Author: TELO Admin

President Ranil Wickremesinghe is opting to hold the Presidential election first while the Rajapaksas want the General Elections held first, National People’s Power (NPP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said today.

Speaking at the Colombo District Women’s Convention, he said the President prefers the Presidential election held first than to the General Elections as he has no strong support at the grassroots level.

He said the Rajapaksas prefer the General Elections first as they deem that going for a Presidential election is disadvantageous to them as they have no strong candidate to contest for the Presidency.

“The SLPP knows Rajapaksas cannot be brought in again as a leader. Basil came to the country recently. But, he has no chance to contest for the Presidency. So, they think that the General elections is more advantageous to them,” he said.

Dissanayake said however, when the tussle between the two factions continues over which election to hold first, the Elections Commission will get powers to hold the Presidential election by July 22, 2024.

He said the main political parties are scared to face any election at this juncture as they fear of losing power.

“There has been a change of government in the past. The power transmitted between them. They know they are going to lose power this time. That is why they are hesitant to go for an election. The upcoming election will be a revolutionary one. It will not be a mere change of a government or of a President. It will be a complete change in the political, social and economic spheres,” he said.

The MP said that every sector in the country had collapsed and that this situation cannot be rectified just by installing one government in place of another.

Questions have been raised on former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s newly released book. ‘The Conspiracy’ which claims internationally sponsored regime change was the cause for him to be ousted from the Sri Lankan Presidency in 2022.

Taking to ‘X’, the Russian Embassy in Sri Lanka questioned the former President’s suggestion that foreign ambassadors’ visits to Sri Lanka military objects should be restricted.

“Took notice of publications in SL press about the freshly launched book by G. Rajapaksa, where it’s suggested that foreign ambassadors’ visits to SL military objects should be restricted. Then it needs clarification, the diplomatic representatives of which countries are meant?” the Russian Embassy questioned.

Also commenting on the book, MP Wimal Weerawansa, who was a close ally of Gotabaya Rajapaksa and later quit his government, said despite mentioning foreign involvement, the former President has failed to mention any names in his book.

MP Wimal Weerawansa has questioned why no names have been mentioned even though the former President claims that internationally sponsored regime change was the cause for his ouster.

Meanwhile, senior Sri Lankan journalist Ranga Sirilal pointed out that the cover of the former President’s book claims “internationally sponsored regime change” toppled him, but it has no mention of any foreign government inside.

“Even @USAmbSL gets just one mention on P88 along with UN Resident Rep calling for an investigation into the Rambukanna police shooting. Disappointing,” the Sri Lankan journalist said in a statement on ‘X’.

On Thursday (Mar 07), former Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa launched his new book detailing incidents related to the protests to oust him from the Presidency in 2022.

In his book, Gotabaya Rajapaksa reveals the ordeal he went through during the anti-government protests, his evacuation, and the measures taken to address the economic crisis and restore normalcy in the country.

Took notice of publications in SL press about the freshly launched book by G.Rajapaksa, where it’s suggested that foreign ambassadors’ visits to SL military objects should be restricted.
Then it needs clarification, the diplomatic representatives of which countries are meant? 🕵️‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/KdCqjHZOn9

— Russian Embassy in Sri Lanka (@RusEmbSriLanka) March 8, 2024

UNP Chairman and Member of parliament Vajira Abeywardene announces the upcoming launch of a new book detailing Ranil Wickremesinghe’s path to the presidency after the ‘Aragalaya’ protests in 2022.

Titled “Inside the Presidency: The Ranil Chronicles,” it follows Abeywardene’s previous work, “Press vs the Prez.” Abeywardene states, “This book tells the inside story of how the incumbent President became the head of state with a solitary seat in Parliament.”

Former President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa recently published a book describing the wave of protests which ousted him from power as a “conspiracy”.

The majority of the Members of Parliament representing the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) have reportedly decided not to participate the meeting with the representatives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) convened by President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

This was revealed by the National Organizer of the SJB Tissa Attanayake today (March 09).

Joining a press briefing held today, MP Attanayake stated that however the party’s stance on the matter would be officially communicated later.

Attanayake further said that the IMF delegation, similar to the last time they were in Sri Lanka, would meet with and hold discussions with the opposition leader this time as well. He also pointed out that the SJB does not expect to take part in any discussions convened by the President to seek support for the government’s program.

President Wickremesinghe had extended an invitation to the party leaders representing the opposition in Parliament for a discussion with the IMF delegation on Monday (March 11) to offer a chance to discuss the global lender’s proposals.

The President’s Media Division (PMD) earlier said Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, National People’s Power (NPP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, and Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader S. Sridharan were invited to participate in these deliberations.

Additionally, an open invitation was extended to interested individuals to join alongside the invited leaders.

Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has acknowledged his shortcomings in appointing key defence personnel, including General Shavendra Silva and General (Retd.) Kamal Gunaratne in his tell-all memoir “The Conspiracy to Oust Me” launched yesterday (March 7).

Rajapaksa recounts the dramatic circumstances which led to his ousting in 2022, describing it as a first-hand experience of an internationally-sponsored regime change operation.

Rajapaksa who recalls several of his failures, most notably the organic farming initiative, also interestingly points out failures in the national security apparatus under his own administration.

“I appointed officers with long years of experience whom I had worked with for many years to the most important positions in the law and order and security apparatus.

Some structural shortcomings in the placements I made which did not show up when the armed forces were preoccupied with disaster relief operations during the pandemic, later obviously caused problems in the command and control structure of the defence establishment. However, by that time it was too late to address these issues.” he wrote.

The former President, referring to Defence Secretary Kamal Gunaratne and the Army Commander at the time Shavendra Silva noted the lack of ‘a seniority gap’ between the two heads which he asserted was detrimental to national security.

“Both of them were divisional commanders during the war and had got used to seeing themselves more or less as equals. Whether the two got on well was doubtful,” Rajapaksa said. He also alleged that the Army Commander and the Defence Secretary were working against each other at times, with the Army Commander disregarding the instructions of the Defence Secretary, Kamal Gunaratne. He added that Gunaratne may not have had the same control over the armed services that Rajapaksa once had as Defence Secretary.

In stark contrast to Rajapaksa’s presidential election campaign which was built around the themes of national security, and his status as a war hero, the memoir notes of the various failures of the defence apparatus in containing mass protests which led to him fleeing the country. One reason, Rajapaksa attributes is the fact that both the Defence Secretary and the Army Commander were facing human rights abuse allegations, which he says prevented the duo from taking necessary action.

Rajapaksa notes that the inability of Silva’s daughter to travel to the United States due to these circumstances ,‘ obviously’ had a psychological impact on the General.

The former President asserts that visits by foreign ambassadors to military installations must stop, and strict protocols must be introduced to monitor interactions of the armed services. While Rajapaksa maintains that his ouster was the result of a major international conspiracy, the failure of intelligence was also a key factor in preventing his ousting.

“Intelligence services performed well in pandemic-related duties, they completely missed the build-up of politically motivated mobs on social media,” he wrote.

The former President also shared some of his frustrations in being a novice politician, detailing the dilemmas he was forced to deal with in appointing members of the Rajapaksa family to powerful portfolios.“the fact that I was not leading the party meant that I did not have much political power,” Rajapaksa
wrote.

In a historic ruling in November 2023, the Supreme Court determined that the Rajapaksa brothers, — Gotabaya, Mahinda, and Basil — as well as senior officials in their administration, played a significant role in the economic crisis of 2022, breaching the public’s trust.

Nonetheless, Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s book reiterates his refusal to acknowledge any accountability for the nation’s financial downfall, and continues to attribute his ousting to “conspiratorial forces.”