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UPFA-UNF gear for major showdown in battle for supremacy

28 Oct 2018

Fractions between the United National Front (UNF) and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) – which is the main constituent party of the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) – have been surfacing for a while. However, intense battles between the two groups started to surface following the alleged plot to assassinate President Maithripala Sirisena and several other VIPs. The situation was further compounded when the UNF failed to allocate finances for rural development under the Gamperaliya programme and tried to force the leasing out of the East Container Terminal at the Colombo Port to India and Japan, ignoring objections raised by the President. It was also no secret that Sirisena on several occasions expressed his displeasure at the delays in investigations being carried out to crack down of alleged incidents of corruption and fraud. On several occasions, Sirisena told his confidantes that former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was trying to empower former President Mahinda Rajapaksa following his presidential defeat, in order to create a split in the SLFP and control him. Interestingly, it is now evident that Wickremesinghe’s “smart move” has boomeranged with Rajapaksa and his loyalists gaining political momentum and becoming a decisive group in Sri Lankan politics. Hence, the parting of ways between Sirisena and Wickremesinghe has been coming for a while. The fact that all’s not well between the President and the Prime Minister, which is the first sign of what was to follow towards the latter part of the week, was witnessed on Monday (22). Addressing the launching ceremony of the biography of F.R. Senanayake, Sirisena said when he became the common candidate at the 2015 presidential election; he had assumed that he was joining the UNP created by D.S. Senanayake and Dudley Senanayake. “But soon I realised that it was an entirely different party,” the President has said. “The UNP back then,” Sirisena noted, “was a party that cherished our own values. It wanted to uplift our own industries. It aspired to strengthen the national economy. This was the vision of the likes of D.S. Senanayake who founded the UNP.” Sirisena’s outburst on Monday indicated that the days of the “odd couple” were numbered. Be that as it may, no one quite expected such chaos, following the separation of the odd couple. The couple, together with their political parties, is now gearing for a power showdown to secure their powerbases. The stage for the entire power shift was set by Rajapaksa’s sibling Basil Rajapaksa. The wheels were set in motion following Basil’s meeting with Sirisena held a few weeks back. The final meeting to seal the deal was held on Thursday night, which was a highly confidential meeting known only by the Rajapaksa family members and not known by Rajapaksa loyalists. In fact, apart from MPs S.B. Dissanayake, Thilanga Sumathipala, and Lakshman Wasantha Perera, no one was aware of a plan to form a government with the President. Even on Friday, it was Lakshman Wasantha Perera who called parliamentarians of the SLPP and asked them to attend a meeting at Hotel Ramada in Colombo in the evening. When the MPs asked for the details, they were informed that it was a meeting. Only when the MPs arrived at the hotel were they informed that they had to make their way to the Presidential Secretariat for the swearing in of the new Prime Minister. Friday night drama Signs of the impending chaos were evident as soon as measures were taken by the Police to barricade Paget Road where the President’s official residence is located. Special Task Force (STF) personnel with weapons were also stationed on the road and surrounding areas. Inquiries were then made by many as to what was going on at the President’s residence only to learn that the Fort Police took steps to barricade the Presidential Secretariat as well. Even though people were unaware of what was really in store on Friday evening, some realised that something of great significance that would gather outrage was taking place behind the walls of the Secretariat. At the time, Sirisena was addressing the group of SLFP ministers and deputy ministers in the Government, and MP Dayasiri Jayasekera was also among them. At the outset of the meeting, the President told the group that he was concerned about the manner in which the Government was functioning at present. He has said that he was extremely disturbed by the manner in which the Prime Minister and the UNP approached the issue of the alleged plot to assassinate him and the former Defence Secretary by a senior officer of the Police force. The President made special mention of the attitude of the likes of Ranjith Madduma Bandara and Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka. Reference was also made to the latest revelation about Fonseka’s alleged link to former head of the Terrorism Investigations Division (TID) DIG Nalaka de Silva, who is currently in remand custody. The group of ministers was informed that the police officer whom de Silva had allegedly tried to assassinate, as uncovered by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) probe, was in fact the officer who had apprehended Fonseka’s loyalists in the Lasantha Wickrematunge murder probe. (See box) Sirisena told the SLFPers that the UNP ministers in government did not pay any attention to the concerns raised by him about the matter, while the continuous calls by him to replace the Inspector General of Police had also fallen on deaf ears. “How can I govern in this manner?” he has asked the group. “I don’t have plans of contesting again,” the President added. The SLFP group sans Jayasekera, which stood together since the vote on the no faith motion against the Prime Minister earlier in the year, said that it was indeed worrying and that there needs to be an open dialogue to resolve these issues. Sirisena then said that the group had to now stand as one and support him, to which the SLFPers steadfastly agreed. “Whatever I decide, I will have the best interest of all of you at heart. Stand by me as we need to be united,” the President said. Once again the group of SLFPers unanimously agreed with the President. The meeting ended afterwards and the President requested several of the ministers to remain. It was around this time that Secretary to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa – Lalith Weeratunge – had arrived at the Presidential Secretariat. Weeratunge had smiled and exchanged pleasantries with everyone gathered in the room and made his way to the President. After exchanging a few words in secret, Weeratunge then moved aside. Forming an alliance Ministers Mahinda Amaraweera and Duminda Dissanayake stayed back and retired to the President’s office at the Secretariat. Several other ministers also joined them, but left shortly afterwards. The President then sat down with Amaraweera and Dissanayake and reiterated that he could no longer continue with the Unity Government with the UNF. At this point, the two ministers inquired from the President as to whether he had an alternative plan in mind. When the President responded in the affirmative, both Amaraweera and Dissanayake deduced that Sirisena in fact was hinting about joining with the “Joint Opposition” (JO), which was earlier termed as news fabricated by MP S.B. Dissanayake. When asked whether the President was contemplating joining the “JO”, he said “yes.” When asked if Rajapaksa would be appointed prime minister, the President responded “yes”. As to whether steps would be taken to dissolve the Sri Lanka Podujana Party (SLPP) once members of the “JO” and the SLFP unite, Sirisena said there were legal impediments since the SLPP held positions in local government bodies. The next question directed at the President was when it would take place; Sirisena responded “now”. It was then that both Amaraweera and Dissanayake realised that Weerakoon was in fact waiting for Rajapaksa’s arrival. Sirisena together with Amaraweera and Dissanayake then walked to the window in the secretariat office and peered through it. A few minutes later, the President was informed of Rajapaksa’s arrival at the Secretariat. Rajapaksa first made his way to the washroom and then to the President’s office. Sirisena, Rajapaksa, Amaraweera, and Dissanayake, after acknowledging each other, engaged in a discussion on how to go about the swearing in. Rajapaksa inquired as to whether the UPFA officially announced its decision to move out of the Government. He was informed that the necessary steps were taken. In fact, contrary to statements given to the media by the likes of Amaraweera, the letter to Speaker Karu Jayasuriya announcing the UPFA’s decision to quit the Unity Government was sent a few minutes earlier. Auspicious time The auspicious time for the swearing in was between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Friday. It was surprising to see Rajapaksa working according to such a broad time frame when he had previously adhered to precise times and directions. One by one the “JO” members started to filter into the room. Seeing elder brother MP Chamal Rajapaksa, Mahinda Rajapaksa approached him and said that he did not contact Chamal and instead informed Shashindra Rajapkasa of the swearing in since he was unaware Chamal would be available to attend the ceremony. The architect of the whole move – Basil – walked in with a smile and asked Sirisena whether everything was in order. Meanwhile, MP Susil Premajayanth started to highlight the legal points that needed to be dealt with in order to ensure a smooth transition of government power. Finally, once the room filled, it was decided that the swearing in process would commence. The rest of the proceedings were viewed by almost every Sri Lankan through electronic and social media. Afterwards, the President sent a letter to Wickremesinghe informing him of his removal from the post while Wickremesinghe responded saying that he remained as the constitutional Prime Minister. Finally, the gazette notifications announcing Wickremesinghe’s removal and Rajapaksa’s appointment were released on Friday night. However, last morning, legal experts were called in to explain through different media that Rajapaksa’s appointment as Prime Minister was in line with constitutional provisions. According to legal experts, the Cabinet of Ministers stands dissolved when a constituent partner of a national government moves out. This permits the President to appoint a prime minister whom he believes commands the majority support in Parliament. Nevertheless, the appointment will be deemed an interim position until he shows his majority strength in Parliament. Furthermore, last evening, President Sirisena issued a directive to remove Wickremesinghe’s security detail, to which the UNP, in response, requested the intervention of the Speaker of Parliament. MR silent Be that as it may, contrary to usual practice, Rajapaksa has opted to remain silent without making any public statements following his appointment as Prime Minister. The public and media expected a public statement by Rajapaksa on Friday night after being sworn in as Prime Minister. Instead of making his usual passionate speech before cameras, Rajapaksa opted to visit the Gangaramaya and Abhayarama temples before returning to his Wijerama Mawatha residence. After reaching his residence and hearing of the fisticuffs at the state media institutions, he made a very brief public address asking everyone to act calmly without engaging in any violent activity. Rajapaksa remained silent afterwards. Statements to the media were made by all his loyalists and he refrained from addressing the media at the press conference called by SLPP party leaders. Rajapaksa’s silence has now started to give confidence to the UNF parliamentary group that the UPFA has not yet got its numbers sorted. The decision by the President to prorogue Parliament till 16 November has further fuelled belief that the UPFA is short of achieving the 113 members of Parliament required to officially endorse its stand as the governing party. MP Dinesh Gunawardena, addressing the media, said that the new Prime Minister needed two weeks to get all affairs in order and that was the reason for the prorogation of Parliament. It was evident that Rajapaksa wanted to ensure that all his numbers in Parliament were in place before making a public appearance. Group leadership However, the group of 23 SLFPers who remained in the Unity Government, following the defeated No Faith Motion against Wickremesinghe, were disturbed last morning when they were called for a meeting of the UPFA group at Rajapaksa’s Wijerama Mawatha residence. A majority of the members in the group felt that the first group meeting should be at a neutral ground and not at Rajapaksa’s residence. The meeting was summoned at 10.30 a.m. Members of the group instead made their way to Sirisena’s residence on Paget Road. They explained that the President needs to be the leader of the UPFA group since he is the Leader of the SLFP and UPFA. “We stood by you. We didn’t have any personal issues with Mahinda, but when you blamed Rajapaksa we also stood by you. So try to understand that this sudden change is not easy for us. Until things start functioning smoothly, you need to lead the group,” all the members of the group said. Sirisena agreed and said that he would convene a meeting of the UPFA group at the Presidential Secretariat at 6.30 p.m. last evening. The meeting was to discuss the interim Cabinet that would be appointed until Parliament convenes on 16 November when the UPFA and UNF have both vowed to show their majority in the House. Common alliance Despite all the political chaos, the common alliance in the making, under the leadership of MP Rajitha Senaratne, continues. Senaratne together with Malik Samarawickrema, Akila Kariyawasam, Rauf Hakeem, Rishard Bathiudeen, Palani Digambaram, and Champika Ranawaka have met for a discussion on Monday (22) night at Temple Trees. All those gathered at the discussion have unanimously agreed that there is an urgent necessity to form a common alliance under a common symbol. It was decided that the constitution of the alliance be formulated immediately and work be carried out to launch the alliance early next year. Even after the chaotic turn of events on Friday, Senaratne told The Sunday Morning that the work on forming the common alliance would now be expedited since it would be the electoral front even for the United National Party (UNP). Given the current political situation, it is evident that the country would face a general election early next year. It is also one of the main demands of Basil Rajapaksa. The new government, once formed, would be a caretaker government that would function in the interim period, in the run up to the next general election. “We must gain power through the people’s mandate. That is when we form the proper government,” Basil told The Sunday Morning a few weeks back. Following a “vote on accounts”, when Parliament convenes on 16 November, moves will be in place to make way for elections. Hence, general elections are likely to be held during the early part of 2019. The silent community Meanwhile, Wickremesinghe met with representatives of the diplomatic community of the country at Temple Trees last (27) evening to apprise them of the political and constitutional crisis in the country. It was a closed-door meeting. UNP sources told The Sunday Morning that Wickremesinghe had informed the diplomatic community of the constitutional crisis created by the President in appointing Rajapaksa as Prime Minister. It is interesting to note that apart from issuing travel advisories and statements expressing concern over the situation in Sri Lanka, members of the international community refrained from issuing congratulatory notes to the newly-appointed Prime Minister – all except for China that is. This indicates that Rajapaksa has not received legitimacy yet, as all eyes are focused on the numbers game and its outcome. However, The Sunday Morning learns that the President also decided to call for a meeting with the diplomatic community tomorrow (29).

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