer had stated to the investigators that he had distanced himself from Zaharan and his group of cadres who carried out the Easter Sunday attacks since he did not agree with the plan. He had stated that he had withdrawn from Zaharan’s network one month prior to the attacks. The reason for the withdrawal has been attributed to the fact that he had believed it was too early to carry out an attack of such magnitude, as there was no preparation in place to continue the struggle afterwards. It seems doubtful that Naufer was unaware of Zaharn’s intentions of carrying out the attacks in April 2019 since preparations for the attacks were in place since early 2019. The safehouses in Katuwapitiya and Panadura were taken in early 2019 with the intention of planning out the attacks. According to Naufer, he had distanced himself from Zaharan only a month prior to the attacks. Nevertheless, by that time, Zaharan was ideologically joined with his emir, Abu Bakr, who at the time was on the decline following a strong crackdown by international law enforcement agencies. It therefore seems Zaharan believed it was the best time to carry out the attacks and bring the ideology to a peak once again. Nevertheless, Naufer’s ideology and his leadership in converting fundamentalists into destructive extremists, ultimately paved the way for the Easter Sunday carnage. US probe On 8 January this year, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) announced that three Sri Lankan citizens have been charged with terrorism offences, including conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organisation (ISIS). The men were part of a group of ISIS supporters which called itself “ISIS in Sri Lanka”. That group is responsible for the 2019 Easter attacks in Sri Lanka, which killed 268 people, including five US citizens, and injured over 500 others, according to a federal criminal complaint. According to a release by the US DoJ, the three defendants named in the criminal complaint, all of whom pledged allegiance to ISIS, are:
- Mohamed Naufar, the “second emir” for the group of ISIS supporters that called itself “ISIS in Sri Lanka”, who allegedly led the group’s propaganda efforts, recruited others to join ISIS, and led a series of multi-day military-type trainings;
- Mohamed Anwar Mohamed Riskan, who allegedly helped manufacture the IEDs used in the Easter Attacks; and
- Ahamed Milhan Hayathu Mohamed, who allegedly executed a police officer in order to obtain the officer’s firearm, shot a suspected informant, and scouted a location for a separate terrorist attack.